Fallout 3 EP1: The Birth of Reginald Cuftbert

By Shamus Posted Tuesday Jan 1, 2013

Filed under: Spoiler Warning 97 comments


Link (YouTube)

It's the 1st episode. Of Spoiler Warning season 2. Playing Fallout 3. And suddenly Spoiler Warning is transformed into the show we know and tolerate today. Okay, this episode began a bit wobbly, but by the end we’d settled into the now-familiar rhythm.

I don’t know if it was Randy leaving the show, Josh taking over as player, our accumulated experience, or the addition of Rutkarn, but this show feels more like our current episodes than the ones directly preceding it.

I’m really glad to see these episodes again. Happy nuke year!

 


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97 thoughts on “Fallout 3 EP1: The Birth of Reginald Cuftbert

  1. Thomas says:

    Or it’s because you’re playing a game you don’t actually like =D

    1. krellen says:

      They liked New Vegas and that still turned out good.

    2. newdarkcloud says:

      As they say later on, they like playing Fallout 3, but hate the story.

      A stance I agree with them on.

      1. It’s pretty obvious by now (due to the success of the F3/NV and Elder Scrolls games) that Bethesda at least created a decent first-person RPG engine.

        It just takes other people to write the main quest. F3 had some decent side quests, but much like Oblivion, it’s best if you just ignore the main story or occasionally deal with it just out of necessity.

    3. Leatherface says:

      This is fun, but you guys really need a conversational queue or something. You interrupt each other all the time.

  2. Nyctef says:

    I miss(ed) Randy :(

    But yay! Fallout! I’m sure this will end happily for everyone involved :D

    1. Daemian Lucifer says:

      “I miss(ed) Randy :(”

      Me too.But he did teach Josh well.

    2. wheals says:

      Speaking of Randy, what happened to ‘Best’ of Spoiler Warning? Does Josh even have the original recodring of the episode, or is that one gone forever?

  3. Tony Kebell (FatTony) says:

    Aahh. The season that made me begin to follow you three loonies, dear Christ… this thing is practically Satan, after what I’ve been put through after this…

  4. KremlinLaptop says:

    Hey, you got to do your terrible pun for the start of the year!

    Also Rutskarn is still part of the Spoiler Warning cast.

    …this doesn’t bode well for the coming 12 months.

  5. Zombie says:

    Ah. It begins. This and Bioshock got me hooked, but you guys were in the middle of New Vegas when I watched these. So I had to play a lot of catchup. But I have one question. How many Sids long is this series?

  6. Tony Kebell (FatTony) says:

    6:59 “pansiest, most stereotypical, British, no chinned name I can think of”

    I love, how the mental image associated with the name Reginald Cuftbert, has changed with the times.

      1. Tony Kebell (FatTony) says:

        I need to play that game.

        1. el_b says:

          slackjaw actually has a still, definitely a cuftbert :P

        2. Daemian Lucifer says:

          Yes you do.And so should these guys.If cuftbert did stupid things in fallout,just imagine what he could do when he is given magical powers.

          1. Nick says:

            I’m just imagining Josh doing nothing but upgrade Rat Swarm and the pistol… or fully upgrading the stealth aspects and never using them. Just to troll us

            1. el_b says:

              MORE ENERGY WEAPONS! MORE INCINERATORS!

  7. LunaticFringe says:

    And thus, Cuftbert came forth out of She-Neeson’s nether regions…I like to think he was born with the mutton chop mustache.

    I eagerly await the Little Lamplight and Brotherhood of Steel complaints. This playthrough was one of my key pieces of evidence in the ‘how dare you criticize Fallout 3’ arguments with friends (and it actually worked, sort of, sometimes). The sheer mass of this season is enough to shift the viewpoint of a Bethesda fanboy.

    1. el_b says:

      ‘And thus, Cuftbert came forth out of She-Neeson's nether regions…I like to think he was born with the mutton chop mustache. ‘

      and he was TAKEN 2 THE GREY vault 101.

    2. newdarkcloud says:

      I’m looking forward to the part where Reginald is told that he is “not a mercenary.”

      1. Zombie says:

        I think we got almost all the Spoiler Warning references (minus BEEEEEES) from Fallout 3 now that I think about it.

        1. rayen says:

          is this seasion where we started the drinking game? or was tht bioshock… I have some beer, shall we play? anyone still have the rules?

          1. Entropy says:

            Twas this season.

          2. Indy says:

            According to Episode 17 of Fallout 3, the rules of the drinking game are as follows:

            Josh opens his inventory and consumes 3 or more things in the middle of combat.

            Anyone uses the phrase “in the Original Fallout…”

            Reginald becomes addicted to anything.

