Fallout 3 (PS3)

...brave the Washington D.C Wasteland. Fallout 3 is perhaps the most impressive game on any console to date, not for its graphics or accessability, but for its depth, immersive atmosphere, and the freedom it grants you as the player.

'''The Setting'''

As the opening scene fades into view you start your Fallout life as a newly delivered child, where you are handed to your father. Tap various buttons to start wailing and crying ...
...Bethesda ( The developers of Fallout 3 ), because the similarities are obvious. For those of you who have played Oblivion, either on the PS3, Xbox, or PC, Fallout is the equilivant of Oblivion, but with guns.

You are given the freedom to explore the whole map, which although smaller than Oblivion's, is far more fleshed-out. One can either follow the main quest at your own pace, or set-off to explore the Capitol Wasteland. The potential ... more

200 years after an atomic war between the Capitalist USA and Communist China ravaged the world and left its surface barren and scared, it's time for you to step out of the confines of Vault 101 and brave the Washington D.C Wasteland. Fallout 3 is perhaps the most impressive game on any console to date, not for its graphics or accessability, but for its depth, immersive atmosphere, and the freedom it grants you as the player.

The Setting

As the opening scene fades into view you start your Fallout life as a newly delivered child, where you are handed to your father. Tap various buttons to start wailing and crying - just one of the little features that shows the dedictation to detail Bethesda have implemented. Here you enter the character creation tool, which is cleverly but crudley implemented in the character-projection machine, which shows how you will look as a grown man - your father face is blurred to begin with, but only because his face will alter to resemble yours. There should be enough diversity here for most, but your creative skills are limited to the face as the physique is not editable. If you wish to spend time on your character but are eager to get playing then don't worry; there are opportunities to change all of this later on in the game. After having decided on your looks, your Mother suddenly dies after giving birth, and you are warped to your toddler years.

The Vault section of the game lasts about an hour and a half, depending on how quick you are. The Vault is Vault 101, one of the many built by the American Government before the war to protect a select number of its inhabitants from the horrors of the war to come. It guides you through the controls as well as letting you allocate a number of character specific attrributes, but at a slow pace. It is the worst section of the game, especially so on a second run through, but it is well worth the wait.

Having turned 18, you wake up to discover you father has suddenly left the safety of the vault and wondered into the Wasteland. Here is where the real game begins, as you vow to follow in his footsteps and escape the vault yourself. The Overseer, the unpresidented ruler of Vault 101, attempts to prevent you, but you prevail - whether it is through violence of diplomacy is up to you. The ominous sealed door of the vault creaks and whines as it opens, and you are free to step into the wasteland.

Playing the game

Some people may disagree, but it would be stupid not to mention Oblivion, which if you havent heard of is an open-world fantasy RPG made by Bethesda ( The developers of Fallout 3 ), because the similarities are obvious. For those of you who have played Oblivion, either on the PS3, Xbox, or PC, Fallout is the equilivant of Oblivion, but with guns.

You are given the freedom to explore the whole map, which although smaller than Oblivion's, is far more fleshed-out. One can either follow the main quest at your own pace, or set-off to explore the Capitol Wasteland. The potential for playing is enormous, aside from the main quest, which is worth the £40 itself, there are a further 15 or so side quests, plus loads of areas, camps, settlements etc to explore and interact with. I personally enjoyed the side quests over the main quest, due to the freedom or choice that they present you; if you're feeling particularly evil you can entice children with the prospect of foodm only to trap them and hand them over to slavers for a healthy pay out. Alternativly, if you can't bring yourself to such an act, you can open fire on the slavers themselves and free the trapped slaves. Of course you could just leave them alone, but that would be boring wouldn't it? It may seem stupid, but the game is so imersing that these descisions really do make you ask yourself what kind of character you want to be, if only for a split second.

The range of quests is really one of Fallout's most impressive aspects, with objectives ranging from rescusing a bunch of mercenaries from a Super Mutant attack in an abandoned hotel, to activating an unexploded nuclear bomb and watching the resulting explosion, and going back to find a smouldering crater. On top of this, nearly all the quests have multiple ways of completing them, leaving you to chose entirly the path your character follows. Even the main quest has more than two endings.

