Fallout 3 (2008 Video Game) User Reviews

Contains all of my best gaming memories, 10/10 stars.

[DustinRahksi · 10/10 · 20 February 2013]

This game is one thing I could write well over a thousand words for, I can only hope all I have to say fits in here, it probably won't. This review will contain my thoughts, experiences, memories, and moments of the game. This game kept me going through my depression. Let's get this started.

I remember the day I bought this game, I put it in and played it for an hour, with my consensus being it sucked. But I found my self transported into this world, I couldn't stop playing it, within four days I had already played it for 44 hours. I was terrible at it, I didn't understand how everything worked, but in time I mastered it several times over. On my ps3 I completed it four times, three of those runs were 140 hours plus, the last one was just to get the trophies. On my Xbox 360 I have a 320 hour play through, pretty much a 100 percent completion, including all the DLC. The 320 hour play through took place over a summer break (yes thats all I did), it was the best summer of my life, just thinking about it makes me smile and feel nostalgic.

The game: I used to be a master for knowledge on this game, I was up to date on everything. I haven't played it in about three years and I unfortunately have lost my great knowledge of this game. It's a RPG, and thats exactly what I did, I would spend countless hours in my homes, and bunkers, hell I even had two vacation homes. I would just sit in my house and listen to Three Dog on the radio, with Dogmeat( an actual dog), my robotic butler, and Sergent RL3( a mister gusty bot). There is over a 150 locations for you to discover, each of them offering a new experience. Roaming through a super-mutant infested D.C. has never been so fun. And on top of that there is a whole another world under the city in the metro system. But of course the city only takes up 35 percent of the map, so you have an entire wasteland to explore. Once you get a hang of this game it becomes incredibly easy, I found myself stock piled with a thousand Stim-packs, and tens of thousands of rounds of ammo. I collected most of the unique guns, and have found all of the Fat-man launchers scattered about. In time you will have collected all of the bobble heads, just don't miss the medical one on James desk. The sound track is one of the best I have ever heard in a video game, it makes you feel at home out in the waste land.

The glitches: Here is some problems I came across. 1. You can survive jumping off of Tenpenny tower. 2. I once swam through the air in a sewer. 3. The game sky will turn into an LSD mind-trip. 4. I got outside of the map and literally walked through an invisible city. 5. I got into the blocked off Jefferson memorial and took Autmums uniform and gun. There are many more to experience.

The verdict: I wish this would have allowed me to give a full review of all the DLC, but the word limit wouldn't allow for it. To sum it up, The Pitt and Point Lookout are the best ones. This is and forever will be my favourite game of all time, it is an experience like no other. This game deserves to have the title " Best game of all time". It gave me memories I will never forget, and it helped me through a tough time in my life, I recommend it to anyone who will dedicate a large chunk of time to it. The Xbox 360 version worked the best for me, so I say get the game of the year edition.

Mar.01: Turns out my knowledge is still top notch, I guess some things you just never forget.

High-end Roleplaying..just not for everyone..

[jinxta · 9/10 · 28 November 2008]

I've been reading a lot of negative comments on this title and I felt I should put my opinion out there as well, because I believe most of those comments come from people that have either not played the game at all, or are no RPG gamers in the first place. That is exactly, first and foremost, what this game is..a huge, intelligent RPG, that takes time, effort and brains to complete. There are a few minor mistakes (like the same voices being used for many of the different interactive characters), but in my opinion, the sheer volume and content of the game itself, makes up for those mistakes.

Im 32hrs into the game at this point, and I've only completed 2 objectives of the main quest. It is MASSIVE, and I can see how it could be overwhelming for non-rpg gamers or those new to the genre, because of the side-quests (it's hard not to lose yourself in them). If you're used to having your hand held through-out the games you usually play, than this is certainly not for you. The story takes place, as in any Fallout game, in a world laid to waste by a nuclear holocaust..So that means; no big cities or the comforts they provide, no crowds of people everywhere you look, not even a beautiful woman passing you by on the street..because there aren't any. You'll be spending a lot of time on your own, with no one around to help or assist you in any way. It is the ultimate sandbox experience, with nothing but a main quest (to find your father) and no leads to his whereabouts whatsoever, to begin your game with. Everything else, you'll have to figure out, discover, or force out of the world and its inhabitants on your own. But when you do, the world created by Bethesda slowly opens up and shows you just how gigantic and detailed it truly is. What at first glance seems like a barren, godforsaken wasteland, slowly unveils itself as a giant testament to the survival of civilization as a whole..whether that be human or that of a sub-species, and against any odds.

