Fallout 3 receuved numerous Game Of The Year rewards following it's release in late 2008. Chances are, if you have an interest in gaming, you've heard about it one way or another. But is it the right game for you? Many people are put off by their dislike of Bethesda's previous Oblivion games, or the radical change from the original Fallout PC series, or the apparently bug ridden PS3 version. Are they right to worry?
For me, not at all. I also played Oblivion, and feel that this game is wildly different, and vastly superior. Oblivion was full of samey environments, and the medievel, fantasy basis for the idea was, for lots of people, unappealing. Fallout 3 is in the future, with more excitement in the gameplay, more interesting, modern combat, more unique concepts and above all, more freedom and variety.
The game is set in a post apocalyptic
wasteland. You are basically given the coice of whether to play a saviour of the people, or take advantage of what lies before you. The way you play will have consequences; for example, bad guys are given a frosty reception by NPCs, while those who play as saints will have mercenaries try to assassinate them. What you do in the game is up to you; follow questlines, interact with characters or simply explore the seemingly endless map.
The variety in the game is astounding. The map isn't as big as in Oblivion, but packs far more into it's reduced dimensions. Little touches give the game an excellent sense of humour, and a colourful character. The weapons are exciting; the quests are generally well designed; the enemies keep you from getting bored. The game is completely immersive, and highly addictive. Hours fly by while playing. The only slight issue I have is the dull, lifeless nature of NPCs within the game. The people you talk to in-game are boring, and sound unrealistic, sometimes so much so that the experience is ruined slightly. Other than that, the game is magnificent.
In general, the game works like standard RPGs. You level up by gaining experience, and can then assign points to abilities. You also get a 'perk' for each level, which can be anything from increasing points to a special ability, such as being able to eat corpses to regain health.
Fallout 3 becomes sets itself apart through a combination of the karma system descibed earlier, the individual touches around the environment, and, in particular, the combat system. You can either work through a standard FPS view, or by using the VATS system. Press R2, and time slows down, allowing you to target individual body parts, and then watch the shot in slow motion. This leads to some spectacular gore and dismemberment, and never fails to be amusing, in a distrubing kind of way.
One of the main criticisms levelled at the game was that it departed so much from the original birds eye view, 2D Fallout RPGs, from a decade earlier. It may have made sense to give it a completely new name, but trying to copy the system would have been a mistake, because it wouldn't have matched up to the originals. The decision to bring the game into a FPS view, albeit a unique one, has paid off.
The other gripe many had with Fallout 3 was the number of bugs within the game. I don't find it much of a problem, personally, but if you're the sort of person who notices every little stutter in frame rate or screen tear, it may get on your nerves. While there are some larger, in game bugs, it seems inevitable, and a price worth paying, in a game of this size. As long as you save reguarly, you shouldn't get into trouble, expecially with patch releases to fix the problems.
So, this is an amazing game. It has endless variety, exciting gameplay and limitless freedom. It pushes the boundaries of what has been done so far in gaming, and fully deserves the critical acclaim. The addictive nature of Fallout 3 will keep you coming back, and the freedom means you can play through more than once and get completely different outcomes. This game will astonish you. Nobody should miss out on it.
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Advantages: Easy to play. Open-ended gameplay. Customization of character. Similar to Oblivion. Disadvantages: Not as long as Oblivion. Definate end to game.
Alex-Fantastic 11.06.2009 ·
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Fallout 3 (PS3)
Advantages: Vast - Potentially over 50hrs of game, Immersive, Freedom - Be Good or Evil or something inbetween Disadvantages: Still some gliches, Not a pick-up-and-go game, The shooting is not in line with most FPS's
Sheepster76 11.05.2009 (11.05.2009)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Fallout 3 (PS3)
Advantages: Good graphics, good array of weapons, simply intiutive controls Disadvantages: Lots of glitches, seems to want to be 2 things at once and does neither that well
grandchamp 13.10.2009 ·
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Review of Fallout 3 (PS3)
Jan 28th, 2009
very helpful by (100%):
