The long-awaited sequel turned FPS. A word of caution: I am a Fallout fan-boy, so if this review doesn’t fit your actual experience, you aren’t playing Fallout.
Fallout 3
Platform: PS3 – PC – XB360 Rating: M Genre: FPS/RPG
What it is:
Deep, imaginative, sprawling, and gorgeous. The twisted world of Fallout jumps to life through the Oblivion engine providing well developed characters, interesting story lines, and a beautiful, vast, open world. The long-awaited and well executed spiritual successor to the post-apocalyptic satire series that turned hardcore table top RPG into hardcore gameplay.
What it isn’t:
Short, small, or without choice and possibility. Fallout 3 is set in a sprawling area of D. C., allowing you to explore the surrounding wasteland at your own pace. I can imagine that this is a problem for some people, but not me. The main story line is probably 14-18 hours long (if you’re taking the scenic route) not to mention the 40+ other side-quests, easily pushing play time near 100+ hours. The karma system in Fallout gives you the ability to play the kind of character you want to, providing real effects on characters and locations depending on your choices.
Pros:
A sprawling world filled with interesting characters, imaginative situations, cool weapons, and a wealth of possibilities. The well crafted and integrated world mixed with healthy doses of black humor keep every situation interesting and unique.
Cons:
Very addicting, especially in the beginning. Also, after reaching maximum level, some of the fun and novelty disappears since gaining experience is no longer a driving factor for exploration/questing. Ammo for the larger, more powerful weapons is dickulously scarce.
Rating:
– Highly Recommended:
If you’ve never played a Fallout game before, now’s the time! If you have, Fallout 3 is most definitely the sequel we have been waiting for!
Kyle Roucis' Game Blog 
2 Comments
Nice review.
I agree with you on most points. Fallout 3 is probably one of the best games of last year and on the top of my all-time favorite list.
You didn’t seem to include many cons though. Here are some that I noticed:
It’s not very competent as an FPS (control-wise or feedback). Some people might be disappointed if that’s what they’re looking for.
The graphics are a bit dated, running on an upgraded Oblivion engine. Most notably, the character animations are still atrocious, they’ve never been Bethesda’s forte.
These are just nitpicks when compared to the overall experience. A really solid product however you spin it.
It’s true that some people complained about Fallout 3 having a lower FPS focus than others, but I still had many “Oh crap, oh crap, why God why?!” moments in Fallout 3. If one really is to complain about the combat mechanics, I have one word for you: V.A.T.S. V.A.T.S. easily makes up for the slightly stiff and dodgy combat experience, so I can’t rightly say that Fallout 3 suffers in the combat perspective (at least not in my opinion).
However, you are correct. A hardcore FPS gamer might find Fallout 3 somewhat lacking, but the story and the world is really the focus anyway.
The graphics were not Crysis, granted, but they were alright. Bloom effects, good looking fire effects, mushroom clouds, daytime transitions; Fallout 3 has a lot going for it in the graphics department.
Yes, completely true. Bethesda’s character animations for conversation are rigid and somewhat unsettling. This is totally true, but a minor issue in my opinion. It may not help with immersion, but just cover up the top half of the screen whenever you’re talking with someone and enjoy the dialog.
Thanks for the comments, Max! You had some good points, keep up the criticism!