You know those reviews where the reviewer goes on and on about a game but doesn’t really reveal what they think of it until the end? This isn’t one of those: I LOVE FALLOUT 3!
Honestly, I’m enjoying this so much. Let’s have a look at what’s gripping my attention.
Fallout 3 is produced by Bethesda Softworks, the same programming house who brought us Oblivion. Oblivion was, up until recently, the game I had spent most time playing on the Xbox360: the game-world was so huge and open-ended that even after completing the main story line I was able to spend countless hours wandering round, exploring, and carrying out side-quests. Fortunately, this same freedom has been brought to Fallout 3.
The game is set in the Washington DC area 200 years after a nuclear conflict with China. The entire area looks like, well… like a bomb’s gone off. DC is in ruins, inhabited by super-mutants, ghouls (decaying humans, I think), and various groups vying for control, money, or trying to bring stability. Outside the city there are a ton of isolated settlements and other locations to discover. There’s just so much to do, and you’re completely free to follow the main story or to explore as you wish.
The main story (which I have not completed – I’m having too much fun wandering) begins with you living in vault 101, an underground haven from the nuclear horror above ground. Nobody ever enters or leaves vault 101, except your father and then you. The rest of the story involves trying to track your father down and… well, I won’t tell you too much. The game-world is marvellously realised, though, with many stories, background details, and interactions to keep you going. It feels like there are infinite opportunities for adventuring, even though I know there must be a limit somewhere! According to the manual the game does eventually “end”, but at the moment it feels like it could go on forever (and not in a bad way, either).
Combat is very well done. Ranged weapons can be bought, built, stolen or scrounged from corpses. If you run out of ammo there’s always your trusty baseball bat but I really only use that for squishing Radroaches (mutated cockroaches). If you want you can play combat like any other FPS – point, shoot, dodge your enemy’s attacks – but there’s also the option to pause time and enter V.A.T.S. which will let you concentrate fire on a particular body part. This is handy (no pun intended) as a crippling hit to the leg will slow your opponent down. A hit to the arm stands a good chance of disarming them, whilst a hit to the head prevents them using any attacks involving perception and also seems to do the most damage. There’s even a level-up Perk where a mysterious stranger appears sometimes while you are using a V.A.T.S. attack and assists you in your battle.
All in all, Fallout 3 plays very much like Oblivion. The controls are similar, the mechanics are similar, and the overall style (the free-form exploration, for example) is similar. But the setting is so different and the storylines really are excellent. It’s also great to see that Bethesda seem to have hired a few more voice actors for this game as it was a bit disturbing to fine everyone in Oblivion shared one of three or four voices! I haven’t noticed a duplicate so far on Fallout 3. My only gripe would be that the game sometimes doesn’t realise when you’ve short-circuited part of the story. A few times I’ve been told about something I’ve already dealt with, or a character has spoken as if we’re in one city when we’re really in another. Otherwise, though, I can’t recommend this game highly enough!
So what are you waiting for? If you have one of the platforms this game is available for, get out there and buy a copy! There’s a very good chance you’ll be addicted before long :)
…and this developer’s introduction to the Capital Wasteland:
Fallout 3 is rated 18 in the UK and contains scenes of violence, gore and drug use. Be warned! Visit the official Fallout 3 site for more videos and screenshots. The game is available on various platforms from Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com
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