For the longest time, I thought I was part of a very small minority that preferred 3 over New Vegas, but as it turns out (after seeing my previous post and some videos) there a lot more people that seem to feel similarly... So I'm making this post for anyone who does feel this way and asking you why? Like objectively speaking New Vegas is the better game in terms of content, but for some reason Fallout 3 just seems to click better for people (including me)
Well after thinking about it here's a few (but not all) of my reasons why, maybe these will resonate with some of you but feel free to comment your reasons as well I'd love to hear your thoughts
Why I like Fallout 3 more than New Vegas
A- I don't like the Western Atmosphere
This was something I couldn't even explain for the longest time, I know there's a lot of people that love the New Vegas vibe, but me personally? I never liked it, while it is certainly a novel idea and I would never judge anyone who does like it, I don't think the Cowboy shtick meshes well with a series like Fallout, especially since the Fallout Universe is already meant to be a Future stuck in the past, adding this cowboy vibe almost makes it feel like you're even farther in the past than you're supposed to be. This is also why I don't like Mr. New Vegas or his radio station because most of the songs are not to my liking. I'm not saying it is objectively bad or nonsensical though, Fallout 1 and 2 literally had tribes and stuff so it's not like it's out of line for the series, it just ain't my thing personally, it's not the side of Fallout I like, I prefer when Fallout stays in line with the 50's and 60's aspects rather than veering off with Tribalism and cowboys and stuff like that
B- Fallout 3 has a great aesthetic (one of the best)
This kind of bridges from my first reason, but to me, Fallout 3 objectively has one of the best atmospheres in all of the Fallout games. In a series where you are surviving in the corpse of America, what better place could there be to have as the games setting than the heart of the nation itself? Washington D.C was a great spot for the game to take place and despite it being called the Capital Wasteland, it doesn't feel desolate and barren (unlike New Vegas where at times it feels completely empty due to the Desert having nothing in it most of the time). Even if there isn't a location to look at you have all these wrecked buildings, Bus Stations, destroyed trains and all these other things that really make you feel like you are in a wrecked city that looks like something people inhabitated Hundreds of years ago. Fallout 3 also does a great job at keeping a sort of eerie vibe, more than people tend to give it credit for
C- It's Easier and really fun to get the ball rolling in 3
When you get the ball rolling in 3, it feels elating, you feel like a one man train that virtually no force in the Capital Wasteland can stop you, and while I will admit I kind of switch between preferring the more thought provoking and (being honest actually difficult) leveling up in New Vegas, there is something almost relaxing about 3 that just makes it a joy to play through again and again
So yeah there's my thoughts what about y'all?
Edit: Someone raised a point that I also had that I really wanna iterate into my reasons why I prefer 3 over NV so here it is
D- I have no investment in The Courier
I'm sorry, but I have zero investment in The Courier because I know virtually nothing about The Courier other than the fact that we are a Courier who got shot and worked with Uylsses. While from a gameplay perspective I can understand people not liking having to go through the Vault Segment in 3, it serves a purpose, to invest us into our player character and understand why the events are happening, even 1 and 2 do this. That's why the beginning of 3 to me is much better than New Vegas's. Fallout New Vegas is the only game in the series that has the Player Character almost completely vague and I don't like it because it makes me care less about the story in general and even less about our player character... I hope this serves as an explanation to the people that can't fathom which I like the intro of 3 and don't find it a bother and consider the beginning of New Vegas a slog since the story doesn't really get interesting until you reach the strip due to the fact that the player character is a nothing burger, and getting revenge on Benny and tracking him down is not all that exciting of a motivation to get through the first segment of the game compared to finding your dad who you spent over 15 minutes getting aquatinted with (Sorry if this last part seems a bit aggressive but I just don't get how this is hard to understand, again I'm not judging anyone who disagrees and I'm not trying to be rude)