Orderoftheflame

Fallout 3 is a first person RPG set in post apocalyptic Washington D.C. and it’s surrounding wastelands in the year 2277.

Developed by Bethesda Softworks after the licence for the dying series was obtained, Fallout 3 takes a severely different approach to post apocalyptic survival than its predecessors.

To start off with the game will feel very familiar for any players of Oblivion, however the similarities are little more than the layout and style of the game. The almost unique combat system of the Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System (or V.A.T.S) makes for a solid take on the first person RPG style, without the need to dumb-down the RPG elements, whilst carefully steering the game away from becoming a first person shooter that it doesn’t wish to be. The addition of different ways to access areas removes some of the essential requirement of having a high lock picking skill in Oblivion, (although unfortunately some areas will still require it).

One of the main draws of the game is the ability to create your own character leading his life as you wish, and being able to make choices about the methods used to tackle quests. However, this generally boils down to a few standard paths for each quest. Kill people (bad karma), or convince everyone to get along (good karma) with varying degrees of middle ground.

Customisation of your character is still a strong aspect of the game, with the S.P.E.C.I.A.L statistics system from the earlier games in the series returning, allowing for your character to benefit from your play style. There are many sets and types for weapons and armour (although it feels considerably less than oblivion featured), some of the custom weapons are extremely fun to use (if a little frustrating to find the parts and blueprints for).

The graphics on the Xbox 360 are particularly good for this type of game, although some character models do feel a little lacking compared to the environments. There are some spectacular views to see of the wasteland, especially from high vantage points.

The star of the game is of course the wastelands and other places in the harsh environment that the player will encounter. The amount of effort that has gone into placing the smallest details into it is clear, down to the smallest irrelevant object that may take the player some time to notice, but in the end show just how good the artistic direction in the game is.

The explorable area of Fallout 3 appears to be slightly smaller than that of Oblivion, however it does feel that there is just as much to discover, with many interesting locations that will surprise and sometimes even amuse you to see, as well as some of the famous landmarks of Washington D.C.

The story line of the game is well written, with what is generally very good voice acting, (Including some famous actors such as Liam Neeson and Billy Dee Williams). Ron Perlman fortunately continues his role as the narrator from earlier games in the series (“War. War never changes”).

The main story quest itself is quite short, but the accompanying quests are equally well written and contain some of the charm that made the original fallout games great. The huge number of absorbing side missions will boost the games lifespan tremendously, as well as giving the player the incentive to fully explore the vast ecosystem that creates the game.

All in all, I found Fallout 3 an intensely gratifying title, although I will admit that I feel as though I rushed it slightly due to other titles being released in a quick succession.

If you are looking for an enjoyable FPS bloodbath, despite it’s somewhat gory content, Fallout 3 is probably not for you. The use of statistics based accuracy will leave you struggling with the difficulty level, and you will more than likely struggle to enjoy yourself. However, if you can accept Fallout 3 for what it actually is, and are searching for an engrossing RPG with a fairly unique style, fantastic art direction and interesting story line, Fallout 3 could be to your taste.