            A new overpowered weapon or item is acquired.

            An obvious bug or glitch is encountered.

            All three hosts are talking at the same time.

            Josh tries ineffectually to kill bad guys with f-bombs.

            The phrase “200 years” is spoken.

            “STOP SHOOTING ME!”

            Reginald dies.

            1. el_b says:

              just put the hospital on speed dial :P

              1. Zombie says:

                Heck, just park an ambulance in the driveway.

                1. Indy says:

                  Better yet, get the paramedics in on the game too!

        2. Jokerman says:

          Stoooop shooting meeeeee!

  8. Tony Kebell (FatTony) says:

    8:55 THAT ‘STACHE! =)

  9. KremlinLaptop says:

    I originally played this game on the 360.

    Pressed play. Started looking at F3 mods on the Nexus while watching the episode. Looked at Steam.

    …I now own a copy of Fallout 3 GOTY edition. It’s downloading and I’m downloading every mod in existence.

    1. Rosseloh says:

      That is the terrible thing about playing Bethesda games. And yet, it is also the greatest thing. You need to have a million mods to get the best experience.

      Now if only the Nexus Mod Manager had an auto-update button.

      1. KremlinLaptop says:

        107 mods installed and active for Skyrim. 98 mods installed and active for Fallout: New Vegas. Blimey, this is a deep rabbit hole!

        Bethesda games (and Obsidian with F:NV) do have this habit of selling you a house that’s just a foundation, frame, and roof, expecting that you’ll fill the rest of it in.

        Also sometimes the house spontaneously implodes in hilarious ways.

        1. Does that include all the “make everyone nekkid and capable of naughty stuff” mods, or is that just ones that tweak the game itself? :)

          By the way, if nobody has snagged the voice files from F1 and made Killian (or a descendent) an NPC for F3/NV, they should. I can’t because I lack the time and skill, so I can just make irrational demands of strangers.

    2. psivamp says:

      There’s actually a mod to make a realistically-proportioned Vault. It’s mostly a modder’s resource rather than something meant to be playable or fun.

      http://newvegas.nexusmods.com/mods/39339

  10. Deadyawn says:

    Yay, I love this series! It’ll be good to watch it again.

  11. Spammy says:

    If you want to search for more reasons why the show suddenly got better, I think that the creation of Reginald Cuftbert had something to do with it. It gave the show something of a definite angle and character (And alignment: Chaotic I-Hate-This-Plot) rather than a bunch of guys making small comments at what’s going on and an occasional joke about Conan’s hair.

    But with the birth of the Cuftbert you had something to rally around (Muttonchops) and focus on (Muttonchops), and I think that really improved the quality of the show.

    1. Bryan says:

      Not just muttonchops. Also the bonnet. :-)

      1. McNutcase says:

        Oh, the bonnet. That actually resulted in me being able to tell Mumbles how to recognise me in real life: “I’ll be the guy wearing a hat Josh would have his character wear until he found a bonnet.”

    2. aldowyn says:

      I think you might be on to something there. The Fallout seasons always feel like the most iconic Spoiler Warning, fully allowing Cuftbert’s escapades, and Rutskarn quickly became a pretty important part.

      Actually, I think the addition of Chris is dragging it well back towards center. Less messing around more analysis. (I prefer it that way, personally)

      of course, also they’re doing walking dead now, so… the nigh-inevitable dishonored playthrough has a good chance of going back to form.

      1. swenson says:

        We also see here the start of explosives and the (hilariously short-lived) attempt at building a stealthy character that would culminate in exploding everyone’s pants and being “stealthy” with a Shishkebab, which I think we can all agree is basically the end goal of every game Josh plays anymore.

      2. newdarkcloud says:

        That’s why I want a Skyrim season. It’s close enough to Fallout that we would see more of Reggie’s escapades and it would be fun.

        1. Tse says:

          Eh, it won’t be the same, Skyrim is much more rigid and, dare I say it, much less fun.

  12. Bryan says:

    Kevin MacLeod, Funk Source Extraordinaire…

    (Or whatever ended up getting put into the viddler comments. That’s probably the one thing I’ll miss. Oh well.)

    1. Indy says:

      I believe at this point, the comment was ‘Couldn’t you get something a little more Fallout?’

    2. aldowyn says:

      TBH there’s probably too many people for viddler comments to be that practical nowadays. It would get really crowded at the interesting parts ;/

      Losing the legacy ones is harsh, though.

    3. Marcellus says:

      “He dies so that Funk may live” was my favorite one. (Although that’s not gonna be relevant until we get to Broken Steel…)

  13. Indy says:

    Just beating up Butch in the hallway sets the entire tone of this series. There’s a ridiculous amount of blood everywhere and nobody reacts.

