A game that grabs hold of you and never lets go.
The game takes place in the year 2277 in the post-apocalyptic Washington D.C., or also known as "The Capital Wasteland". You start out as either a baby girl or baby boy. You age to 1 where you can choose your different skills you want from S.P.E.C.I.A.L. You then age to 10 and you get your very own Pip-Boy 3000 which acts as your inventory system and can hold many things from weapons to clothes and maps, etc. You then age again to 16 and you take the G.O.A.T. test and that determines, depending on your answers, what skills you can 'Tag'. The skills range from lockpicking to speech, etc, and the skills that are Tagged are raised higher than they were. You then age again to 19, as you are awoken by your best friend saying that your father has left the comfort and safety of the Vault. You escape as you are hunted down, and you emerge into the Capital Wasteland, but that's only the tip of the iceberg.
Some people may refer to this game as a full fledged FPS, or an RPG, or even both. While there are not swords and bows like there are in Oblivion, there are Guns, Missiles, and some Melee Weapons like Sledgehammers and Knifes. There is also no magic skills in this title, making it feel more realistic than it actually is, as you discover that this could actually happen someday.
There are many, many, many decisions to make in Fallout 3, if you want to be very good to very bad, or somewhere in between. Blow up a town, save the town, kill anyone in sight, make friends with the people you see, everything is up to you, and each decision has many possible outcomes. The karma system is great as people will act and treat you differently than when you are the total opposite. People may give you items if you have helped them out someway in the past. For instance you can help some people to stop their addictions to drugs, or help a person achieve a specific goal, or just let them do it themselves and watch if they succeed or fail miserably. After helping or saving someone you actually feel like your accomplished something inside of you, and if you kill or hurt someone, then you actually feel a little bit of guilt. It has that much of an impact, especially if you kill one of your followers or one of your friends.
The atmosphere of Fallout is great, as you can see the Washington Monument and Capital Building in the distance as you exit Vault 101, knowing that you can explore everything at anytime, and you never have to wait for a place to open up in order to explore it. The whole map is about 90% close to the size of Oblivion, which in my opinion is very huge indeed. You may stumble across a small town, shed, or even another Vault, just while randomly exploring the Wasteland. Exploring is definitely rewarding as you may find new weapons or a new side quest, or more people to kill, enslave, or save.
The combat in Fallout 3 is really fun, especially the new VATS system, which lets you target a specific body part on an opponent and lets you blow it off in slow motion greatness, which also end in very bloody results. There are a total of about 30-40 weapons in the game and many range from a typical Assault Rifle, 10mm Submachine Gun, or even the extremely powerful Fat Man which shoots Mini Nukes with devastating results. There are the typical melee weapons, but only a few do good in taking down the Mutants, Raiders and Ghouls that invest the Wasteland.
The game took me approximately 8 hours to beat which is real short, but I mostly rushed through it and I already discovered most of the locations that I had to reach through the main quest. I only finished the Main Quest and a few of the Side Quests in this game, and I am hoping to complete 100% by completing all of the Side Quests and to find all of the collectible stuff like Bobbleheads, Holotags, and others.
The leveling system is also very unique here, as instead of swimming in a corner for hours and leveling up like you do in Oblivion, all you have to do in this is kill, lockpick, hack, etc. At each new level is a new perk you can choose from and each has a very unique feel to it. The highest level you can go to is 20, which makes the game feel limited, but is soon being raised to 30 when the new DLC arrives.
The story works exceptionally well here as you try to find your father in the desolate and macabre Wasteland. While you are on your way to a specific location in the main quest, you may get completely side-tracked and decide to go somewhere else instead, making the game seem a lot longer. There are a total of about 14 main quests, and most of them can be done in about 30 minutes to an hour each, and some you can even skip by going to the place beforehand and talking to a specific person giving you a 2+ hour leap into the storyline, which you never want to do just in case you might miss something along the way.
This game, at some points, had me feel like I actually was part of this post-apocalyptic world and that I was doing something for the greater good of the people that live in it. I also felt some emotion along the game, at some parts, especially at the end, and when my canine companion, Dogmeat was killed by a Super Mutant, it has that much of an emotional vibe to it. There are many tense moments in this game, making it seem fresh and new every time you play through. This game has a lot of replay value in it because of the different skills you choose and how you act at the end that will give many endings to the game. It is also very addicting so make sure you have plenty of free time to play it because you won't want to stop. I created about 4 characters because of how fun the Vault level is at the beginning, and also the need to try out new skills. 2 were evil and 2 were good, and I stuck with one of the good ones and I finished the game, and I hope to make an evil character and finish the game with him or her.
I only encountered a few flaws in this game from the usual glitching NPCs, to the stuck in corners and rocks, etc. Another is that the highest level you can go to is 20, but that will soon be raised to 30 after the new DLC comes. But the biggest flaw that left me disappointed was at the end after you beat the game you can't use that character from there on end, but instead going back to a saved file, or creating a new character.
Fallout 3 is a game you'll want to play literally forever because of the amazing World, and all of the collectibles, weapons, and items. While there are a few minor flaws, this game still keeps a high score because of the impact it had on me that just simply wouldn't let me go from its amazing grasp. This is a game that will always be recognized as a simple masterpiece and much more. It is quite an unique experience. A perfect 10 out of 10.
-horrorboy