How does Fallout 3 rank as a stealth game?

I'm curently playing Skyrim, and I think it's a very capable stealth game (although the Thieves Guild questline is horrid).  A quick google search shows that Fallout 3 has a stealth option, but I'm curious what some people here think of it.  Also, is New Vegas any better at this and for what reason(s)?

what, in comparison to games like the Thief series? the MGS series? not sure it does. But as a small sector of the games mechanics and and combat system, it helps. 

I have to imagine you get your sneak skill up into the 90s or 100, and yeah, that'd be a stealth build.  Plus, you can up your melee skill and you're already going to prolly score a critical hit when you're stealth (I think.)  Not to mention there are silenced weapons from what I remember?  Or maybe that was because I had some mods.  I'm pertty sure that 10 milli real Fallout-Y handgun has a silenced version.  Also, there are perks that prolly go along with a stealthy build.  I think they had the word ninja in them or somethin'.  Seems viable to me.

Not as good as Skyrims, which in turn is not as good as a proper stealth game's. But it still ranks above most stealth systems in RPGs or RPG wannabes where stealth is effectively an invisibility spell.

Not very satisfying overall, but could be worse.

Fallout 3 isn't based around stealth as main way of conduct. Primary purpose of stealth in Fallout 3+NV is to be able to do sneak attacks on enemies and occassionally stealing from shop owners, whom can be blinded even if you hold as a much as an empty whisky bottle up between you and them. Hell, you can actually break it by just dragging the thing you want to steal out of the owners sight.

Unlike say, MGS or Thief, or Deus Ex HR, where killing people actually penalizes you in some way, fallout does little in that regard. Hell you are actually better of looting a hideout AND killing all the guards.

Bottomline: You can do a heck of a lot better stealth games than FO

I have to imagine you get your sneak skill up into the 90s or 100, and yeah, that'd be a stealth build.  Plus, you can up your melee skill and you're already going to prolly score a critical hit when you're stealth (I think.)  Not to mention there are silenced weapons from what I remember?  Or maybe that was because I had some mods.  I'm pertty sure that 10 milli real Fallout-Y handgun has a silenced version.  Also, there are perks that prolly go along with a stealthy build.  I think they had the word ninja in them or somethin'.  Seems viable to me.

Fire_Wa11

Silenced weapons in fallout are rare, and not only that, they are weak as heck. The only silenced gun that can deal decent damage is The Perforator (which you have to litterally comb The Pitt DLC for) , and even then it's not always enough for most enemies, and unless you 1-hit enemies from stealth, silenced weaponry just ain't that useful. That leaves you with melee and unarmed weapons of which neither provides enough damage early on, and requires you to get close to enemies with a low stealth skill, which is also hard as hell unless you just simply consume every goddamn stealth boy you come across.

well if you think skyrim is a very capable stealth game then i guess by your definition fallout 3 would be decent for it too...

but, **** no to both.

Elder Scrolls handles stealth better than Fallout if you ask me.  Sneaking past monsters to go for critical hits with a bow or sword tends to work better than packing a shotgun or laser rifle.  The stealth option in Fallout 3 and New Vegas is just kind of weak.  It's more fun, particularly in New Vegas, to actually discover dialogue options and then go gungho afterwards.

As a full stealth game though, the game's in general are nowhere near as good as something like Dishonored or Deus Ex: Human Revolution when it comes to stealth.

Only way of being a sneaky kind of character is sniping and having a high sneak rank. Sneaky melee is pretty much impossible.

If sniping without being detected is stealth well I guess new vegas is a decent stealth game. I remember sniping a whole prison inmates and death claws in their nest with my laser rifle full of gun mods(scope, double laser) without being detected and it felt good.

I'm curently playing Skyrim, and I think it's a very capable stealth game (although the Thieves Guild questline is horrid).  A quick google search shows that Fallout 3 has a stealth option, but I'm curious what some people here think of it.  Also, is New Vegas any better at this and for what reason(s)?

Ross_the_Boss6

You think Skyrim is a capable stealth game?  lol, how? You mean the part about how you can shoot an arrow into someone's eye, sneak in the shadow for a bit and have them dismiss it as "their imagination" before going back to sitting on a chair eating their lunch while you do it all over again?  Well if you like that you should be fine with the stealth system in Fallout 3 because it's pretty similar (especially since FO3 feels like Elder Scrolls with guns).  You have your stealth mode, stealth skill to (which you can assign points to at level up) as well as certain perks you can take which help stealth.  As like in Skyrim the AI is pretty bad about it so if you have any decent skill you'll be getting stealth critical attacks left and right.

You can stand on someone's head and pickpocket them without being noticed.  Yeah not really a stealthy game.... but it doesnt change the fact that I spent 80% percent of my time crouched and trying to remain undetected.  Great game none the less.

Only way of being a sneaky kind of character is sniping and having a high sneak rank. Sneaky melee is pretty much impossible.

CBN16

Eh, even with low sneak skill you just take all your armor off and it's like you have cheats enabled.

I didn;t even know fallout 3 had a stealth optionin the breif time I played it.  If you want really good combat oriented stealth fps try Crysis 3 surprisingly its a great stealth game if you choice to play it as such especially on high difficulty as your more squishy so have to plan your attack more carefully so stealthy gameplay is more rewarded then a run and gun approach. Its probably the closet a game has gotten to making feeling like a predator as you cloak around killing enemies silenty with your bow as well as stealth kills and silenced weapons.

You can try to play it in a stealthy way, but the AI really doesn't work well for stealth.

If you are in a town with neutral / friendly NPCs then you can crouch and move around to your hearts content. You might think that is sneaking, but no-one reacts to you whether you are detected by them or not - so pretty much pointless.

Near hostile enemies crouching can make it slightly harder for you to be detected in the first place, but once the first one sees you or a fight starts it pretty much just lights you up like a beacon so all enemies in the area know just where you are.

If sniping without being detected is stealth well I guess new vegas is a decent stealth game. I remember sniping a whole prison inmates and death claws in their nest with my laser rifle full of gun mods(scope, double laser) without being detected and it felt good.malatato

That's pretty much how I played FNV - started with a hunting rifle and scope, then crept around the landscape taking long distance shots - scored a lot of criticals and one hit kills, but even if you alert several enemies you have loads of time to shoot them all before they reach you.

I've played FO3 as a stealth game and it's pretty fun to be honest. VATS system was great

Its stealth portion is about as good as the rest of the game, which means it sucks balls.

It doesn't. Compared to Thief, Dishonored and MGS it just doesn't.