Fallout 3
The third game in the Fallout series, Fallout 3 is a singleplayer action role-playing game (RPG) set in a post-apocalyptic Washington DC. Combining the horrific insanity of the Cold War era theory of mutually assured destruction gone terribly wrong, with the kitschy naivety of American 1950s nuclear propaganda, Fallout 3 will satisfy both players familiar with the popular first two games in its series as well as those coming to the franchise for the first time.
Welcome to the nation’s capital.
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The Brotherhood of Steel is a powerful ally.
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Customize characters with your Pip-Boy.
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The Story: Vault 101 – Jewel of the Wastes
For 200 years, Vault 101 , a fallout shelter, has faithfully served the surviving residents of Washington DC and its environs, now known as the Capital Wasteland. Though the global atomic war of 2077 left the US all but destroyed, the residents of Vault 101 enjoy a life free from the constant stress of the outside world. Giant Insects, Raiders, Slavers, and yes, even Super Mutants are all no match for superior Vault-Tec engineering. Yet one fateful morning, you awake to find that your father has defied the Overseer and left the comfort and security afforded by Vault 101 for reasons unknown. Leaving the only home you’ve ever known, you emerge from the Vault into the harsh Wasteland sun to search for your father, and the truth.
Key Features:
- Limitless Freedom! – Take in the sights and sounds of the vast Capital Wasteland! See the great monuments of the United States lying in post-apocalyptic ruin! You make the choices that define you and change the world. Just keep an eye on your Rad Meter!
- Experience S.P.E.C.I.A.L.! – Vault-Tec engineers bring you the latest in human ability simulation – the SPECIAL Character System! Utilizing new breakthroughs in points-based ability representation, SPECIAL affords unlimited customization of your character. Also included are dozens of unique skills and perks to choose from, each with a dazzling variety of effects!
- Fantastic New Views! – The wizards at Vault-Tec have done it again! No longer constrained to just one view, experience the world from 1st or 3rd person perspective. Customize your view with the touch of a button!
- The Power of Choice! – Feeling like a dastardly villain today, or a Good Samaritan? Pick a side or walk the line, as every situation can be dealt with in many different ways. Talk out your problems in a civilized fashion, or just flash your Plasma Rifle.
- Blast ‘Em Away With V.A.T.S.! -Even the odds in combat with the Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System for your Pip-Boy Model 3000! V.A.T.S. allows you to pause time in combat, target specific body parts on your target, queue up attacks, and let Vault-Tec take out your aggression for you. Rain death and destruction in an all-new cinematic presentation featuring gory dismemberments and spectacular explosions.
- Mind-Blowing Artificial Intelligence! – At Vault-Tec, we realize that the key to reviving civilization after a global nuclear war is people. Our best minds pooled their efforts to produce an advanced version of Radiant AI, America’s First Choice in Human Interaction Simulation. Facial expressions, gestures, unique dialog, and lifelike behavior are brought together with stunning results by the latest in Vault-Tec technology.
- Eye-Popping Prettiness! – Witness the harsh realities of nuclear fallout rendered like never before in modern super-deluxe HD graphics. From the barren Wasteland, to the danger-filled offices and metro tunnels of DC, to the hideous rotten flesh of a mutant’s face.
User Ratings and Reviews
4 Stars Probably my most favorite game…EVER!
How do I begin?
This is one of the best games I’ve ever played.
This game is huge! The vastness is not really apparent at first. During the first chapter you experience life as a vault dweller in a series of short mini-quests. These little appetizers cleverly integrate the character creation process with the larger story. By providing subtle clues to the back story they connect you to events in the recent past that lead up to your eventual escape from Vault 101. So, pay close attention to what’s said during your formative years. Some of that stuff becomes more interesting later in the game.
Thankfully, circumstances soon force you out of the comfort and security of Vault 101. As you emerge from the vault you are temporarily blinded by the blazing sun that bakes the Capital Wasteland. Soon, your vision clears and the scale really hits home. There is a sense of infinity as you look down upon the remnants of civilization. Everywhere you look there is evidence of those that came before and let their world be destroyed. Burned out buildings rusted lumps of metal vehicles and the charred black bones of those lucky enough to die in the initial blast surround you as you descend the crumbling remnants of a paved road. Beyond the rubble, stretching as far as you can see, is an endless expanse of brown sand, rocks and blackened trees. A sense of utter isolation falls over you as the wind whistles and you hear the creaking and groaning of the ruined buildings and dead power pylons. Everywhere you look there are reminders of what once was. But don’t let that feeling of isolation fool you. Hidden among the fossils of civilization and buried beneath the irradiated sands, are the decedents of the survivors in their many forms. Some are friendly enough, but most would be happy to paint the rocks with your internal organs. It’s a dog eat man world out here. Every mutant for himself.
