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This is an epic adventure worthy of the waitThe past 10 days have been very busy for me. I've broken into countless military bases, taken vast quantities of drugs, and have shot several hundred people in the head. I've stolen the Declaration of Independence. I've moonlighted as a contract killer. I've helped to run a warped presidential election. I've even gotten really sick after drinking from a toilet bowl. But enough about my holiday trip to Skegness - let's talk about one of the biggest releases of 2008.
Fallout 3 is a massive, massive game. This magnitude exists on a number of levels: for a start, there's the game world itself - a scarred post-nuclear Washington, packed with decrepit survivors, mutant beasties and marauding raiders. Then there's the enormous degree of change since the last game - a shift of developer and a move into full 3D graphics. There's the huge degree of anticipation, both from enthusiastic newcomers and from the more sceptical Fallout hardcore. It's probably due to a combination of all these factors, but for whatever reason Fallout 3 feels like the biggest game I've played all year - so much so that I've already run out of synonyms for the word 'big'. And despite a number of flaws, it's also one of the best games of the year too.
AdvertisementFor the benefit of the uninitiated, here's a quick recap of the backstory to the Fallout universe: In the year 2077, World War III turns most of the Earth into a giant nuclear ashtray. A small percentage of the US population survive the conflict by fleeing into Vaults - giant underground shelters built by the VaultTec corporation. The first Fallout placed you in the skin of a jumpsuited resident of Vault 13; when your water purification chip breaks, you are chosen to set out in pursuit of a new one - braving the wasteland of post-apocalypse California. After a remarkably downbeat ending to your adventures, your Vault Dwellers set off to found a small village of their own. Fallout 2 cast you as a grandchild to the first protagonist, offering a much larger play area and a greater variety of distractions from your quest to find a GECK - a powerful piece of technology with the power to save your dying tribe.
Fallout 3, set some 36 years after its predecessor, shifts its focus to the East coast of America - to the claustrophobic confines of Vault 101. The game begins with your birth, generating your character's gender, name and appearance. After this you'll spend about 20 minutes speeding through your childhood and adolescence via a neat quest designed to introduce most of the game's key concepts and mechanics - including the much-discussed VATS combat system. At the end of this brief introduction your rebellious father disappears; his sudden departure enrages the vault authorities and causes a minor riot - leaving you with no choice but to follow him. You emerge from the underground, your vision blurring under a sun you have never seen before - and then you set out across the Washington wastelands.
You start in the vault but don't stay there for longWhat follows is really up to you - in the short term, at least. You'll be given a pointer about where to look for your Dad first, but the world is more or less your oyster. Since this is an RPG, your main priority should be to get some experience and to start levelling up. The area immediately surrounding Vault 101 isn't too lethal, but if you immediately head to the far corners of the map you'll swiftly find yourself in trouble. Bethesda has largely abandoned the mechanic used in Oblivion which scaled random enemies to match your capabilities - so if you go wandering off into a dangerous area, you're bound to come a cropper. As a result of this design choice, the wasteland immediately feels a threatening place - something further compounded by the devastated scenery that surrounds you in every direction, thanks to a rather spiffy draw distance.
As you might imagine, the thermonuclear apocalypse has had a detrimental effect upon public transport - so you'll be doing all your exploration on foot. In all likelihood, you'll be viewing proceedings from a first person perspective - a third-person option does exist, but most people are likely to get fed up with the slightly floaty way your hero moves. Either way, you'll soon find that the landscape itself is the star of the show. Bethesda have done an amazing job in creating a ruined environment: from burnt-out towns and twisted highways to the looming metropolis of downtown DC, the in-game scenery drips with a tragic, ruined atmosphere. This is probably just as well, since it takes a fairly long time to walk from point A to point B. On the plus side, once you've discovered a given location, you'll be able to instantly fast-travel back there at any point you wish. To be honest, I was initially fairly uncertain about whether or not I thought this was a good idea: It's certainly a convenient feature, but its not a particularly realistic one - and for a while I was concerned that it would dilute the dangerous atmosphere of the wasteland itself.
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FantasyMeister wrote at 06:49 on 28 October 2008
I never played the original Fallouts (heresy, I know) so the comparisons don't mean a lot to me, however I have played Bethesda's Elder Scrolls titles and the thing I'm most excited about is that they've gone for the more traditional 'gain xp by doing killing/quests' etc., rather than jumping on the spot for 20 hours to improve your jump ability.
The last two paragraphs of the review make me very happy that I've got it on pre-order, and the impression I'm getting from reading other reviews is that the game is just too big to cover in one review, they all seem to take different approaches and cover different aspects.
My biggest concern is probably the level 20 cap on your character, although I've read that it takes around 20-40 hours to get there it still means you have to think carefully about how you want to develop as you can't max out everything within this limit. Does Fallout 3 have the replayability that makes you want to reroll a new character to try out different configurations?
My only other minor concern is that the endings (are there really 200 endings?) are said to be absolute, so I'm getting the impression that I'll need to save before the final encounter if I want to go exploring, otherwise I'll just hit the end credits. I prefer my open-world RPGs to have open endings, but that's just me and my mmorpg background.
