Fallout 3

		8.5
		7.3 (1)

Written by afamousblueraincoat December 17, 2008

Platform	XBOX 360
Publisher	Bethesda Softworks
Developer	Bethesda Game Studios
Genre	Role-playing game • Action
Official Website	Click Here!
Chat	Disscus on forum

•

Fallout 3 is an action role-playing game released by Bethesda Game Studios, and is the third major game in the Fallout series. The game was released in North America on October 28, 2008, in Europe and Australia on October 30, 2008, and in the United Kingdom and Ireland on October 31, 2008 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360.

Fallout 3 takes place in the year 2277, 36 years after the setting of Fallout 2 and 200 years after the nuclear war between the USA and China that devastated the game's world in an alternate post-World War II timeline. The game places the player in the role of an inhabitant of Vault 101, a survival shelter designed to protect a small number of humans from the nuclear fallout. When the player's father disappears under mysterious circumstances, the player is forced to escape from the Vault and journey into the ruins of Washington D.C. to track him down. Along the way the player is assisted by a number of human survivors and must battle myriad enemies that now inhabit the wasteland. The game has an attribute and combat system typical of an action role-playing game but also incorporates elements of first-person shooter and survival horror games.

Editor review

Overall rating:		8.5
Graphics:		8.0
Audio:		10.0
Playability:		6.0
Story:		10.0

Reviewed by afamousblueraincoat
December 17, 2008

Last updated: January 07, 2010

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful

Fallout 3 is Bethesda Studios' latest undertaking after Oblivion in the 'Elder Scrolls' series and the third in major title releases of Fallout. Bethesda has taken an 'Oblivion' style of first-person combat and exploration in vast environments and blended it with the humour, compelling story-telling and apocolyptic atmosphere that the Fallout franchise is well-known for. Fallout 3 is about as hard-core first-person role playing as you can get. It's certainly not for everyone, but those who have the interest to indulge in an emersive and compelling world will be all the richer for it.

"Apocolypse Holiday: Those Who Will Like It Will Like It A Lot"

Review of Fallout 3 from a famousblueraincoat

PC, Xbox 360, PS3
Played 20+ hours on Xbox 360

I won't hold off... Fallout 3 is my favourite game to have come out this year. Although I can see how it might not be for everyone, games with this much depth and freedom need both high praise and funding. True, a game like Gears 2 or COD5 that have depth in multiplayer might be much more fulfilling to some (in particular to the SCUM community!), but a single player world and story is something that is rarely done well in this generation of gaming.

The story takes place in the year 2277, 200 years after what appears to be the nuclear fallout of an apparent American war with China. You begin the story from your own birth, deciding on your gender, appearance, and interests (which alter your stats and abilities). Beginning in what's known as "Vault 101", you make certain decisions that define your own moral character, and thus the people and world around you. Eventually, as you grow up, you manage yourself up and out of your Vault home finding yourself in the vast and devastated landscape of Washington D.C. and its surrounding area.

Interaction with the world is done in first-person. Combat is similar to Oblivion but your weapons are more ranged-based instead of melee. Your fighting interaction is mostly played on the go in real time, but to slow-down combat in order to be more precise you can use 'Action Points' to enter the V.A.T.S. system. This will pause combat allowing you to take precise aim in order to damage the head specifically, or cripple limbs to slow the enemy down. In most cases I was using a combination of both, but for distant enemies I would often find myself taking a few shots via VATS and then dodging bullets until my AP recharged. The combat itself is fun at times, and annoying and exhausting at others, overall making for an adequate experience.

What's wonderful about the storytelling in Fallout is the cohesiveness to the world. Small details you will encounter like personal bomb shelters from manufacturer "Vault-Tec", atomic fueling stations for cars, or Nuka-Cola's bottle caps as currency are just a few aspects of how this world feels very thought-out and almost believable.