The main plot is engaging. It’s fairly typical and not too hard to complete. If you just want to get right down to it and “beat the game” you can probably do it in a few hours.
I really love a game with a good story and this game delivers. As you emerge from the vault, you can start walking in any direction and quickly stumble into any number of side quests. Most of which have nothing to do with the main plot. That’s the real meat of this game. The side quests kept me glued to the screen looking for the next clue or juicy piece of prewar technology to lug around. There are so many that you don’t really need the main plot to have a good time.
The world is ridiculously engaging. The more you play, the closer you get to near total immersion. Now, I get a little nervous when I see a real-life over pass and wonder what’s really going on with that antenna tower up on the hill.
I was so wrapped up in side quests, that I actually completed the main quest by accident the first time I played. Which brings me to the only negative thing I can really say about the game.
The ending surprised me a little and left me feeling a bit disappointed. Without giving too much away the game ends with the conclusion of the main quest and left me wanting more. I enjoyed the game enough to play it again. This time I avoided as much of the main quest and just explored.
The bugs that plague the PC version do not seem to be present on the XBox 360 version. However, the game would freeze up now and then forcing me to restart the console. I lost a significant amount of progress the first time. It’s not hard recognize the symptoms of an impending lock-up in time to save the game and reboot the machine. I don’t remember having any real issues other than that.
After literally hundreds of hours of sneaking around dark corners and peering down bloody metal stairwells, I can honestly say this game is has a lot to offer if you’re the type of person who enjoys escaping into a great story and exploring an alternate view of reality. Just make sure you have plenty of time to get lost in the bleakness because you will literally loose days of your life if your not careful.
Except for the ending. I can’t recommend this game highly enough. A game this big deserves an ending that leaves you free to explore all of the nooks and crannies as the Capital Wasteland’s only tourist from Vault 101.
- Chris
5 Stars Wow is all I can say
Tonight I broke the 100 hours mark in Fallout 3. I finished the main story at the 40 hour mark, but for my last perk I chose to open the all the locations of everything on the map. So I found myself at the end of the game, looking over the map and saying “wait a second…the White House is on this map! I never went to the White House!!!” and so began my journey of scouring every single location on the map. I doubt this game is for everybody but if you’d like to roam around an open world like GTA4, but in a post apocalyptic landscape, then you might want to give this game a try.
I could talk to you about the family of cannibals I met…or the planetarium in the museum. Or the Matrix-style virtual reality I became trapped in…but none of that will matter to you until you’re actually playing it. All I can tell you is to me, this is the perfect game. The challenge was high, the fun of discovery never got old…the choice of music is unforgettable.
I agree with the negative reviews about the 360 locking up in this game. I absolutely does…its happened to me countless times (10+). But I can’t in all honesty take points off for it…the game was just that good.
When you play a game for 100+ hours and you’re already planning to go back and do it again…you know you have something special on your hands. Just do yourself a favor and give this game 5 hours of your time. You’ll be glad you did!
5 Stars War Never Changes
I haven’t played Fallout 1 or 2…so I was a newcomer to the series when I got this game for my birthday. Simply put, Fallout 3 is a true RPG that’ll have you walking all over the ruins of Washington, D.C. and the Capital Wastelands. The game starts when you’re born and ends with your death…or so it seems.
While wandering through the Wasteland, you meet people who now live in this world. The story is basic; you’re looking for your father who escaped Vault 101. Eventually, you find your dad and help him with Project Purity to bring fresh water to the Wasteland. You’re given a PIPBoy that serves as the menu/weapons/HUD and you can listen to the few radio stations on it. The only bad thing about this game is that its soundtrack is way too short and rather bland. The music on GNR radio gets old really fast, and Agatha’s station is just as bad (though it has great Violin music). This game is great!
5 Stars ONE OF THE BEST GAMES KNOWN TO MAN
MY FAVORITE GAME OF ALL TIME, ALONG TO CONKERS BAD FUR DAY FOR THE N64,
I WOULD RECCOMEND THIS TO ANYONE THAT LIKES GORY, 1ST PERSON SHOOTERS
5 Stars Favorite game of the last five years
I purchased this game after resisting the temptation for a very long time. I was a Final Fantasy XI addict for awhile and felt that this was not the type of game I should be purchasing! At the time I figured it was one that would take 100+ hours to beat.