Unprecedented player choice is the main theme. You can lie, steal, murder, charm or work your way into completing your objectives. Be a goody-goody, a beacon of hope for the lost souls out there, become their worst fear or morally as grey as a clouded sky. The choice, really..is up to you. Now I have played a lot of rpg's and interactive movies in my days, but I have never played anything that was so free and interactive as the world (AND STORY) presented to you in Fallout 3.

And yes, I know the comments, like; it's not Fallout 1&2..yaddayadda, but it's not trying to be. It's a stand-alone game, with a stand-alone story set in a universe that is definitely recognizable as a Fallout universe and let no one tell you anything different than that! Sure, it runs on the Oblivion-engine, and while I didn't like The Elder Scrolls AT ALL, it doesn't bother me.

So to wrap it up, Fallout 3 is a genuine RPG mixed with a bit of shooter, wrapped in a massive explorable world and is good for more than a 100 hours of gameplay. A must have/play for RPG and Adventure fans, but unfortunately..not for anyone else.

Masterpiece

[donuteater · 10/10 · 26 December 2009]

I'm not going to re-write the previous reviews about Fallout 3,you can basically read them yourself,by now the game is a solid year old.I am just going to say that Fallout 3 is one of the best games of all time,period. This is a complete virtual world,although nuked and destroyed,it is fun just wondering,exploring,collecting,buying,stealing or killing everything you see.Your karma will diside your future,just like real life! The graphics are amazing.Thevoice actors like Liam Neeson and Malcolm Mcdowell are superb.The game is a masterpiece on all fronts. Bethesda did a great job with this game and i really hope they make a fourth game!

It's no Fallout 2, but it's still amazing nonetheless.

[Grayfox176 · 10/10 · 29 October 2008]

First, let me start with saying, that I don't like the Elder Scrolls series too much. I enjoyed Morrowind, but that's it. The first two just didn't appeal to me at all, and Oblivion, despite looking amazing in trailers and screen shots, was disappointing and boring. So, suffice to say that Bethesda and I don't have the greatest relationship, which gave me a large number of doubts when I found out that they were picking up the Fallout series from Black Isle.

That being said, this game is easily in the running for "Best Game of 2008," and is definitely the best game I have for my Xbox 360. Sure, I think that Fallout 2 is still better, but this installment still has its own excellence. Bethesda has left the great sense of humor and the "Make your own path" gameplay pretty much unchanged, if not added to slightly, leaving the player with over 500 different endings.

You play a dweller of Vault 101, and before you even get to play the actual game, you are given the chance to play though different times in your character's life (Such as taking his first steps as an infant, his tenth birthday, and an exam that everyone takes upon reaching a certain age.) and even these moments were a lot of fun. But the story is that after the Dweller becomes 19, his father leaves the Vault, and you are pretty much forced to leave in order to find him. Right away, veterans of the game series will be able to recognize familiar opponents, such as Raiders, Super Mutants, and Deathclaw. The creatures are rendered beautifully, and the environments are jaw-dropping.

The combat has been replaced in two ways, which is the one thing that I could see people unhappy about. The first is just plain real time combat, in which can fire freely and as many times as you want at opponents, and everything continues to go on around you. The seconds is the new VATS system, which is a little like what the veterans of Fallout are used to, in which you can actually stop to aim at individual body parts, you are more likely to strike criticals and cripple limbs, and just do more damage as a whole, relying on Action Points to make these shots.

All in all, I still enjoy the older games more, Bethesda has shown that they are much more competent than the pretentiousness of Oblivion suggests, and I highly recommend you go out and buy this game.

An Incredible Game where Actions Matter

[BadgerStorm4345 · 10/10 · 22 April 2020]

Fallout 3 is a game that set a high standard for Fallout New Vegas and Fallout 4. Even though it may have been surpassed by the games following it, Fallout 3 is without a doubt a gem in a time where games like this weren't very common. This game has an incredible Karma system and an ending with actual weight. This is what the game excels in. You get to be whoever you want to be in this world, with the Karma system, you will lose Karma for dishonorable or evil actions and gain Karma for morally good actions. This paired with the factions and the ending make for a lot of replay value. A negative would be the actual gameplay. You are over reliant on VATS. This style of shooting is annoying at times and was improved in later games for good reason. Another issue for me is the lack of weapon customization on top of a durability system that feels cheap for a loot based game. Despite some problems, Fallout 3 lead to some incredible games on top of being incredible itself. This game is definitely worth going back to.