These are very minor niggles though, otherwise I wouldn't have preordered. Really I just wanted to say thank you for playing the game for 10 days so you could post a review for it, film critics have it easy.
Steel be with you.
Machetazo wrote at 11:42 on 28 October 2008
"My biggest concern is probably the level 20 cap on your character, although I've read that it takes around 20-40 hours to get there it still means you have to think carefully about how you want to develop as you can't max out everything within this limit."
It's unrealistic to think that any character would be able to max out all of their skills, anyway. Since you're role-playing, (at least that appears to be a big part of F3, from the reviews I've read) your character is going to be subject to limitations - things they're good at, and not so good at. I'd be disappointed if you could create a character that made a complete mockery of the latter game.
Anonymous wrote at 11:43 on 28 October 2008
Looks very good, my money is going rapidlythis year!
Ronny wrote at 15:41 on 28 October 2008
Im buying this later. I hope its as awesome as he says. I'd never even heard of Fallout till a couple weeks ago.
Anonymous wrote at 18:46 on 28 October 2008
Put off by the fact that things and people can take a hell of a lot of punishment before being killed and that stupid pause menu that'll let you select the body part to shoot.
Shame as other than that it looks awsome, but i can see it frustrating me more than enjoying it.
FantasyMeister wrote at 18:21 on 02 November 2008
Four days after this review Fallout 3 (XBox 360 version) arrived on my doorstep, I've been engrossed ever since. My initial reservations turn out to be no problem, the level 20 cap is there but you really, really have to think strategically about how to handle your point distribution which makes it a nice challenge.
As for a closed ending, not worried anymore, I'm 20 hours in and have spent 18 hours of that doing everything except the main quest, which would indicate to me that it's an Oblivion-esque 200 hours+ in terms of longevity.
The VATS system was probably my biggest worry prior to playing as I didn't like Mass Effect's similar system, but Bethesda have done a fantastic job in that you're limited by your AP points as to how many shots you can take with it (more powerful weapons use up more AP), the slo-mo effects are really well done and it can become a life saver.
I actually said 'awesome' out load when a mutated mole jumped straight for my head and I managed to blow his head off mid-air and watched the rest of his body sail over my shoulder to crash against the wall behind me, VATS leads to many cool moments like that.
In terms of Neon's specific gripes about dialogue and how Bethesda depict radiation I'm not that far yet so can't comment, so far it's all good. If you liked Oblivion, Fallout 3 is Oblivion with guns, lots of guns, except its set in a post-apocalyptic wasteland instead of a fantasy-environment. The feeling of open world exploration is the same for me in both games, Fallout 3 enhances it a little in that you're not really sure what's around the next corner, bit more scary in that respect.
Basically, I can't recommend this game highly enough. I think I've seen "Game of the Year" mentioned at least once in every forum discussing it, so thought I'd squeeze it in here too :)
Sikk wrote at 01:53 on 03 November 2008
To the guy above me, I just wanted to point out the redundancy of "it's not in a post apocalyptic waste land instead of a fantasy environment"...
That said, hype is hype, and I am sure most of you have played it enough to discover it's flaws, I am really disappointed and would like to warn anyone thinking of getting it now... To wait, it is buggy as all hell, with a number of crash bugs, they are saying there will be no dlc or software support for the ps3 version, so beware if you bought sony's overpriced pos... like me.
GAMEZILLA_50000 wrote at 01:33 on 06 November 2008
this game looks so boreing!!!.......Oblivion was pretty boring if i want to play a fun RPG ill play Fable 2!
The Duke wrote at 17:11 on 06 November 2008
Anyone who wants it can have my copy. I loved Oblivion but I cannot stand this. The constant foot transport is incredibly dull, walking for ages only to be randomly killed by something the compass failed to correctly spot and that soaked up hundreds of rounds without dying. (would a motorbike have been too much to ask for - they litter the towns after all) Then there is the inconsistent quests, where (like oblivion) you can screw the quest up by doing things out of sequence. on the whole, a frustrating waste of your life and money.
jake wrote at 04:58 on 12 November 2008
i was hanging out with some old friends this weekend and i seen the game first hand! i played all the other fallout games, but this one by far looks the best!! i only got a little gameplay, but what i played has convinced me to buy it. have fun guys!!
duke wrote at 02:16 on 16 November 2008
(Fallout 3) HHHEEELLLLPPP!!... my guy cant run what do i do??
FantasyMeister wrote at 03:03 on 16 November 2008
If you holster your weapon and wear lighter armor you'll run faster. Make sure you're not overencumbered either (e.g. Weight = 251/250 in Items Menu).
James Player wrote at 10:31 on 17 November 2008
First of all I’m going to start by saying that no, I have not played the other two fallout games, all I played was oblivion, and I didn’t like that very much to be honest.