I play the game and finally get out of the vault. Once I get into Megaton I’m a bit confused as to what I should do first. I wander around outside for awhile and eventually run out of ammo and have problems finding money to even buy things. It seems that at the start of the game I was always low on ammo and money. Later on I finally realized that’s kind of the point! You just get out of a vault and are trying to survive out there in the wasteland.
I gain a few levels and get my ammo stocked and finally decide to head to DC to meet “Three Dog”. Of course I have no clue about the map markers (I guess I don’t read manuals!) and wander around trying to find where I’m supposed to go and get completely lost and almost murdered. Of course by this time I’m almost out of ammo and need to find out how to stock back up and start over. At this point I’m thinking I’m terrible at the game and was not having any fun at all. It took a lot for me to keep going.
So another day comes and I finally decide to use the map directions more precisely. Once I get the quest to repair a Satellite, things become fun. Once I got to Rivet City I started to finally love the game.
Maybe I’m dumb, but for me this had a somewhat high learning curve at first. Once you get a few days into it, it gets easier. It takes awhile to figure out how things work in the game. I would say it took me about 10 levels to really have fun with the game. Once I got to Rivet City I didn’t stop playing the game every day until it was finished.
Sadly, the main quest is very short. If you don’t explore the world you can finish the main quest in 35-40 hours. When the ending comes, it’s not really over. There is so much to do and explore.
After beating the game I did about 75% of the quests in the game and at that point I was already up to 67 hours! Unlike some games, the quests are actually pretty interesting. My favorites were “Blood Ties” and “Reilly’s Rangers”.
Some say the graphics are terrible, but I’m very impressed with them. It really depends on the location. I played the entire game without any radio stations and that was perfectly fine with me. What sound there is, is just about perfect.
The one thing I like about this game the most is that there’s just so much to do. You can go out exploring and find things to do. You can even start the game over again and focus on a different skill set. I maxed out Lock picking, Repair, Small Guns and Energy Weapons. Next time it might be Science.
Later on in the game it’s much easier to find weapons, money and ammo. It starts out hard and gets easier as you advance in the game.
There are a few minor negatives about the game:
1: Followers often get hung up on things, but this is rare. It’s only happened 4-5 times.
2: Sometimes when a NPC is near it won’t let you target an enemy.
3. Some extremely over-powered followers. Getting Fawkes turns “Normal” mode into like “Very Easy”.
4. Maps directions not always accurate and/or confusing. Easy to get lost in the game, but that’s ok.
5. Amount of ammo for some weapons is extremely hard to find. I can find dozens of missiles, but it’s even harder to find .44 Magnum ammo!
6. Some equipment breaks way too fast. I had to repair my “Terrible Shotgun” four times.
7. Some armor can’t be repaired well, if at all, making that two hour quest a waste.
8. Excessive blood/gore. It doesn’t bother me, but seeing a person blown up in twelve different pieces is a bit ridiculous and not very realistic. This isn’t even with the “Bloody Mess” perk. Sometimes it looks cool and I laugh at some shots, but it gets old fast.
9. Normal mode is a bit too easy, but no big deal. During the main quest, I rarely died. Usually when I run low on ammo. Evergreen Mills was very difficult for me when I was on my way to a vault. I was at a low level though.
10. Difficult to resell weapons. My house is piled high with them. Buyers usually don’t have enough money.
11. Most annoying thing in the game by far is the weight limit. It’s way too low even with STR.
12. By the end of the game money isn’t really important. I have about 4,000 and there’s not much to buy.
13. Some characters sound EXACTLY alike. Do they only have 6 voice actors? I think so! I’ll admit that they’re all mostly good actors, except for Doctor Li. I liked the old guys and the drunken scrap metal man in Megaton.
14. Some lockups. I don’t think it’s my Xbox 360, but maybe. In 70 hours this has happened only 3 times.
15. In that 70 hours, a few areas run a bit slow/choppy for 30 seconds max.
16. In game local maps can be worthless at times. The world map is good.
My favorite game in the past five years has been Half Life 2, but this one is close to topping that. Fable 2 was a bit more fun to play through, but I consider this a better game. This has 10 times more to do.
Currently I’m at 72 hours and just finished the first DLC (expansion). Hopefully I can start the next ones soon. I’m having so much fun with this game that I probably won’t be done for another 50 hours!
Buy/More Info