Great game

[brennenearl · 10/10 · 27 September 2019]

• Positives

All of it

• Cons

None of it

Not my favorite in the series but its still fantastic

5 Stars out of 5 Stars

[ajneeago96 · 10/10 · 15 July 2021]

Fallout 3; what could I possibly say about this legend that hasn't already been said? Quite possibly the best rpg I've ever played. My god what a wonderful world Bethesda immerses you in. I used to play this game on and off as a kid but the disc I had was scratched so I was never able to get far before it'd freeze screen. Coming back to it years and years later, this is a top tier video game experience. Everything from the different locations you embark on, to the deadly and weird creatures you face, to the many quests and side quests, you could easily spend 100+ hours in a single play through and still have lots of things to do still. Spent about 300 hours in one profile, scouring every inch of this vast landscape, mostly killing your average rad scorpion or enclave troops, but when you found places to discover, finding loot and lore/mission based items such, it made it all worth it in the end. Making a certain person jealous to the point where you drive them to murder is just some of the hidden things you can do in this ginormous game. The vats system really makes this game especially cool and unique too imo. This game alone truly proves Bethesda is possibly the best rpg developers EVER.

One of the best games I've ever played!

[mingusmcmahon-1 · 10/10 · 26 March 2009]

Many people who bought fallout 3 where expecting a proper sequel to fallout 1 and 2. I have not played either but i definitely was not disappointed with fallout 3

firstly the VATS are amazing and work well all the time (and do not make everything terribly easy because you have to gain attack points)and fallout 3 also has good first person shooting mechanics.

a brilliant world to roam around and lots of places to visit. personally i like visiting the vaults with crazy people in them XD.

you can also choose whether you are good or evil and this also works well. one bad thing is that people can get annoyed about very small things like steeling noodles or taking a pencil.

still a brilliant game 10/10

Post apocalyptic mayhem

[amnesiac_radar · 10/10 · 5 March 2011]

A lot has been written about this game and the fan-boys who rubbish it on the grounds it's a big departure from Fallout 1 and 2 are really missing the point. If you've never played the earlier games then what difference does consistency in the storyline matter if the game is this good? The first game I got when I purchased my Xbox a few years ago and I'm afraid with the exception of Oblivion, everything else has been a bit of a disappointment. It's difficult to decide where to start with this game, I fell in love with it after an hour of playing and still see it as the benchmark for engrossing, entertaining, satisfying, exciting game play.

This open-world RPG is set in Post-apocalyptic Washington D.C. and this dystopian vision is perfectly rendered. The level of detail is brilliant, from the choice of standard weapons such as the BB Gun, through to Plasma and Lazer pistols and rifles, to the ability to make your own weapons from junk. The interface (Pip-Boy) is a wonderful idea and well executed, with a huge range of options to level up, or just to decide which is the best outfit to wear. It's great to play a non-linear game, where you don't have to jump through the hoops, I think it shows a great use of imagination and ambition, and this game is certainly imaginative and ambitious.

Everything about Fallout 3 strikes me as a labour of love, the overall style of the period is impeccable, the design is Americana Science Fiction 40/50's inspired, on the one-hand the ruined buildings and vehicles are straight out of 40/50's America, and on the other, the weapons and suits of armour are from the future.

The graphics are great, and there's the option to have either first person, or variable distance third person, which is an option I've not encountered in any other game before. There are a wonderful array of weapons on offer, from small guns to big guns, melee weapons, energy weapons, custom made, missiles including mini nukes and plenty more to keep you satisfied. There are many enemies to either avoid or take on, Raiders, giant ants, mutants, different factions, some of these you can join by performing certain tasks and take advantage of their technology, weapons and armour.

There's a huge world to explore and plenty of items to scavenge, buy and steal in order to ensure your survival. Like Oblivion, there's a moral system in place, so your character is defined by their actions, do a good act and you get good karma, and options to have certain allies to accompany you, and access to different story lines, items and weapons, do a bad act and you'll miss out on certain story lines and items.

If you love detail in your games and a large element of freedom to do what you want, rather than a linear storyline, and if you're a fan of Oblivion, Red Dead Redemption, Mass Effect or Fable then I would heartily recommend this richly rewarding gem of a game.

Deeply impressive and engaging mix of RPG and shooter with varied game-play and plenty of it

[bob the moo · 5 July 2011]

Hard to believe that I didn't even hear of this game when it came out and it was only a colleague telling me it was "my thing" that made me aware of it. I had thought about it but all the stories of the many bugs put me off and I had also heard people describe the game as "walking through an empty landscape for 30 minutes". Eventually, over two years after release, I got it and wondered what the fuss was as I had to take baby steps to learn controls and design a character I didn't care about or even know if I would stick with – this feeling only lasted a short time because the story gets moving, the action starts, ramifications of decisions are felt and it is not long before you are out in the open, facing a massive landscape and with an entirely blank map.

