FO3 is a bit like having three plates of chips instead of burger/chips/coke and a wink from the waitress as you leave
The game has "too much of the same" in terms of content. Oblivion before Shivering Isles suffered from the same thing, and so did Daggerfall. There's not enough new gameplay elements introduced into the game to keep things interesting. And the environment is not diverse enough to really qualify for all the content in the game. And the story element of the game is not up to par. Some of the side quests are good. But the problem with side quests is that they're not long, maybe a 1 or 2 hours tops to complete each one. So instead of becoming engrossed in a long 40 hour story line you get short bursts of various and different stories which is not as effective at keeping the player "hooked". For a RPG, Fallout 3 unfortunately becomes more of a pick up play type of affair instead of engrossing story driven game with plot twists that will keep you playing until the end.
Technically the game is sound. Graphics are above average and atmospheric. But diversity in the environment is unfortunately not there. 60% of the game is wasteland, 30% sub way tunnels, 10% interior buildings. It would of been good if there was more new environments to unlock instead of simple wasteland for most of your journey. high hopes were held for the Undercity, and I was expecting a vast underground network of ghoul civilization. But instead all you get are six or so rooms with a few quests and a dozen or so NPCs... disappointing.
Sound and Music.. Is all good. The GNR radio station has some good sounds, but the music does become repetitive.
Gameplay. The leveling system is decent. There's a level 20 cap, which will disappoint some. But I found it a good move from the uncap leveling system in The Elder Scrolls. Gunplay is well done, there's loads of weapons to choose from. Bethesda scores points for implementing sound action elements into a RPG.And the crap scaling system from Oblivion has been toned down to good effect.
All in all a good game, but the weakest link in Fallout 3 is the story. Which is unfortunate because the story should be the strongest link in a RPG. The game has loads of content, but I think most players will find that the story and the game in general is not good enough to hold up the content it has. There's not enough diversity and so the more you explore the more boring the game becomes. And the end result is that the game started off better than it ends.
score 8.0
Realistically 8.4