Columns This was meant to be a Fallout 3 DLC review

http://www.bit-tech.net/columns/2009/01/31/this-was-meant-to-be-a-fallout-3-dlc-review/1

Joe has lately been trying and failing to review the new downloadable expansion to Fallout 3, Operation Anchorage. It seems that Microsoft just doesn't want to let him though and is fighting back with every worthless inch of Games for Windows Live. Now Joe has had enough.

 

Mmm... very interesting article. I can't comment on Fallout 3's DLC, but I can add that I wasn't entirely happen with the whole GFWL process required to get Warhammer 40k: Dawn of War II beta going properly so I could play with my friends .. .btw, Dawn of War II beta is on Steam, but uses GFWL (WTF?), Steam's in and out of game invitation system worked perfectly well, it was simple. Now? I have to invite my friend 2-3 times before the game decides that it'd be a good idea.

I completely agree, GFWL is auto-fail. I'm not sure how much money Bethesda is getting from Microsoft to sell what little they of have left of their pitiful soul.

 

See in the Downloads bit, where is says "No Content Available"? Click those words. The game should minimise and the Marketplace should launch.

MAGIC!

 

GFWL is the evil, barstardised, runt of the litter that included Xbox Live. Where Microsoft did superbly well with XBL they did horiffically bad with GFWL.

 

It wouldn't be PC gaming if piracy wasn't the easier route. Thanks for sticking with the trend Microsoft

 

I don't think GFWL would seem quite as awful if Steam didn't do it so right (and I realise that some people do have equally big problems with Steam, but not as many it seems).
The bit I couldn't understand was that a lot of people had to install a hotfix from M$ before GFWL would work, and yet Steam, made by non microsoft engineers just installs right out of the box on any old system from my old XP box right up to my newest Vista x64 rig, with exactly the same lack of drama.
Valve must be laughing their collective arses off over this.

 

I was pretty annoyed of GFWL until I decided to go dualboot with Win7 and Vista, and install GTA IV on both partitions. I though that GFWL kept my save games online, meaning that it wouldn't batter what OS I played it on.


Turns out that I was totally wrong...

GFWL causes a huge problem when it comes to installing under Win7. Right now I can't even get it running any more. To top that of, it turns out that save games isn't stored online. I have to log in to GFWL to save something ON MY HARD DRIVE! WTF is up with that?!

 

Goodbye credibility.

 

Nah, lets face it even if we were still working with floppy disks **** is still ****.

 

The best thing in this whole mess ? It's a LIVE Marketplace. Which is as you maybe know, not a wordlwide service. Eastern and Central Europe ? MS thinks it's not worth it, so no XBOX Live (this no GFWL) for Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and lots of other countries. Now, how to buy something via GFWL, if there is no GFWL in these countries (in terms of using credit cards). The only option is to buy MS points via those point cards - but that case is even worse, as there are only 2 types of it - 2100 and 4200 points.

 

Funny, that, considering the greater realm of fanboyism has been telling me for over a year that it's impossible for Valve ever to go out of business. And that's a good thing, because at the moment, the second this happens, every game ever released on steam instantly becomes unplayable. If that happens, we can presumably expect to see an abrupt reversal of the hyperventilating, clutching, pathetically needy "steem Cheesecake!" attitude that's been universal up to now, but of course by then it'll be far too late.

I know I'm wasting my breath here, but incidents like the one Joe describes are a warning. This whole online-only-distribution thing is an exceedingly bad idea for any one of dozens of reasons. The issues described in this article and one about Gears of War becoming unplayable will, I suspect, be looked back upon with chagrin when the ordure eventually collides with the rotary ventilation device.

 

In other news: I need to update my pic. New glasses and hair since then!

 

Ive been waiting so long for this expansion, i hope it gets sorted soon.

 

Touching as it is to see such faith, until it's in the EULA, it's vapourware. Is it?

 

There's nothing wrong with it, it's just that Joe didn't figure out that he needed to click the text that said "No Content Available". See my post (#2 in thread).

 

D'oh - if only clicking there, well, made sense!

 

Indeed, and I must admit it took me about 30 seconds of wildly flicking my mouse pointer around the screen to figure it out myself!

 

I managed to get the torrent for this working.
So far I have seen no reason to buy this game, over pirating it.
A good persuader for not buying it is the fact that it doesn't work.
http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Fallout_3_bugs
Grade A guys!
And they wonder why people pirate, and don't feel like they're stealing, maybe it's because you steal from us all the time Microsoft.

 

Odd, i can hand on heart say i've never had a problem with GFWL. Admittadley i've only used it for Fallout 3 and the DoW II Beta so i don't have ahuge experience, but its all worked tickity-boo for me.

And Viruk, comments on how its easier to pirate the game are one thing, but openly declaring you are commiting such piracy is another and often not allowed on some sites, no idea about Bit-Tech.