The first town you enter is a potted summary of the entire game. You have characters in there that progress the main story but you have more characters that have side quests that you can do. These side quests not only get you out exploring the world but also earn you money and experience which you need to build up your character to be better equipped for the wide world. The main story is quite linear and your decisions and actions in it will only vary it so much – this was fine by me as I didn't want to feel I was missing out on loads by taking a certain path (missing out on a friend or a specific weapon is OK). I guess it must be possible to rush the quest and, although you'll be poorly equipped throughout, it might be possible to ignore the wider world and just push on this one path. To do so would be a mistake though because there are a very strong collection of side-quests – some of which involve you going to one maybe two places, others (such as the Wilderness Survival Guide) take you to loads of places and defy the term "side" quest by taking many hours to complete. Or, if specific quests don't take your fancy, you can simply head out into the wild where the many, many places awaiting you include abandoned drive-in cinemas or complex buildings overrun by mutants or human gangs. Of course many of these places will also produce side-quests for you to do so it is very easy to suddenly find yourself struggling to decide what to do next as your options are so vast.

The game play is varied and enjoyable. The exploring, trading and building up a character's skill makes for a great RPG feel without ever becoming a chore or really detailed pain. The use of dialogue choices and the range of ways to interact with people also makes it interesting – you can kill almost anyone you want, be rude, be polite, be helpful or be unhelpful, you can ask questions or simply ignore people; all of them will have ramifications (however minor). The FPS aspect is not as good as dedicated shooters, but the VATS system is good and free-firing is reasonably good. The key thing is that all of these aspects are combined and mixed well so that you never feel like you are totally in a RPG or totally in a FPS etc and it is surprising how well they all work together to pull you in. The lock-picking and terminal hacking annoyed me at first but soon I "got" them and enjoyed using logic and skill to do them.

The design of the game is also key outside of game-play. The idea of an alternative world frozen in the 1950's and then destroyed by nuclear war sounds daft but yet it works wonderfully because whether it is music, iconic items or the way people speak, the "All-American" feel of it contrasts really well with the reality of the wasteland; the adverts looked cool but the whole game captures this and uses it very well. The soundtrack in particular is great. Not quite as great is the voice acting. The characters are pretty well designed but the acting for the majority of them is only so-so. Most surprisingly the "big ticket" names don't have much to do and I was surprised by the lack of impact of Neeson; McDowell didn't have too much more time but he added more I felt. The incidental voices are disappointing since many characters are given identical voices and phrases and personally I would have liked them to have simply given me more voices in the minor characters.

This is a minor gripe though because I genuinely love the game. The stories of "walking through nothing" didn't come true because the fast-travel is possible once you discover a place and exploring is part of the fun. The bugs didn't affect me too badly – although I saved regularly just in case. My console froze a handful of times and one side-quest bugged out on me but otherwise it was perfect. The graphics are a little dated perhaps but they still look great and the world is well designed and engaging. The ending of the game is poor – I'm not a fan of how Red Dead did it, but at least it let you continue to explore after "the end" – at least Broken Steel will change this for me.

Overall Fallout 3 is as good as I had heard. It mixes talking with fighting, exploring with trading, a roughly linear story with consequences and overall produces a really great game. Like many others I found that it easily gave me over 100 hours of playing time – and, more importantly, I enjoyed them all.

This is officially the best game of all time.

[Liam3011 · 8/10 · 5 June 2013]

Fallout 3.

Now as a huge fan, I was expecting much, and my expectations were very well met.

The world is huge, the variety is there, the humour is there and the awesome fun is there too!

The fun is endless, it has a fantastic storyline, the characters are some of the best I've seen and the choices you make are really cool too. I've never seen a game like it, really I haven't.

Not only is the game amazing, but it is BREATHTAKING. Now bring Fallout 4

My EXACT score: 10/10

Blew Me Away Like A Nuclear Bomb!

[tyranid_slayer · 10/10 · 28 November 2008]

i must admit, i have never played any previous fallout games before. But after reading a feature on fallout 3 a good while before its release i was interested. And Then when trailers started coming out i built up my excitement. And i have my copy. And have just finished playing through it.

