There are so many facets to the gameplay mechanics at work in Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas that complaining about the compass might seem trivial. 90% of the time the compass does work, the remaining 10% of the time however, it points you towards an endless expedition of anguish, frustration and self-doubt. Seeing as individual objectives are key to completing each mission, being unable to find the precise source of progression despite being agonisingly close to it can swiftly become a paralysing and numbing experience. The issue is that while you can often find where the compass marker is pointing to, the marker does not always reveal the objective. Players can become completely lost despite following all of the in-game instructions countless times over the course of the game. It's a big game, and so it's unsurprising that it's the small, irksome problems that remain with players for as long as the individual triumphs and moments of excellence. While it's not always necessary to tell the player every detail of their mission and objective, oversimplifying matters by leaving it all up to a singular compass point is a hefty risk in its own right. Think there's something else Bethesda should be working on for their next entry into the series? Let us know in the comments!