In fallout 3 you start of being born into a blurry room with your father watching over you, you then proceed through the ages of 1 year old, 10 years old, 16 years old and 19 years old. This process I believe is very clever, by having the player born they can develop a deeper immersion into the game itself, whereas, in oblivion for example, you are brought into the game in a cell, regardless if you are wishing to become the kindest ****er imaginable, which I thought was kind of retarded at the time. Anyway, in fallout 3 after progressing through the different ages, having your 10th birthday party, doing you ‘GOAT’ test at 16, which basically consisted of telling me I was going to be a chef, and at 19 when you discover your father has left ‘the vault’ your sacred place of birth, for reasons unknown, and your tasking with finding the useless ****er. At this point I’d like to bring something to light; I played this game from the start twice, the first time, all smooth, the second time, not so smooth. I started off being born at a different camera angle from the first time, seeing ‘my farther’ looking not at me like the first time, but at something to the bottom left of my screen. The nurse in the background decided that she was going to go for a walk without moving her legs, and proceeded to go through a medicinal cabinet. And that was just at my birth. After choosing my second character, with a friend, to look like the ugliest dike imaginable, we came up with something that remotely resembled a small Chinese woman that had ran face first into a giant wall of shit coated bricks. This was sweet because I wanted to know if the ‘overseer’s” daughter, from my first go, turned out to be a dude if I was a chick; I was wrong but oh well. After becoming the biggest dike of the century, ‘my father’ proceeded to make the comment for the second time, that I looked like him, well I know the visions blurry, but he isn’t that ugly, not being gay but my character looked retarded. When I got to choose my attributes, strength etc. I decided to choose full strength, zero intelligence and charisma, 10 stamina, 10 agility, and 7 luck with the rest at the lowest possible; after all I needed the strength to match my macho character.
Anyway deviating a bit, the outside world of the vault is a post-apocalyptic landscape, it looked pretty good on my small screen but that was just outside the vault. On my first character I decided to become the most evil sun-of-a-bitch since the rise of Jesus. I killed shop keepers, hookers, blew up megaton etc. The usual. After placing a charge on the atomic bomb in megaton, a town you find at the beginning of the game, I proceeded to tenpenny tower, to watch it explode, because I am an evil sun-of-a-bitch I killed everyone in tenpenny tower with nothing more than a lead bar, which was coooooooool. After this I played through the game, killed a few ghouls and the occasional scavenger humanoid to retain my ‘very evil marauder’ status. And then things got a bit weird, at first I shot a ravagers, ranger , r-something guy with my rock-it launcher, in the face for less than a metre, which caused him to be launched 60 feet into the air, landing on a invisible wall somewhere above me, leaving him able to shoot me, but not working visa versa. I then had to reset the game from my last save to rectify this minor setback. Again a problem, I was walking through d.c. with my trusty lead pipe when, oh shit, the game froze, this doesn’t normally happen in games, and I can imagine you ps3 fan boys now, ‘loling’ at your computer, to the resounding ring of, “you shouldn’t have gotten a shittin’ Xbox then douche tard” first things first I’m not going to get into an argument about the online and multiplayer split-screen capabilities of the xbox360, which are far superior to that of the ps3, but anyway. Second thing, this is a brand new game, bought the very morning, this shit doesn’t happen to any of my other games? This was a major let down, the game play was good, if not slightly monotonous, V.A.T aiming thing, headshot, next target, repeat etc, but the game itself was so crammed up the ass with bugs it was annoying! Almost as annoying as when you’re trying to chase someone down with your melee weapon, when they can run faster than you! ARGH! Haven’t finished the game yet, it may make up for it later in the game, but I don’t know, not holding my breath.
To conclude, good game play, not allot of replay value, even though you may feel the urge to rectify your choice mistakes, like I did. But let down by the surprising number of bugs, and I’m not talking about the piss weak ‘whatever the their called’ that manage to take over vault, when you can one hit them. Ha Ha Ha.
Bullet to head wrote at 01:52 on 20 November 2008
Blowing heads off never gets old!
chris wrote at 14:32 on 20 November 2008
picked this game up last week and it was very good and gripping, bethesda has impressed me once again. the guns and armor are great, quests are well done. only thing i cant stand is how the game "ends" and how in VATS you sometimes miss a 95% shot on that creature that is just about to knock the shit out of you, but those are minor gripes. executions never do get old :D
sumthing wrote at 19:05 on 20 November 2008
Fable 2=Fail
Fallout=success
its that simple people
Audiokyle wrote at 16:25 on 01 December 2008
bought this game a few weeks back due to being a huge fan of Oblivion, but was thoroughly disappointed with it, mainly because there is not as much addictiveness as the was with Oblivion, I found the missions boring and long winded making everything as difficult as possible and instructions & maps for the missions were confusing. The only inventive thing being the VATS system, which was easy to use, but made confrontations difficult with multiple enemies.
The most enjoyable part of the game for me was when I got my money back and bought Quantum of Solace.
Lolly wrote at 19:35 on 01 December 2008
I am interested in getting fallout 3 and have read some good reviews, but have also been told that the game is nothing more the just walking around and talking to people and not much combat. Someone said that they played the game for 2 hours and they didnt get into any combat. Can anyone tell me if this is true please?
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