Well. Basic story is you come out your mothers womb where your greeted into the world by Liam Neeson (Your Father) from the birth you choose your name and appearance. Then a couple of years later your a baby and choose your basic skills. Then your suddenly ten years old and you get a PIP-BOY 3000 a kind of real-time low tech PDA. Several years later Liam Neeson does the unspeakable and leaves the safety of the vault into the perils of the nuclear wasteland. And what kind of story would it be if you didn't go after him? Now, the introduction of the game in the vault is all very cool and introduces vault life well but the game really gets good once you leave and see the wasteland for the first time. Because you've been underground for so long your eyes take time to adjust and when they do you see the frighteningly real nucleur wasteland in all its glory, it really sends out some shivers. The environment is where the game really shines. They have the wasteland looking fantastic and there are just some beautiful levelled buildings or standing buildings and it looks fantastic. Down to combat. The game can be played in first or third person view. i found myself in first person mostly but sometimes i went into third person to see what my outfit was like. Shooting in first person takes a little getting used to and most people will very often use the games best gameplay mechanic the V.A.T. Basically it stops time so you can strategically pinpoint gunshots on the enemies......although for added fun you could aim for the head for a juicy headshot. The sound is really good also. Particularly in the music. After a while i found myself humming or whistling every upbeat 50's tune in the game. But alas its not perfect. Yes the wastland is very expansive and beautiful but if your trying to find a specific location then you could just randomly wander around and when you think your going the right way your blocked by RUBBLE. And sometimes these random areas you walk about in contain enemies that you may not be ready to fight yet. Also your character is like a virtual pet. He/She needs to be well kept which means if they're crippled or badly wounded they need healing to that specific area or if they have lack of sleep they may not perform well in combat. But these few problems don't take away from the full experience but you will have to put up with them so get used to it. Fallout3 has to to be one of my games of the year this year and definitely somewhere in my all time favourties

Definitely Fallout and Definitely Good.... just NOT great

[trpnallday · 7/10 · 19 May 2009]

The game has a lot of things going for it: (mostly) great graphics, amazing voice acting (for a game), a fresh new control system, action, gore and lots of classic Fallout style.

This is enough to make it a very playable and entertaining game for most people, but there are many detracting points which will likely keep it from being No.1 on most people's lists.

The graphics are marred by some glitches and some poor animations which seriously distract the player from the otherwise startlingly realistic world the game creates.

Furthermore, some poor decisions were made in regard to the game-play. Most notably is the lack of any form of transportation other than walking which makes for some times when the player will have to spend 30min-1hr just to get from one part of the map to another. Also slightly irritating is the worthlessness of power armor and heavy/energy weapons which should reign supreme and yet are next to impotent in this game. The difficulty is also very unbalanced with the main quest being extremely easy while random encounters throughout the wasteland can sometimes be frustratingly difficult. Typical RPG fare like money, items, shops, repair shops and visiting the doc are also useless in Fallout 3 which I feel leaves the game feeling a little too streamlined.

Along those lines, the game also feels streamlined in the sense that the VATS targeting system is only really necessary in the beginning of the game for once the player hits a certain (low) percentage for their weapon proficiency they can blast away in first person mode with near perfect accuracy thus negating the whole point of stats. Also the game is made a bit too easy by the fact that healing is extremely easy. Any ailment can be instantly healed by stimpacks which are ever-present in massive quantities. Also beds are everywhere and the player need only sleep for an hour (not real-time) and fully recover from any ailment for free! Thanks to the above, I was able to beat the game and complete most of the side-quests in about 35hrs. Considering that most of that time was spent jogging from place to place the game only lasts about 10 hours.

Now do not get me wrong, those 10hrs are some very fun 10hrs, hence I describe this game as "good" just not "great."

Mad Max featuring Oblivion featuring 28 Days Later

[snapa · 4/10 · 31 October 2008]

I got the same feeling when playing Oblivion the first time, does Bethesda know anymore how to create great games? My opinion? No.

As I feel it, this game should've been a tribute to the greatest games of all time, Fallout 1 and Fallout 2. Well that didn't happen...

Fallout 3 just feels like a full mod to Oblivion, nothing else. It has the same voice actors (it's getting kind of annoying when you hear the same voices over and over again, but still thanks to Ron Perlman and Liam Neeson), same glitches, and even the same "bugs" that Bethesda never fixed. Even the "dungeons" feel the same. When comparing to Fallout 1/Fallout 2, it's kinda weird that you're spending so much time in the dungeons, or should I say Home of the Feral Ghouls... There's also a bit too much pipe-running, though you can also go out there and adventure.

The gameplay is a bit itchy, but it's good. I first thought that VATS will be the worst thing in the game, but no, it's actually one of the best things in the game. Though VATS messes a bit with your weapon skills, it makes you feel that you can shoot with every weapon. And you can, pretty good too, and that sucks.

Graphics, yea... Bethesda sure knows how to make games look good. Eye- popping, cant say anything else. I hope you do know, that graphics wont make a good game?

Fallout 3 has amazing graphics, good gameplay, some nice jokes here and there, and the post-apocalyptic feels and looks good.