As you complete quests, kill creatures, or unlock safes etc..., your character will gain experience, which is required to level them up. At each level you can allocate new skill points to the different skills - Science, Small Guns, Enery Weapons, Speech... - and choose a new perk. Perks come in all shapes and sizes and can be very handy; some provide further skill enhancments whilst some are more comical - such as the Bloody Mess perk which causes enemies to explode on death. Pick them carefully though, only 20 can be chosen by the top level and there are plenty to choose from.

Staying Alive

Whether your questing or not, survival is the most strenuous task you face. The radiation from the atomic war has caused creatures and humans alike to mutate into monsters. On your travels you will meet Giant Scorpions, Super Mutants, Ghouls, and all manner of mutations. Human dangers will also play their part; the Capitol Wasteland has no laws, but if you anger someone by prepared for a fight. Raiders roam the Wasteland in search of an easy target and always present a danger, especially in large groups.

It doesn't matter how much you try and negotiate, you will end up having to shoot your way through the game. A wide array of guns and close-combat weapsons are available, ranging from pistols and rifles through to gatling guns and rocket launchers, and lead pipes though to flaming swords. The guns feel good to handle but not as responsive as those of Call of Duty or other First Person Shooters, hitting your target from range can prove frustrating. Luckily your PipBoy computer comes equiped with the VATS sytems - Vault Assisted Targeting Sytem - which can be accessed by pressing R2 when in range of an enemy. This freezes time and lets you que up shots different body parts ( or machinery parts for robots ) to allow you to control the fight. For example, if you want your enemy to stay put, aim for the legs to cripple them, or if you want to send a robot into a frenzy, destroy their targeting mechanism. The 'moves' each cost a certain number of Action Points, which regain over time, and after leaving VATS they are carried out through a number of gory but impressive 'cut-scenes'. This system may sound complicated, but it works perfectly, and of course it is entirly optional for those hardcore players.

It's not only creatures that can be a problem; if you don't watch your radiation levels you'll soon get sick and can even die. This system is initially interesting but you soon realise that it is very hard to become seriously effected by radiation and you soon forget. I would have liked to seem it more prominently implemented. Furthermore, food and medication are essential to keep you're health up and avoid death, especially as doctors and rare to find and always expensixve. Finding ammo will also become a big problem, so storing up is a good idea. There's nothing worse than pulling out your rifle to find you don't have any bullets.

When you die you are restarted back at the last save, the game does autosave when you enter new buildings/areas, but it is well worth the effort to same regularly, as death is always around the corner.

Presentation

Overall I was very impressed with the graphics. The first time you walk out of th vault and see the Wastland is one of the stand-out moments, others including the nuclear detonation aforementioned and the view from the Washington Monument. The sound is also impressive, allowing you to feel to full force of explosions and gunfights. Various reviewers have said that the Xbox version is slightly superior graphics wise, but I don't have any evidence to support that. If you own a PS3 and are now worried, don't be, this is no reason to bin your console and start searching ebay for a cheap Xbox.

Overall

This has been a long review, and thanks to anyone whose manged to read it all, but it reflects the vastness of Fallout 3. There is so much to do and so much to see; if you are able to put the time in then you can reap massive rewards. I have played over 20hrs and am still finding so much more to complete. If you are looking for a first person shooter then this isn't really for you, but RPG and FPS fans alike will find this a real gem. This isn't a dip in and out game, it requires time and attentions, perfect for those summer holidays. I must admit that after a week of playing I stop playing Fallout 3 and thought that I had just wasted my money, luckily I went back to it a couple of weeks on, when I was able to spend some time playing it, and I found out just how immersive and compelling it was. If you want a definitive answer, then buy this game, if only to play the main quest. It hasn't dated since realease, and is still one of the top 'next-gen' games out. The Nuclear Wastleland has never been so fun. Specs

1. One player
2. 4300MB Memory required as a minimum (PS3)
3. 720p HD capabilities (will run on 1080i TVs in HD)
4. Dualshock supported
5. No online capabilities

 

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