Getting out of Vault 101 is oddly jarring at first, and you have no real understanding of where you're going or what to do. This might be Fallout's biggest downfall, that there's almost too much to do, and not enough structure or prompting to do it. Of course, using your PIPBOY and scrolling through menus to activate a beacon on your compass to complete the next leg of your quest is adequate, but there must be more we can expect in this type of game that is so rich in story-telling, but somewhat lackluster in overall presentation and navigation.

This trend of 'adequacy' seems to show up throughout play. The interaction with the world consists of scrolling through certain dialogue trees, deciding which might lead you to more information all the while maintaining your moral character (a la Monkey Island, etc.) This style of interaction, although diverse and deep, is not really immersive in the same sense the world is. By engaging in your conversation, making your choice and receiving your reply it's also possible to re-engage with that person and give them an entirely seperate string of conversation with similar information along a different moral character, as if the previous conversation hadn't even occured. This seems like a minor detail, but it ought to be recognized by developers that these minor details are what make or break an emersive world. Squabbles aside, 'adequate' should not be confused with 'bad'. There are so many things that suck you in to Fallout that don't "break the 4th wall" and regardless if it's not always consistant, it's always engaging and entertaining.

Fallout 3 is rated Mature, and it should be. At times, the exploding guts got to be a bit excessive and almost offensive which add to the grittiness of the game and overall plot, but at times are just tiring and old. This leads to the issue of the overall downer that Fallout can be. In a time of economic crisis, walking around a decimated D.C. seeing landmarks and cities in ruins seems eerie and hits a bit too close to home. The people you meet are typically harsh and cruel (save for a few interestingly cheery characters) and the survival aspect of just getting from one area to the other at times makes you just want to stay put and listen to the radio. Perhaps this could be construed as being an accomplishment of Bethesda?

The few aspects of the game that are actually up-beat and happy are all the more prevailant. The radio station run by 'Three Dog' plays a series of radio dramas entitled "Herbert 'Daring' Dashwood and man-servant Argyle" playing on the social differences between humans and "Ghouls" (humans that were exposed to high radiation throughout the wars). Additionally, Three Dog plays an amazing sountrack of 1940s hits from Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Bob Crosby and the Bobcats, and The Ink Spots. I've enjoyed them so much it's encouraged me to purchase old 30's and 40's albums through Amazon. The collection of recordings put together are sweet and upbeat, yet reminicent and longing. They're perfect for the motif and are quite possibly one of the best parts of this game.

This month Fallout's mod kit "G.E.C.K." is to be released, and the same fervor in mod production is expected as was the Oblivion mod community's production. Also, starting in the new year, it's been announced that Fallout 3 will be releasing downloadable content in the form of 3 quests. Although prices haven't been released yet, expected to be around $5USD for each episodic release. The three episodes are slated to be similar to Oblivion's "Knights of the Nine" DLC expansion. In January we'll see "Operation Anchorage" where the American Military will fend off the Chinese invasion of Alaska. In February, "The Pitt" will feature Pittsburg-based missions. And March "Broken Steel" will feature more involvement in the 'Brotherhood of Steel'.

Overall, and regardless of its obvious faults, I love this game. Objectively, not everyone will like it, but everyone ought to at least try it. It's emmersive and cutting edge. It can be relaxing and funny at times, tense, terrifying and depressing at others. The soundtrack alone is worth half the price you'll pay and supporting Bethesda so that they might continue to make this caliber and quality of game is worth the other. Although its little more than a well-polished modification to Oblivion, its still worth full-price even without the option for downloadable content.

This game is certainly not for everyone and it admittedly has its faults, but those who will enjoy will enjoy it immensely. I'm one of those people.

Graphics	Burnedout trees and piles of concrete rubble have never looked so good!
Audio	An absolutely stunning collection of '30s tunes for the soundtrack. Interesting and epic score.
Playability	The mechanic, however similar to Oblivion's, is fun and enjoyable but overall merely an adequate platform for navigating the wonderful content.
Story	In addition to the vast and rich environment full of meaty side-quests and interesting characters, the main story is well-written and engaging allowing for many moral options.