But the critical thing that Fallout 3 doesn't have, is Fallout.

1/2 for the gameplay, 2/2 for the graphics, 1/7 for the overall Fallout feeling. 4/10 as a Fallout game.

8/10 as a video game.

If you're a hardcore Fallout fan, don't buy this. If you like a good video game, then feel free to buy it, and enjoy the latest post apocalyptic role playing (video)game.

I would highly recommend this game dear hearts and gentle people

[jamesfj2009 · 10/10 · 16 August 2023]

Greetings, If you are reading this review I'd like to thank you, Keep in mind this is the only review I have ever written so I hope that illustrates how much I enjoy this game, Fallout 3 is an amazing experience, It has fun combat mechanics, There is so much to explore, I have been playing it since it's initial release in 2008, It is well written and I won't say anything about the plot as I do not want to ruin anything, The game has decent graphics (Yes I understand that the game is old but I play it on PC) Unfortunately as it is a Bethesda game it does crash on occasion and the in game radio on your pipboy in the game doesn't quite work right but even still it is an amazing game, Which I still play to this day. I have logged around 350 hours on this game, And that's just on my current PC! I have played it on my previous PC and xbox 360 for hundreds of hours more, So please take my word for it and play this game, It will absolutely be worth your time, Just remember to save often. I would like to thank you for taking the time to read this and I promise if you give this game a chance you will not regret it friends, Cheers!

The best game everrr!

[Hypocrizy · 10/10 · 25 October 2013]

Welcome to the apocalypse! :D This is the most long anticipated game I've waited for. I loved the old Fallout and Fallout 2, and hoped Bethesda would make the very best when they took over the series. I wasn't disappointed. Of course one have to expect that it ain't the same gaming experience when it arrives 10 years later.

Fallout 3 has a great gameplay, good stories even if they sometimes lack something I would like: Deeper solutions. Example in Big town - I want to give them all a bunch of weapons and armor (it is told you can reverse-pickpocket them but for me that has not yet been successful) and after the attack I would like them to evolve - such as helping them to move their location. Now it's finished after teaching them to sneak and use guns/explosives.

I do not recommend following the main storyline blindly, start it and then get out and explore. The exploring is gigantic á la sandbox and stuffed with encounters and quests. I also like the changes in game depending on what actions you take, which makes the game come alive.

The atmosphere is really nice; it's doom and gloom mixed with twisted characters, horror and FPS and your heart beats rapidly as you search the abandoned subway maze and then hears a distant howl from some of its unidentified inhabitants.

10/10 for a reason.

Solid entry to the franchise

[stayfree-51277 · 9/10 · 7 July 2020]

Good game! This was my first experience with the fallout franchise so for that reason it will always hold a place in my heart. It's definitely it the best entry but it's a great game nonetheless, even if the story is a little linear

A Violent Sashay Through the Ruins of the Nation's Capital

[Margera4445 · 10/10 · 20 November 2009]

Now, some can take a moment and say that this game is promoting the utter demolition of the US of A and others can say that this game is a violence-filled catastrophe that begs the question "Why do we like seeing brains and eyeballs splash against our screens in ultra slow-mo?" I say this game is nice little walk through what the post-apocalyptic backyard of Washington, D.C could've looked like had the Red Scare been totally right in every respect. The game has a sense of nostalgia while keeping to the tried and true form of blowing everything to bits and asking questions never that we've seen a hundred times over...and it executes every part of it almost perfectly.

In the gun-toting RPG developed by the minds who brought us the brilliance that is the realistic sword-fighting, cave-spelunking of Oblivion, you play a young man who emerges from one of the many underground "vaults" dotting the post-nuclear wasteland to find his (or her) father, who's left the vault in search of something that's completely unbeknown to the rest of the vault-dwellers. Leaving the vault-in-turmoil, you venture through the nuclear-draped wasteland of our nation's capital. 50's music pumps through a radio station who's signal is in need of repair. Walking down the road a piece, you meet a flying robot, tossing out words from the "president" John Henry Eden, who seems pretty content with gratifying everyone that everything is gonna be a-okay in the capital wastes. You know that's a bunch of baloney and you haven't even been out of your hole for more than 10 minutes. Walking up a dirt sideroad, you come across a makeshift town called Megaton. The door, which has been fashioned out of two aircraft wings and an jet engine, open up as a clunky old robot greets you with a friendly "Howdy, partner" in a voice not different from Mr. Stephen Hawking's. You enter the town, and a man named Lucas Simms states that he hasn't seen one of those vault uniforms you're wearing in ages. That's when you realize just how interesting things are about to get.

