For years now I've been hearing a slew of complaints coming from old FO 1 and 2 players on how FO3 ruined the series and turned it's lore on it's head, and for years I've been confused as in how. With any series or franchise - given enough time - there will always arise inconsistencies here and there that could make or break canon (Example: comic books and simply look at Star Trek). And as vocal as a lot of groups have been - and a lot of times for good reason - I've found the fanboys of Fallout to be some of the most unreasonable and least forgiving. I mean if you want to look at disasters in canon look at Star Trek Voyager and dare I even mention the SW prequels. But as for FO3, I haven't found anything that really stuck as a good enough reason for all the hate.
Anyways, here's a list of complaints I've picked up from NoMutuantsAllowed forums. So please someone explain to me how any of these complaints (except for the last one I've tacked) really holds any weight...?
- Why are there Super Mutants in the Capitol Wasteland, and why are they dumber?
Because they're not the same Super Mutants that were created by the Master on the West Coast. The Super Mutants in FO3 are all an experiment from Vault 87 that didn't produce the same results as their West Coast counterparts, hence why they are dumber and and tend to grow in size over the years becoming behemoths.
I mean, this was all explained in FO3 completely. So why are people still calling this a gaping plot hole, I really have no clue.
-The BoS on the East Coast are way too soft
Here's another complaint I see all the time on forums like NoMutantAllowed and one that's also made me question whether these people really ever played FO3. Because it's very well explained in detail how the leader of the East division of the BoS (Lyon) had decided to abandon many of the BoS ways in favor of taking on more humanitarian ways. And if you look into the BoS Outcast, you'd see it wasn't exactly a favorable decision by everyone.
-Jet in DC, when it's a west coast creation
How would I explain this? I don't know? How do you explain McDonald's in China when it generally an American creation?
-Vault doors open differently
Are people seriously complaining about this? You do realize that when it comes to construction, different models and layouts would be used to suite the lay out of the land and enviroment. Plus, there's never "one model to rule them all" in any form of product. Is everyone's PC the same? Do we all use the same video graphics card? Does everyone have a screen door with a mail slot on their front door? NO!
-The Uniforms for the Vault dwellers seem to be made of cloth when in FO1&2 it was more like latex.
/facepalm
Really? Gamer's are complaining about this? I think my answer for the vault doors can pretty much explain this.
-East Coast considerably primitive compared to the West.
Okay, has anyone that's making these complaints ever read a history book before? Because I don't know if they've ever noticed but not all civilization advance at the same pace. Feudal Japan was happening around the same time Europe was colonizing the entire world, and Aztecs still hadn't discovered the wheel while Conquistadors were using gun powder. So I really don't see how anyone can be taking this complaint seriously when recorded human history has proven just how flawed this logic is.
-Why are there Enclave in the Capital wastes when they were irradiated a little after the FO2 storyline by NCR and BoS forces.
In the lore, it's been stated that the Enclave shortly after FO2 storyline were hunted down by NCR and BoS troops. And even though FO3 has in many ways gone back to rewrite this to suit their interest in bringing back the Enclave, I'm not completely against the idea either. Truth of the matter is, how can anyone really completely irradiate an entire group or organization to begin with? There's always something left behind. So I totally except the idea that a contingent group was sent out far from NCR and BoS reach to reestablish a new order, also explaining why over the years they had changed in being less dark in their motives and interests.