The definition of "more than your money's worth".
-endless types of weapons, gadgets, and armors (both custom built using Wasteland junk parts and schematics, or rewarded for completing certain missions)
-an impressively detailed environment that portrays the time period quite accurately
-many familiar landmarks and monuments to see and explore in the DC area
-intuitive and extremely informative menu system (aka "Pip-Boy")
-some genuinely funny dialogue and characters
-customizable options for your player, house, and quick-selection menu
-exploring, discovering, and looting the large world is fun and rewarding (especially collecting bobbleheads)
-solid shooting mechanics
-ability to quick travel once discovering a location
-overall good story
-tons of side quests that are just as fun as the main quests
-radio stations are enjoyable to listen to
-repetitive actions such as hacking terminals or picking locks stay enjoyable
-tons of unlockable perks and skills, dependent on how you choose to play the game (e.g. stealthy, "guns-blazing", etc.)
-realistic environments and conditions add to the immersive atmosphere (e.g. gaseous hallways igniting when firing a weapon, weapons jamming when their condition reaches poor levels, ability to repair armor and weapons with spare parts, crippled limbs affect movement or consciousness, alcoholic beverages impair coordination but increase charisma, your character being prone to addiction from certain substances when used too much, etc.)
-VATS can be fun and entertaining
-endless possibilities when accomplishing quests the way you would like to
Bad (it looks long, but it's mainly just nit-picking):
-no sprint availability can get annoying when exploring out in the open
-some screen lag (probably because I started playing it on PC prior to the 360, so I was accustomed to 60FPS)
-sensitivity option is limited (I had it on the max setting and it still felt slow when turning, but I got used to it)
-combat and movements can feel clunky or sluggish at times
-the level cap is quite low, making exploring less rewarding once maxed out
-most characters seem to physically lack emotion (e.g. if yelling or upset, they will stand still as if they were talking calmly)
-when quick traveling to certain areas, you sometimes spawn in front of enemies that have already re-spawned in that location
-only really one decent radio station to listen to, and only a few songs are available, so they can get repetitive (but not actually annoying)
-the ending most people will choose feels somewhat disappointing
-can't revisit certain areas once a mission has passed (for obtaining bobbleheads)
-bit of a learning curve (with the tremendous amount of things the game has to offer)
-some areas of exploration are glitch-infested, so your player can become irreversibly stuck, forcing you to reload from your last save (e.g. jumping up on a piece of debris the wrong way and getting trapped), but this is understandable as the map is so large that not every surface can be thoroughly inspected
Overall:
I'm not much of an RPG person, and never have been, nor have I ever played any Fallout games prior to this one. I thought I would try out this game, however, hearing so many good things about it. It took a bit of a learning curve at the start, but once I got warmed up to the menu system and atmosphere, this game provided endless hours of entertainment. It was amazing that even 90 hours into the game, I was still having fun exploring and looting undiscovered areas of the Capital Wasteland. There was just so much to see and do. Despite its size, the buildings (inside and out), structures, and environments remained incredibly detailed and accurate to the time period, which helped to immerse me deeper into the game. The good amount of quests stayed fun for the most part, which allowed me to complete them in any fashion I preferred. This made me want to "wiki" every quest to discover all of the methods that were available to complete it. Another aspect I noticed was how realistic some of the elements of the game were. For example, if I crippled an enemy's arm, he or she dropped their gun; if I shot my weapon in a gaseous hallway, it ignited everything in it. Small things, such as that, made the game more enjoyable and entertaining. There were a few minor technicalities in this game, however. Some of these included a lack of decent radio stations and songs, emotionless characters, and a low level cap. However, not many of these problems impacted the game's enjoyability too much. Overall, if you're an avid RPG fan, Fallout 3 is definitely a game you'll want to play. And if you're like me, and not really into RPGs all too much, give Fallout 3 a try anyway, because you just might like it. The price of this game nowadays compared to how much content it offers is just an amazing deal.