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CONCEPT (10/10) The storyline of the game is very rare for Fallout 3's genre. Starting from early childhood, going through a brief period of being a baby, to being a 10 year old, to taking an aptitude test as a 16 year old, and eventually leaving the fault at 17, you can develop and relate to the character you create. The story is well-written, definitely a mark of professionalism instead of just leaving the character in an extraordinary situation with guns. The game is a major test of morality, earning you karma points or losing you karma points ultimately depending on what you choose to do. Should you help the talking tree? Or leave it to another eternity of torment? It sounds weird now, just wait till you're there.

MUSIC (10/10) While you can choose to blow supermutants apart while listening to the voices of the 40's and 50's like The Ink Spots or Cole Porter, you can also listen to the dulcet tones of an old woman's Stradivarius violin or the haunting ambiance of Inon Zur's composition. Zur does well to reproduce a sound that feels like it's being carried along the winds of the wastes, or echoing through the worn hallways of an abandoned vault. The music never becomes repetitive or annoying, instead, you may find yourself humming "Way Back Home" by Bing Crosby while you're hanging with friends. While this will get you many weird looks from your peers, it may just be the bridge across the age gap.

ENVIRONMENTS (10/10) Whether it be an abandoned military installation or a small village, the environments of the Capital Wasteland are never dull or lifeless. It was a joy to explore the endless array of unique locations that are reminiscent of what used to be D.C. The city itself is beautifully reproduced. Climb the steps of Capitol Hill, walk down Pennsylvania Avenue or loot the many remaining office buildings, trainstations and homes of olden days D.C. The possibilities are endless and unique, just be sure to bring your hunting rifle.

GAMEPLAY (9/10) The gameplay is definitely a modern marvel of the video gaming generation. Leaving little to expectation and more to imagination, your required to actually survive your experience in this survival RPG. The one thing that upset me the most was that you cannot level up past a certain point, leaving many of the perks to be experienced in a second game, also once the story ends, the game ends, unlike Oblivion in which you could continue exploration.

CHARACTERS (10/10) Fallout's characters, whether it be a random settler or an actual story character, are anything but lifeless. Their emotions and actions are felt by the gamer in ways that are normally absent in shooter games of Fallout's intensity. If you kill a character, you're going to either feel righteous in your actions or feel like a douchebag for shooting that settler in the face.

----------OVERALL------------ 10/10 Fallout 3 is definitely a game for the ages. It's won Game of the Year more than 80 times, a well-deserved amount. Bethesda took their policy of "Go anywhere, do anything" to extreme lengths with this game. With gratuitous violence, a gripping storyline, amazingly rendered environments, unbridled exploration, shiny new technology and a kickass fighting system, Fallout 3 offers little upsetting points and more fun and exciting gameplay that's rarely seen in a game of this genre. Fallout 3 really sets the bar for FPS/RPG games. I hope to see more like this from Bethesda in the future.

An amazingly crafted game worthy of it's many awards.

[DMBx13 · 10/10 · 7 August 2011]

What's better than exploring a landscape filled with lunatics, mutants, sadists, and disposing of these creatures in a multitude of ways?... nothing.

Fallout 3 shows that war...war never changes. Having come out over 2 years ago, and receiving 80+ GOTY (Game of the Year) awards, Bethesda Softworks makes you want to explore every building, vault,and city. Hack every computer, pick every lock, and kill every mutant out there.

GAMEPLAY: 10/10 This is a triumph upon triumphs of the gaming industry. The engine works better than many other games that I have played. Sure, your character's movement is a bit unrealistic, but the intensity of the battles makes up for it.

GRAPHICS: 8/10 Fallout 3 came out 2+ years ago, so while a little outdated the graphics are still amazing nonetheless.

STORY: 10/10 Words can't begin to describe the emotional depth of this story...but i'll try anyways. From being born to your tenth birthday to your high school years to being an adult, character generation is almost as deep as the rest of the storyline, but I would rather not spoil it.

SOUND: 9.5/10 Listening to Ella Fitzgerald while destroying an army of lunatics with a nuclear-bomb is a great experience. Nothing matches the sheer originality of this game's soundtrack.

OVERALL: 10/10 A great game that was way ahead of it's time. It is an amazing game worth any gamer's time.

The best video game. EVER

[851222 · 10/10 · 16 October 2011]

Greetings from Lithuania.

Yes, this is the best video game i've played in my life, and i've played a lot of games. The story is amazing.

When you just start playing, this game won't let you go. Graphics and sound are good.

This one of those games, where you literally "living" it, not just playing it.

I've played it with all DLC already installed. so i've got around 200 hours of pure game playing.

Play this one, you won't regret it.