  14. McNutcase says:

    This series resulted in me buying Fallout 3. I knew the plot was rubbish, but I also knew that the game was hilariously broken in a fun way. And so I bought it – the first, and by no means the last time I’ve bought a game because of Spoiler Warning.

    So far, I’ve only regretted that purchase once. But I won’t go into that, because the horse is dead, and beating said equine is pointless.

    1. aldowyn says:

      ‘hilariously broken in a fun way’ is essentially the guiding light of embryo ;)

      1. Alphadrop says:

        Think you meant to say Gamebryo there.

        1. Zagzag says:

          I certainly hope so

  15. Fim says:

    Heh! Glad you got to actually make that pun Shamus,hope it was as good as you expected!

  16. Daemian Lucifer says:

    One thing that I miss in this era of voiced games is all the texts that had your name inserted in them.How much longer do we have to wait for the games to start pronouncing the gibberish you thought off,and for the new era of hilarity to begin?Just imagine how fun it would be if you could force Liam Neeson to say stuff like suq madiq.

    1. Gruhunchously says:

      Or Gareth Gobulcoque.

    2. McNutcase says:

      A friend of mine thought he’d found a game that did REALLY good text-to-speech when he gave his character’s name, and then the opening cutscene had someone saying a name that was pronounced identically, in a “cryptic opening narration” way.

      It turned out he’d just managed to give himself the same name as one of the NPCs. I’ve never seen him so disappointed…

      1. anaphysik says:

        Like naming your Shepard “Commander.”

      2. Zagzag says:

        This has happened to my brother in at least one game, where the protagonist has exactly the same name as my Dad (who was using his name for the login account this game was being played on, and the save files were named in the format USERNAME:NUMBER) He was really surprised considering how old the game is, and got quite a shock, since someone shouting the character’s (and my brother’s) surname is one of the first things that happens.

  17. Daemian Lucifer says:

    32:30 – Foreshadowing for the walking dead!

    1. Indy says:

      “That’s what we do here; we amputate feet.”

  18. Yanni says:

    Young Butch looks like a resident of Innsmouth.

  19. rayen says:

    you know i didn’t watch season one reposts… but i just sat and watched this, so i think i’ll be watching season 2 again. It’ll be good to watch spoiler warning again. I figure i’m gonna get the walking dead soon and i don’t want it spoiled so i’ve been skipping it so far. fallout was fun, if a little bile soaked.

  20. Vagrant says:

    did the skarn drop an s from his name at some point or did you make a typo?

    Also, Fallout 3 was my favorite season by far. followed closely by the Fallout: New Vegas season.

    1. Daemian Lucifer says:

      Its just a typo.Its hard typing with hooves after all.Especially in space.

      1. 8th_Pacifist says:

        I think it’s a retkarn.

  21. Jokerman says:

    Still my favourite season of Spoiler Warning… I seem to have forgot most of it too, its almost like im watching new episodes.

  22. Harry says:

    Speaking as a fan of Spoiler Warning, who’s watched and enjoyed every season of Spoiler Warning…

    This is still the best season.

    1. Tse says:

      For me it’s tied with New Vegas.

  23. Alphadrop says:

    Sweet, this was when I started dabbling in watching Spoiler Warning but never watched all of it, only really remember the bit where Shamus gets NMA mixed up with the RPG Kodex and the odd Shish Kebab moment.

  24. 4th Dimension says:

    Ahh, good old times, good old times.

    Also, did anyone notice strange artifacts during the beginning of the video. Like parts of the screen would freeze for a second or so than skip forward.

  25. Eruanno says:

    Ah, the first season of Spoiler Warning I watched. Mmmmm, nostalgia <3

  26. Jarenth says:

    Incidentally / Interestingly, the Fallout 3 season is also the exact moment I started watching this show.

    Am I saying there is a direct link between me watching Spoiler Warning and Spoiler Warning’s general quality? Yes.

    1. AyeGill says:

      The resemblance between an italic capital “I” and a forward slash confused me to no end in your post.

      I just wanted to let you know.

    2. Alphadrop says:

      Does that also mean the second half of the Bioshock spoiler warning season is your fault to?

  27. Alan says:

    Dammit, I have just bought this game and was about to play it for the first time, not I am torn: play game or watch game?

    1. Adam says:

      Play it, enjoy it, explore it, then watch this season of SW. It’s arguably their best, but it absolutely DESTROYS any pretense you might have of taking the main story seriously. Even their takedown of ME2 wasn’t as brutal as this. (Well, it was for me. I can’t speak for other people.)

      1. Raygereio says:

        You say that as if it’s possible to take Fallout 3’s plot seriously.

