For my first review, I’m going to be dismantling Fallout 3 to see what exactly makes it so radioactively delicious. I’d like to start by saying this game has to be one of the best games I’ve ever played, due to the massive amount of content crammed into an equally massive post-apocalyptic wasteland. Who knew rolling around in the atomic wastes of Washington D.C. could be enthralling?

To those of you not familiar with the Fallout franchise, Fallout 3, developed by Bethesda Softworks, takes place in the year 2277, exactly 200 years after the world was ravaged by nuclear war. The game itself begins 19 years earlier where the player, later referred to as “The Lone Wanderer” by Wastelanders, is being born into an underground bomb shelter known as Vault 101. It is here where fans of Bethesda’s previous games such as The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion will immediately be familiarized with the character creation mechanics; you choose your sex, name, race, and facial features. Shortly thereafter, you’re take through each stage of childhood, determining your SPECIAL (Strength, Perception, Endurance, Charisma, Intelligence, Agility, and Luck), your skills, and how to effectively use your Pip-Boy 3000, the interface which lists your stats, items, quests, etc. Your time in Vault 101 is quickly interrupted, however, by your father’s disappearance, and you must leave the safety of the Vault and venture into the harsh Capital Wasteland in search of your father.

Alright, I’ll admit it’s not that enticing of a plot device just to “look for your father”, but it’s safe to say that this won’t be taking up most of your time in the scenic ruins of what used to be D.C.. One of the first wasteland settlements you end up exploring is a town named Megaton, named for the massive unexploded atomic bomb in it’s center. Here you’re faced with your first moral dilemma; the towns sheriff want you to disarm the bomb, while a shady-looking contact would rather have you rig it to explode. Now what other game gives you the option to wipe out a town with an atomic bomb the size of a house?

Granted there are pros and cons to each decision, each granting karma (or taking it away, depending on what you do) and these choice can affect anything to how NPCs interact with you, different dialogue options, and a lot more. In fact, almost everything about your character influences the game in some way, making each playthrough unique.

Now onto the gaming mechanics. You can play Fallout 3 two different ways; FPS style point and shoot which can make for some epically bloody gunfights, or by utilizing the VATS targeting system, transforming battle into a turn-based system where you can strategically choose which body parts to attack, all of which affect the mobility of the target.

I suggest going for his ugly face .

Or if you don’t like any of that, you can just as easily bludgeon everything to death with a tire iron. When you level up, you have the opportunity to add onto your skills, once again very similar to Oblivion, and choose from a large number of Perks. These Perks can range from simple stat boosts to different dialogue options when talking to NPCs. The infamous Bloody Mess perk makes for hours of flesh-rending fun!

So satisfying.

However, you can only take one perk per level, and with the level cap being 20 it’s best to choose wisely.

As amazing as Fallout 3 is, that doesn’t exempt it from being imperfect in some ways. Just like it’s spiritual cousin, ESIV, it suffers from the occasional unpatched bug, such as getting stuck, followers inadvertently killing themselves or disappearing, or preventing you from successfully completing a quest. As fun as it can be later on, the FPS aspect can be a pain early on with accuracy being based on stats and not how well you can aim (the tiny crosshair doesn’t help much either), effectively forcing you to use VATS in some situations. The 20 level cap is disappointing, but the cap will supposedly be increased with the release of expansions and downloadable content. Also, unlike ESIV, there’s no way to continue playing the game after you’ve beaten it (and the ending is less satisfying anyway), forcing you to save beforehand if you wish to comb through the Wasteland some more, although this is also going to be fixed with the release of expansions.

Pic from upcoming Operation Anchorage expansion.

I’ve always been a huge fan of “create your own adventure” games, and Fallout 3 delivers just that in an almost flawless manner. In all, Fallout 3 is a 10/10 for being one of the few games to deliver such a unique free-for-all gaming experience. From destroying super mutants to enslaving people for profit, or just kill everything that moves, there’s limitless potential in the Capital Wastes. Even if you’re a hardcore fan on Fallout 1 and 2 and you think 3’s switch from isometric RPGs is heresy, you’d be an idiot to not give it a try at least.

Well, that wraps up my review of Fallout 3. Until next time, this is Three Dog, OOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWWW! We’re a radio-free Wasteland and we’re here…for YOU!

~Lyon