Fallout 3

The Good
True enough, it offers almost limitless freedom of actions, perhaps more than Oblivion ever did. You explore huge devastated city, with no chance to ruin something for yourself if you get there ahead of time. Nice implementation of VATS - they found use for those old turn based action points, to placate old fallout fans no doubt. Amazing soundtracks and 2008 graphic at its best. Voicing isn't bad either, at least much better than Oblivion is.

The Bad
None so far, beside little accidental crashes, but happens VERY rare. Some small items a little bit easy to miss, but I guess it's part of realism.

The Bottom Line
98% of people will love it, as its unmistakably best mix of RPG and FPS yet, but then again, those 2% who like the pure genre (skipping through talking, or finding it to be too much of an action game) will absolutely hate it. Oh and don't let anyone say it's short, there is no way one can skip through it in 7 hours unless maybe they sit with a guide in their lap and skip all conversations in mindless effort to pass it in record time (and even then I doubt it possible without cheating). Absolutely worth time spent - hopefully they will release add-ons, it seems to be build pretty much like Oblivion, with .esm files loading at start.

The Good
Ok. Its massive. Its huge. Its just bigger than any other game I’ve ever played. You can easily beat the game without encountering two thirds of the stuff that Bethesda has created for this game. Unusual NPCs, Bizarre and breathtaking scenery, and challenging enemies are all here.

I like the fact that the designers mixed it up a bit with different factions and alliances too.

The graphics come very close to being photorealistic, especially when looking at the outdoors, with broken roads and burnt up buildings. I freak out when I see how the inside of the buildings are torn apart and crumbing. The rusted sheet metal of the Megatown buildings gives a real post war atmosphere to the game. There are so many little touches that you’d miss if you weren’t looking, like the various phases of the moon at night. The character models are very detailed and articulated. The don’t just stand around. They wander throughout the world, ready to interact with you and others.

You can play as a straight FPS, or use the VATS, which usually ends with a spectacular if not blurry death of your foes. You can size up your weapons and decide which one will be the most useful against your enemies.

There is an assortment of moral choices with long reaching implications, which is refreshing in a game. You can also make choices and add perks. The perks can really change some of the game play, making some fights and quests a great deal easier. Bethesda does know how to balance gameplay. You can play as any kind of character as you want, as long as you learn how to play with the character’s weaknesses and strengths.

I loved the collection of old time songs, and really wish they had more. I really liked how many of the songs had themes that matched with the game. The environmental music was ok, and pleasant at times but a tiny bit repetitive. The voiceovers of Malcolm McDowell as President Eaton were well done. Liam Nelson was almost unnecessary. Good job on the sound effects and foley effects.

Major Kudos to whomever designed the Dunwich Building. The Temple made my skin crawl.

The Bad
I miss the “everything but the Kitchen Sink” approach to design that Black Isle was famous for. Bethesda touches on it, but don’t go all out. The black humor that was characteristic of the first 2 Fallout games is missing or at least muted.

By their very nature, RPGs tend to be buggy. Fallout 3 had a couple bugs, but nothing too bad in comparison to others. The character models were a bit repetitive, but not excessive.

Now on to the stuff that REALLY bothered me.

A hard limit of 20? You have to upgrade to Broken Steel to get to 30? Ugh… The 3 voice actors were used repeatedly for all the same characters. Some of the quests were breakable by bugs. I had an experience where an explosion occurred on the west side of the map and when I fast traveled to the east, the NPCs acted like they heard the explosion.


The Bottom Line
Its great! It will take a while to get through. But it may also make you boot up your old copy of Fallout for nostalgia reasons.

The Good
Fallout 3 continues the great non-linear gameplay of Fallout and Fallout 2, while adding much-needed innovation to the series. The first or third person viewpoint is a much more immersive experience than the isometric point-and-click interface of the earlier Fallout games. Unlike other sandbox RPGs, Fallout has breadth and depth in the same game -- you feel like your character is really changing the world that he/she inhabits, and there are few quests that aren't worth trying. Contrast this with Bethesda's Oblivion, where a lot of quests were clearly just filler for a fun, but ultimately empty gaming experience.

VATS is a fun way to add precision targeting to the game without turning it into an FPS. It makes combat more strategic - you can spend Action Points (which regenerate slowly during combat) to freeze the game and target specific body parts to cripple the enemy's movement or attacks (or just to get in that glorious headshot).

Finally, Fallout 3 distinguishes itself with attention to little details. Some examples: Galactic News Radio, the main radio station, repeats news of your exploits to the whole Capital Wasteland when you finish an important quest. Characters talk with each other on topical subjects, and comment on your actions or warn you if they think you are going to steal the Mini-Nuke on their store shelf. Most importantly, settlements and ruins exist within the context of the game's setting, that is, I never felt like a ruined town was just there because the game designers needed to fill in space on the map.

The Bad
The control system was sometimes difficult to use. Even after scanning through the manual, I only found out how to turn my flashlight on by mistake. VATS is a great system, but it can sometimes be hard to get the game to select the body part you want. I would often move the left stick in every direction and manage to select every body part BUT the one I wanted to target.

The graphics are well done, but there is a distinct lack of variety in the settings. There are only about 4 different types of places in Fallout 3: wasteland, ruined sewers/subways, ruined buildings, and Vaults/high-tech buildings. The color palette of the settings (with few exceptions) is brown, light brown, and black. Another graphical failing is the poor animation of your character in third-person view, where you look like you are skating or floating above the ground, not walking upon it.

The character advancement system is fun, but I was level 20 before I finished even half of the main quest.

Finally, the main plot of Fallout 3 is not as interesting as some of the preceding games. The side-quests (with one notable exception) are actually more fun than the main quests.

The Bottom Line
Fallout 3 is a post-nuclear sandbox RPG set in the ruins of Washington, DC and the surrounding area. Using a combination of real-time and turn-based combat (whichever you prefer) in a first-person or third-person view, you battle, explore, discover, and make difficult choices to influence the world around you.