Oh My God Nothing can describe the experience, just play it

[ratcat0 · 10/10 · 15 November 2010]

Well I would not normally give a game 10/10 but 9 doesn't quite do it justice. The world is so huge in this game that you can play for months and probably still not see everything. Great Kitsch and retro props. Robby the Robot look-a-likes, haunting background music and excellent nostalgic music from the likes of Bob (yes Bob not Bing) Crosby, Danny Kaye, Bessie Smith and so on. Each quest has you going until you have completed it, rarely will you get bored. Don't annoy anyone or you may be damned for all time! Excellent Graphics and great in 3D. Definitely a keeper. File it away to play again at a later date because it is one of those games that sucks you in and takes you away to another place and time. I can barely find a negative thing to say about FO3 except be careful not to end the game too fast, there is a point of no return when you have no choice but to complete the game, just make sure you have explored the whole map but then again its entirely up to you.

In my opinion not the best fallout but still a milestone in gaming

[oof-15611 · 10/10 · 22 October 2019]

Don't gat me wrong this game is just great but I don't think it was the best but I was amazing go play it now

this has little to do with the Fallout Universe

[Tinmancr · 7/10 · 21 October 2010]

I rated a 7 purely on fun and modularity from the GECK. I have played all of the real Fallout games and most of the knock offs. "Tactcics Bos console, fallout 3 aka oblivion postapoc" there are many bad old school references that are more annoying than genuine. the entire time-line, background, tech, and general world flora/fauna are all wrong. not to mention the linearity of this game unlike the older ones. the main story line is actually much less linear and is pretty much pointless. "like say gta" and for the real Fallout fans the weapons are very bad.. and look nothing like the should. the only saving point is that one can fix some problems with the GECK. not sure how this got a 9-10 but it barely rates a 7 and I am pretty generous with that. PS I don't think you can get Mehrune's Razor, or Dwarven gear too bad...

Not Fallout

[Voytek_Pavlik · 2/10 · 26 November 2008]

Many fans of the Fallout series were waiting for another sequel to the one of the best Role Playing Games in the history- Fallout.

The first Fallout came out around the same date when the first Bethesda's TES game did- Daggerfall. Both games had different mechanics (Fallout was ISO view with Turn-based combat, and Daggerfall was First Person Perspective with Real Time combat) and they were a totally different games. Bethesda's game was mainly based on action and dungeon crawl. Fallout's world was huge but somehow full of life of the destroyed civilisation after a nuclear holocaust. Bethesda's games were very...empty and uninspired.

The Fallout's creators' main target of the game was to emulate a PnP games feeling. That is why they've chosen a turn-based combat, and for TB combat, the isometric view is the best choice. First person perspective and real time combat was designed far before turn-based and ISO view.

Second target of the designers was to get rid off those dungeon crawls, fantasy driven with orcs and elves, feeling. They wanted to change the point of view of all RPGs back then, take the game style out from the fantasy world (Daggerfall for example) and put it into a sci-fi setting with "F" words and "S" words within the deep and very enjoyable dialogue. And they have succeeded!

So, to get to the point after this damn introduction. What Bethesda Softworks did with Fallout? They did the same game they were doing for years (TES series) and painted it with "Fallout" name on it.

Dongeons are now subways, and most NPCs look and sound like they were copied from the Oblivion and pasted in the Fallout world. And in the original Fallouts, the game made a feeling of "loneliness" in the endless wasteland, and NPCs? wow, even kids would rather steal something from you while asking for help.

Although, the game would be good as a sand-alone game...but it's NOT! It's called "Fallout 3" and don't forget that this was supposed to be a sequel, not something else!!

PS. This is in short, you don't want to know how long the whole thing would be like ;)

It may be old but it's good.

[kobemackenzie · 10/10 · 13 July 2022]

Fallout 3 takes place in Washington DC in a post apocalyptic world where our character escapes a vault in order to find his dad. This game gives you a really big open map where you can explore broken down buildings to find supplies and to read lore of the fallout universe. The game gives you a lot of freedom of story you are able to play a good boy who helps everyone or play a bad guy who only helps people for his own gain or you are just a psychopath. The games gives you so many choices for the main story and the side quests. There are many ways to finish each side quest and the main story. There are quirky characters to meet all around the waste land. There are also tons of enemies so there is never a boring or dull moment. The game also has a perk System where your perks can really help your character fight and defend them self or perks that help you with the story some perks give you special dialogue option you can only get if you choose a certain perk and it can lead to getting more money better weapons and amour and it can really help out with the missions giving you a better solutions. Overall I think Fallout 3 has to be one of the best story driven games for all the freedom it's gives you.