User reviews

Average user rating from: 1 user(s)

Overall rating:		7.3
Graphics:		8.0 (1)
Audio:		7.0 (1)
Playability:		9.0 (1)
Story:		5.0 (1)

Name*

Email*

Review title*

Ratings (the higher the better)

Graphics
Audio
Playability
Story

Comments*

Please enter the security code.

Fallout 3

Overall rating:

7.3

Reviewed by Captain Funtime
December 17, 2008

Comments (0)
Report this review

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

With landscapes so pleasing to the eye, and more nooks and crannies than you could explore, nukes and super mutants there's just so much about this game to keep you going back for more even after the storyline missions are over.

Starting in 'The Vault' the last bastion against the post apocalyptic waste, no one enters or leaves....EVER!!! Well, at least until you've spent a couple of hours learning the controls, a little combat experience and your ever present Pip-Boy. In here you learn the basics needed before going out into the radiation infested city of Washington D.C

Between basic tutorials and plenty of dialogue you should have no problem coming to terms with your equipment and after a mock battle with some radiation enhanced cockroaches you get to use one of the best aspects of this game.

V.A.T.S, otherwise know as Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System changes the battle from a fast pace shoot out, to a precise, slow motion balance between hit percentage, dealing damage and keeping your AP (Action Points) high enough to deal the next critical shot. When fighting in this mode the screen will zoom in on the enemy being targeted breaking them into approximately 7 sections: Head, Torso, Left and Right Arms and Legs and finally, the 'other', this could be the weapon in their hand or the antenna guiding the large insects. If more than one enemy is within targeting range, you can also swap between foes. Depending on what weapon is being used will affect how many times you can use it. A baseball bat will let you hit 4 different areas straight from the off, while the flame thrower will burn through your AP with only 2. Added to this, you must take into account that while you are attacking in this mode, the scene is played out, giving you no control over your character as they stand there completely vulnerable to attacks as you shoot / blast or burn your chosen victims.

Now that's been explained, it’s the fun bit. Learning what works best is a bit of basic maths and learning from mistakes. Trying to take on more than one enemy with only a sledgehammer, while in real time is possible with careful blocking and dodging, will not give you the same affect in the V.A.T.S mode, while dealing a Critical Headshot with the sniper rifle to that raider in the distance makes it all worth while. With the game slowed down a critical shot will show the shot from the blast of the barrel, following the flight of the bullet until it connects with the enemy decapitating them in one swift shot, keeping that precious ammo for more dangerous foes.

So you now know the controls, the battle system, what items have which affects, and which skills are best suited to you. You now have the choice of following the storyline, or running off to find the 4 corners of the map. It honestly doesn't matter which you choose as each is just as fun as the other. The storyline takes you on a quest to find your father and with side missions in the double figures from the first town alone, you will have more than enough to keep you occupied, and with choices between saving the people of Megaton from the radiation slowly killing them or blowing them into the pages of history with a nuclear bomb, it makes it difficult to chose.

But undoubtedly you will find some time to go and see what’s over that next rise, and you'll marvel as the sun sets behind a dilapidated tower block. It doesn't stop there, as with Oblivion, random events will happen as you walk around the map, giving you even more chances for exploring. Caves and broken buildings are a plenty and there should be no trouble keeping yourself occupied and even the most avid gamer will take a while to complete this to 100%.

Between the strategy, V.A.T.S combat, the variety of weapons, quests, views, enemies and your own 'Nice, neutral and bad' input into conversations with NPC's there should be enough to do until next Christmas.

This should be on every persons christmas list..........providing they have a few spare days, the storyline will come to its dramatic conclusion after about 15 hours of straightforward play but the side missions will take the play time from days to weeks. A game so full of WIN it shouldn't have to be reviewed.