Justin Cox Presents:

The Fallout 3 Ending Controversy

I had been looking forward to Fallout 3 since visiting PAX and seeing the live demo of the game. I pre-ordered the game and picked it up the afternoon it hit the streets. I have since been so engrossed in the game that I spent roughly 83 hours wandering the Capital Wasteland and becoming the “Last, Best Hope for Humanity.” The game is quite simply one of — if not the — best game I’ve ever played. But what about the ending?

I try to keep away from video game reviews for the same reason I try to keep away of movie and TV reviews: they spoil things. However, with Twitter, message boards, and friends comments sometimes it’s hard to avoid some sort of knowledge of what’s to come. A few weeks after Fallout 3 was released I started to see gripes about the ending to the game. I chose not to pry further into it, but I knew a lot of people were upset with the outcome of the game. I chose to leave it at that and continue to enjoy the game I was playing.

Earlier today I finished Fallout 3 and I can see where the gripes come from. Without spoiling anything, I’ll say that considering the extremely expansive and fairly open-ended gameplay, Fallout 3’s ending is very abrupt and fairly straightforward. This, however, isn’t what I believe people were so upset with. I believe the gripes come with the result of the ending. Being a role playing type of game, the ending carries a choice between two options, neither of which are exactly beneficial to the player.

I actually don’t have a problem with the ending. While it’s not a happy ending, the ending is justified by the rest of the game. The game presents plenty of choices for the player throughout the course of the game and all throughout there is never a perfect option. So why should we expect that with the ending? THe game justifies the ending — there isn’t anything to complain about.

After all, it isn’t anywhere near the level of horribleness the ending to the original Devil May Cry had. Devil May Cry, while extremely difficult, was a very fun game where you play as a character killing all sorts of evil creatures with a combination of guns and swords. The ending put the player in control of a biplane — yes a biplane — and flying out of a collapsing cave.

This Devil May Cry ending was unfortunately repeated with the otherwise flawless Resident Evil 4. After finding and protecting the presidents daughter from parasite infected zombie-like Spaniards, you’re tasked with riding a jet ski — yes a jet ski — through a cave out into the sunset.

These endings where horrible and completely unjustified by the game they belong to. While Fallout 3’s ending might be displeasing to the player, it’s fitting to the game and, in comparison, not to bad.