4. Choices That Make Us Feel Morally Responsible
After 200+ hours dedicated to Fallout 3 and Fallout NV, I've never felt any type of moral consequences, even with the arbitrary nature of Fallout 3 being resolved. Fallout 3- Let's all just go back and think of the poor souls in Megaton- We all know you chose to wipe them out. Did you feel bad for it? Probably not, as there aren't exactly a lot of consequences, and your reputation doesn't fall beyond repair. In fact, all you have to do is give Micky (outside what was once Megaton) purified water a few times and you can start to restore your reputation. Not entirely making me worry about my actions, is it? Shouldn't the people of DC fear me? Look at me with disgust? (After all, you don't wipe a city out of a video game if you're not looking for something a little more morbid...) Fallout NV- I've wiped out NCR outposts and felt little more than game dialogue and a few quest exclusions as my consequences, which was Obsidian's reply to the arbitrary nature of Fallout 3's karma system. You have to ask yourselves, why don't the Mojave citizens fear someone who was strong enough to single-handedly take out the men who defend them? Did you know you can bypass the "improved" karma system by setting your companion upon your targets without you ever shooting them? It's really simple. I've used Boone to wipe out Camp Forlorn Hope (accidentally, the first time) and the steps are as follows: 1) Adorn your negative faction armor/uniform, 2) Fast-travel to camp, 3) Sit back in safety as Boone goes wild and tears the camp apart. Voila! Boone has done the deed for you, and you don't get in trouble with anyone, save for Boone (humorously enough). While this seems to be more of a problem with the companion system, it can still be exploited to circumvent the karma system. None of us are about to go on a killing spree in real life, but I'd guess that when you do it in a video game, you expect to see some retaliation.