        1. In a way, you can. Your dad is just as crazy as all of the other mad scientists in the game. Once you accept that, it makes a LOT more sense.

          The down side is that even if you’re evil, you’re still a son who’s so loyal that you’ll help your nutty father no matter what.

        2. Jokerman says:

          I have a great ability to completely miss glaring plot wholes, it lets me enjoy some games before the spoiler warning team comes through and destroys it.

          1. Raygereio says:

            I don’t know if I should feel bad for you, or be jealous.

          2. Nidokoenig says:

            “glaring plot wholes”

            That’s a delightfully apt typo.

  28. Jace911 says:

    Mass Effect might have been the conception of Spoiler Warning, but Fallout 3 was the birth of the show it is today.

  29. Daemian Lucifer says:

    I wonder,what is the point of naming your character in modern single player games?In old days,you had your name pop up from time to time,in various dialogues,in cutscenes,etc.But now,it doesnt appear anywhere.The worst offender here being mass effect 3,where the name you chose doesnt even appear in the end,where commander shepards name is put on a wall next to people with full names.So why give that option anyway when you arent going to do anything about it?

    A much better solution would be to give you a bunch of premade names and have people greet you with it from time to time.

    1. StashAugustine says:

      Keep saves straight and set up your personality (my Lawful Psychotic characters are named after Mara Jade, and my New Vegas loner was named Tom Doniphon.) Ideally, they’d make a bigger deal of it- I was also incredibly disappointed in ME3 not recognizing your name.

      1. monkeyboy says:

        “my New Vegas loner was named Tom Doniphon”

        That is absolutley brilliant. I tend to name my boisterous bruisers after Victor McLaglen characters, but Doniphan is the perfect New Vegas name.

        1. StashAugustine says:

          I spent way too much time trying to make him look like John Wayne. Curse you stupid Gamebryo facial modeling.

    2. Cerberus Public Relations says:

      Because then they can advertise that the game contains deep and meaningful choices.

      1. There’s at least one. You have to wait until the final episode to see it, but it’s a great payoff.

  30. StashAugustine says:

    It’s really funny hearing all this complaining about linearity, given how the past four years or so turned out.
    Also on the subject of SPECIAL stats, I always go low Endurance, since 1&2 you died incredibly fast anyway and 3&NV you had quite enough hit points anyway.
    And when the radroach showed up, I reflexively shot it to death before noticing that it was telling me to use VATS. Tested it out on Liam Neeson.
    GOAT: You picked these options. Obviously you should tag Barter, Explosives, and Big Guns. +1 for tag skills being better in original flavor, and for Arcanum not having enough character points.

  31. Jakale says:

    Episode 1 drink tally:
    Combat eating 3+: 0
    “In the Original Fallout”: 1 Technically “Original two Fallout”, but I count it
    Addictions: 0
    OP item gain: 0, unless we count gaining Reginald Cuftbert, which is tempting
    Glitch: 0
    3-people talk-over: 1, (10:34-10:37)
    ineffective f-bombs: 0
    “200 years”: 1
    “STOP SHOOTING ME!”: 0
    Reginald deaths: 0

    Total drinks for episode 1: 3
    Cumulative drinks for season so far: 3

    1. CruelCow says:

      One could argue that 28:00 counts as glitch.

      Also, during the dialog Shamus refers to the original Fallout, did you count that?

      1. Jakale says:

        28:00 looks to be just AI pathing getting in the way of each other, so I personally don’t consider it glitchy, just weird. If he was stuck there walking forever without moving, then sure. I played a game yesterday where there was a crow endlessly flapping in place in one of the corners. That would count.

        I did miss Shamus’ comment, along with another he made earlier that might qualify, and one, if not two, “200 years” spots. This may be trickier than I initially imagined.

  32. Zagzag says:

    The start of this season is the point I stopped lurking on this site (I’d been around since a little before ME1). I don’t know why I never commented, since it’s not remotely difficult. Perhaps I was intimidated by everyone else having something worthwhile to say.

    1. rayen says:

      We have worthwhile things to say?

  33. Ronixis says:

    It’s quite a bit late, but I should note that that really isn’t how bipolar disorder works at all.

  34. WJS says:

    Gah! I’d forgotten about that opening sequence! Because naturally, your only choices when confronted by guards with sticks is to either hide from them or kill them. Not that breaking their arms (for example) would be all that great for them, considering that the Overseer just went nuts and killed the vault’s remaining medic, but hey, it’s not like that’s our fault.
    And yeah, I know that this is the case in many games, but it’s particularly egregious here, because IIRC the game tracks how many guards you kill here and it has an effect later on.

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