Fallout 3 Review

When you escape the oppressive confines of Vault 101, you'll stumble into the irradiated landscape known as The Wastelands, a place so desolate, dangerous, and depressing that it’s enough to turn any claustrophobe agoraphobic. In Fallout 3, tumbleweeds don’t tumble, they mutate and attack; cockroaches scuttle below the earth and make you yearn for lonely Wasteland above. So it goes.

In the past, I’d played Bethesda’s Elder Scrolls III and IV and wasn’t sure what to expect from a futuristic ‘50s science fiction rpg. The YouTube videos that I had watched of Fallout 2 didn’t really prepare me for the polished FPS that had been constructed. The UI is almost completely redesigned, boiling down Attributes, Classes, Skills, and Races into S.P.E.C.I.A.L.: six categories that include Strength, Charisma, and Luck, which help influence your character’s progression much more subtly than previous games, role playing or otherwise.

While the interface is simplified and ‘themed’ for an Atompunk world instead of the fantastical Morrowind universe, you'll feel right at home if you’ve played one of Bethesda’s Elder Scrolls games before. Firing weapons, picking up objects, and ‘becoming over-encumbered’ call back to their digital ancestors. This made it, at least for me, much easier to start the game and get going much faster.

The environment is astounding. Once you get outside, the world feels much more real than the world of Oblivion, albeit lonelier. And, unfortunately, most of the company you’ll share these sights with during the game will be Ghouls, Raiders, or rats. Each trying their best to eat your flesh and steal your bottlecaps.

The game does have a few downsides, however. Character animations are weird. While some of them are very well done, others look like they were ported from 2002’s Morrowind and distract from the wonderful voice acting that’s present in Fallout 3. Also, there are a few very important things that aren’t covered in the manual, features that I discovered only because I accidentally hit the wrong (right?) button. Two in particular were the ever important, real-time, turn-based attack called VATS, and the EXP from reading books.

The quibbles above are quite minor, but do interrupt the experience of this great game. Overall, though, I can see why it’s getting 9/10s all over the place -- Bethesda has done an amazing job of integrating the graphics, storytelling, and combat system in a cohesive experience, and I, for one, am pleased to have bought the game.

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