Fallout 3: Game Of The Year Edition is exactly what you'd assume the game is from the title. Game Of The Year.
~!~INTRODUCTION~!~
Fallout 3 is (for a lack of better words) Freakin' Sweet. If you have a lot of free time, this bad boy will occupy most of it. Fallout 3 takes place in the future, overrun with supermutants, giant insects, and TONS of radiation. Sounds dangerous, right? Precisely why the protagonist's father wanted him/her safe and sound in Vault 101: created to prevent the exposure of radiation and the dangerous creatures affected by radiation.
******The Below Section Of The Review Will Be SPOILERS Of How The Game Begins. If You Do Not Mind, Read On. If You'd Like To Find Out On Your Own When You Play, Skip The Part Below Marked With Stars******
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******The game begins unlike any game I've played before. It begins at birth. I actually enjoyed the idea of this because you arent thrown into a random point in time of your character... the beginning of the game is the actual beginning of your character. You are then taken through a series of time periods highlighted in your life. Afterwards, you are taken to present time, although the game itself doesn't tell you. You are awaken by a childhood friend and fellow member of the Vault. She tells you that your father has escaped the Vault, in which was not allowed. No one was supposed to enter the Vault, and no one was supposed to leave. However, just as your father, you easily break this rule and escape the Vault. With barely a trail, you intend to find your father and discover why he left and what the Capital Wastelands have in store for you.******
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~!~ISSUES~!~
Now, you may be wondering why I gave a 9.5 instead of a perfect 10...in which I can answer quite easily with a few commonly heard words: BUGS. GLITCHES. FREEZING.
The game's issues with Bugs and Glitches, for what i've come across, do not damage the core game play to a unimaginable degree. However, the freezing issue (which seems to vary from person to person) can be a killer. i've played the game nearly 100 hours (or more, maybe) and come across a rough estimate of 12 freezes. Luckily, the auto-save feature comes in handy. But, be warned, SAVE OFTEN!
~!~GAME PLAY~!~
If you've played Elder Scrolls: Oblivion, the game play is astonishingly similar. You receive the option of being in first person, or third. I favor first person, as most do, but sometimes third person is a nice change. Shooting baddies is tons of fun (or shooting goody-two-shoes if you want to be evil) especially with V.A.T.S. This unique feature pauses game play and exposes every limb of your enemy along with the likelihood that your weapon of choice will hit. For example, you can initiate V.A.T.S, aim at someone's head, switch over to another and aim at their head, and confirm. Your character will then proceed to attempt to shoot whatever you desired. Now, some of you may think this is cheating and makes the game too easy, but it actually balances out pretty well and becomes a important aspect to your characters bag of tricks.
~!~CONTROLS~!~
The controls are very easy to adjust to from your everyday first person/third person shooter. Especially if you've played Oblivion, you'll feel right at home. The game itself does a good job giving you plenty of time to get nice and comfy with the controls before you are ready for some real action. And trust me, there is more than just SOME real action to experience.
~!~SOUNDS~!~
There's something about the sounds of guts splattering that is painfully enjoyable in this game. Voice acting is nothing you haven't experienced before, but the voices sound convincing to what emotion they are intended to portray.
~!~DLC~!~
To not spoil everything, I'll cut this short. The DLC for this game is just as great as the game itself, and actually leaves you with a lot of bang for your buck. Oh and did I mention the DLC is free on the GOTY edition?? Just making sure.
~!~FINAL IMPRESSIONS~!~
I am 1 quest away from finishing this game and I have to say the game was a blast. I've never felt so sucked into a game before. The last game that got me as well as this was Bioshock...but you know a game is really good if you actually want to WRITE about it. The best part about the Game Of The Year Edition is that you get to continue free roaming after completion. Whereas in the original Fallout 3, you cannot. There are so many places to explore and so many hours upon hours of sidequests to complete. The game is guaranteed to keep you occupied for a long time. For some gamers no very into story, the beginning may appear to start off slow, but trust me, in the long run, the game is nothing short of amazing and CANNOT be missed.