Full Review for Fallout 3 by CyberneticMooninite

Introduction

Fallout 3 is a game for the Xbox 360, PS3, and the PC. It was picked up by Bethesda after it was canceled by Black Isles under the name of Van Buren. Fallout 3 takes place in Washington D.C., known as the Capital Wasteland, 200 years after the bombs dropped, and the subsequent end to the Great War in 2077. It is also an alternate timeline after World War II where culture has suffered and stayed 1950's-esqe while military, robotics, technological, and medical advances sped up. You are (insert your own name here) and were born in Vault 101, one of the few Vaults that was not used for some kind of twisted experiment by Vault-tec. You start out slow, picking what you will look like later in the game at birth and then going through your childhood in 4 flash forwards during which you go through being a baby where you pick your S.P.E.C.I.A.L. Which is your strength, endurance, perception, agility, luck, charisma, and intelligence stats along with learning the basics like interacting and moving in the game, your 10th birthday where you get your Pip-boy 3000 which is your inventory on your arm and also receive a BB gun and learn how to shoot, you take the G.O.A.T. At the age of 16 which is where you tag your skills, and finally you are 19 and are awoken by Amata, your childhood friend even if you weren't too nice in your conversations with her, saying that your father has left the Vault and radroaches have gotten in and are creating havoc throughout the Vault. You now have to escape from the Vault by fighting your way to the door and opening it. When you get outside, your main goal becomes finding your father. Just in case you haven't played or gotten very far, I won't spoil anymore of the story.

Graphics

Fallout 3 is a beautiful looking game. Even if it's a post-apocalyptic world, it has a certain beauty to it. The desolate looking Capital Wasteland is a very depressing looking place because of the lack of vegetation and all of the crumbling or crumbled buildings. Some of the great symbols of America are destroyed. The White House was directly hit by a bomb and is just a giant irradiated crater with a few enemies hanging around and no direct way inside other then a maintenance tunnel. The Washington Monument is still standing but looks like it has been the target of Super Mutant attacks and has holes in it, along with the transmitter disk for the Galaxy News Radio station. The Lincoln Memorial has a chunk taken out of the roof and Abraham Lincoln has no head. The Capitol Building is relatively still intact but a massive battle between robots, Super Mutants, Talon Company Mercenarys, and later on Enclave. Inside are several sandbag defenses along with more enemies and a room with a Super Mutant Behemoth. There are little things all throughout the game that make me think. Think about what it would have been like before the war. Going into houses and seeing skeletons of what seems to be a couple who were seemingly cuddling in their bed when the bombs drop. Seeing cars at a drive-in movie theater still facing the screen. Just little things like this can make the game all the better. The only thing I have to complain about is the blocky character movement. When your talking to someone they don't move and just stand there like a robot. When people walk, it doesn't always fit the terrain. People walk uphill like they do downhill and across a flat plain.

Sound

Personally this is my favorite part of the game. Of course people will mention the amazing voice acting and the realistic sounding weapons along with the cool sounds of the weapons not in real life. My favorite part of the sound is the fitting soundtrack. It adds a certain ambiance to the game that along with the graphics takes me back to the 40's and 50's. Whether it be listening to the Andrew Sisters sing a possibly racist song about the Congo or the Ink Spots singing about just wanting to light a flame in your heart, the music brings me back to older ,and in this case not simpler times. Standing on an overpass or small mountain looking out over the Capital Wasteland listening to I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire by The Ink Spots makes me feel like wow.

Gameplay

The gameplay is wildly entertaining. The controls are solid but I do have to complain about is jumping. When you jump, it doesn't always allow you to when your moving which can be annoying when your trying to jump a gap or over a radiation pool. It's very satisfying to snipe someone's head right off or shoot a lawnmower blade and chop someone's leg or head off. Even running up and punching someone can be fun when you get your unarmed skill up and perks that go with it. Being able to punch someone's head off or paralyzing someone can be more satisfying then shooting or stabbing someone.

Lastability

The game has strong lastability. I'm currently at 60 hours on one of my characters and haven't even gotten or seen everything. The quests themselves take a good while but there aren't very many quests. You'll spend the majority of your time exploring the locations that have their own story that can turn into your own little mini-quest or adventure. After you've gotten most of the items and been most everywhere, the game may not hold the same charm it did when you were going through the beginning and collecting and seeing new enemies. After you reach level 20 (the level cap) you can kill most anything fairly handily, which can get old or with some people makes it more fun.

Overall

Overall, the game is one of my favorites. It has a great sound to it, a beautiful look, has good lastability, and very entertaining and addictive gameplay. Me and all my friends have also become addicted to the music and memorized the lyrics and I have all the songs on my iPod. People with addictive personalities need to be careful of this game because it's easy to get addicted to this piece of gaming awesomeness. If you don't have this game, what are you waiting for? Go out and get it!

Final Score: 90%