Fallout 3 Review
- Posted November 3rd, 2008 at 12:22 EDT by Eric Blattberg
- 41 Comments
Review Score
- PSU Review Score
- 9.0
- Avg. user review score:
- 8.6
Summary
Fallout 3 is an outstanding title that sets a new standard for action role-playing games, and will appeal to fans of either genre.
We like
- Brilliant dynamic conversation and story
- Massive game length, replay value
- Revolutionary V.A.T.S. system
We dislike
- Numerous bugs and glitches
- Framerate issues, texture pop-in, and jaggies
- Poor character and NPC animation
See PSU's review on Metacritic & GameRankings
It’s hard – but all too easy – to imagine: a nuclear Judgment Day. We’ve narrowly avoided it under the watchful eyes of skilled leaders in the past, but it’s a frightening possibility that we must recognize and strive to prevent in the years and decades to come. But what if we couldn’t?
To experience a post-apocalyptic United States firsthand, look no further than Fallout 3. As the studio behind the brilliant Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Bethesda Softworks had extremely high expectations to meet for the first main entry in the Fallout canon in the last 10 years. Those expectations haven’t been met – they’ve been surpassed.
The global atomic war of 2077 transformed Washington D.C. into a smoldering, desolate wasteland literally called The Capital Wasteland. Most organized government was eradicated, and people were left to fend for themselves. A few lucky individuals took residence in Vault 101, the “Jewel of the Wastes.” Vault 101 offered what the outside world did not: sanitation, structure, and safety. The budding Vault society centered around one mentality – nobody enters, nobody leaves.
The game begins the moment you take your first breath, and, in about an hour, walks you through the first 19 years of your wonderful little life in Vault 101. Your mother dies immediately after childbirth, thus your father is your sole guardian. Played by the talented Liam Neeson (Schindler’s List, Batman Begins), your father is kind, wise, and loving. That is, until he leaves you. Out of the blue, he abandons the Vault, and it’s up to you to escape and track him down.
Bethesda cleverly introduces many of the game’s core mechanics during the upbringing period, though everything is a bit overwhelming when you first leave the Vault. That, though, is clearly intended. Picture leaving your home for the first time, and discovering that there’s a vast world outside. That’s essentially how leaving the Vault feels, though The Capital Wasteland is likely a tad more radioactive than your backyard.
Still, you come to grips with the game’s intricate workings in a reasonable amount of time. The first item you’ll need to understand is the fashionable Pip-Boy 3000. Fastened to your arm, this little piece of machinery has some enormous applications. It acts as an items menu, data display, map and much, much more. It’s an excellent way to handle the majority of the game’s required management (with the exception of game saves), and as it’s a piece of your character, it doesn’t draw you out of the Fallout world. My only qualm with the Pip-Boy is its default, tough-on-the-eyes green color, but that can easily be remedied in the options menu.
So you can interact with a gadget on your arm. Sure, it’s neat, but what about more personal interactions? These are present in full force, second only to the dynamic dialogue of Mass Effect. The branching conversations you have with other people are expertly executed. Ranging from grunts and colloquial remarks to expertly crafted monologues, the writing is always spot on. The voice acting, like that of Oblivion, is excellent, and unlike Oblivion there are few lip-syncing issues. It’s a bit ironic that in a world so dead, the inhabitants seem so alive.
But what’s most impressive about the dialogue is the sense of gravity each conversation carries. Every time you make a remark, it has consequences one way or another. Your karma will fluctuate as you talk to people and perform actions, ultimately determining whether you are good, evil, or neutral. Each path has pros and cons; there is no “right” choice. Most players will find that morality isn’t a clear-cut choice either. While I had no trouble thoroughly pillaging a gang hideout (even though it lowered my karma), the same couldn’t be said of stealing from the residences in the impoverished Megaton (which, indeed, I chose not to blow up). When I once stole a measly clipboard with an errant press of the X button, I actually felt guilty and ashamed. That proves testament to the game’s immersion factor.
You’ll get so wrapped in the game’s world that you’ll often forget that there’s a story to complete. Even though it shifts and twists in ... (continued on next page)
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Comments
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joeymetalgear7
- 7:59am EST - November 3rd, 2008
- 4
amazing game its got some of the best graphics on ps3 and after 8 hours of play ive hardly noticed any bugs or glitches at all, if u liked oblivion ur in for a real treat
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ironflag55555
- 8:27am EST - November 3rd, 2008
- 5
il give this game a try regardless what ppl say. im sure its not as bad as people make it seem like
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hitman8062
- 8:49am EST - November 3rd, 2008
- 7
Seems interesting, but i didnt like oblivion so i will give it a pass (theres too many good games coming)
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GOD_OF_CHAOS_KRATOS
- 8:51am EST - November 3rd, 2008
- 8
From the pics the graphics dont look so hot(Gameplay is bottom line of course)
Surprisingly Littlebigplanet is probably the second or third best looking title i have seen
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bracomadar
- 1:35pm EST - November 3rd, 2008
- 15
I couldn't agree more with this. It does have a few bugs, but nothing that has made me want to stop playing it. I ended up stop playing Oblivion because it was bugged to where I couldn't turn back into a human from a vampire. With this game, I just went into my settings and turned off the notification thing so it doesn't freeze up for a few seconds when friends log on, or off. There's been a few other bugs, but nothing major. They can always fix them with patches. The gameplay and the visuals are wonderful. It's not as a beautiful game as Oblivion (it's a nuclear wasteland for Pete's sakes), but they did spend a lot of time on details. It might be a nuclear wasteland, but it really does feel like a nuclear wasteland. It still has that epic sense to it that makes it more personal and draws you in instead of you just thinking it's just a game. You can explore the wasteland and see a point on the horizon and walk to it and see another point and walk to that and not have a load screen. You could just spend all day just walking around a huge wasteland and not see 1 loading screen. You have more freedom and control on where you can go instead of feeling some game designer is herding you down a designated path. You still have loading screens for towns, bunkers, caves, and stuff like that, but it really does boggle the mind on how they could cram such a huge map into a game and not have a loading screen :) It's nice to see somebody finally made a really good FPS/RPG and an RPG that's not medieval fantasy based too. I would love to see more games like this, not necissarily based in post W.W.III America, but maybe Bethesda might do a Western themed RPG, or something. I should note that I'm not a huge RPG fan, but this game rocks and even people that don't like RPGs should at least try it before passing judgement.
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djrussell
- 3:37pm EST - November 3rd, 2008
- 16
I've been looking forward to Fallout 3 for over a year now and I will say that I'm certainly not disappointed. It's an amazing game, however as the "cons" at the top of the screen indicate the game is not without its flaws. If they were fixed it'd be a 10/10 for me, but as it stands it gets a 9.5/10 - close, but so far from perfection.
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Punisher99
- 4:17pm EST - November 3rd, 2008
- 18
This is an outstanding game but the game has one fatal flaw. THE GAME HAS TO PAUSE WHENEVER ONE OF YOUR PSN FRIENDS LOG IN OR OUT OF PSN. YEAH THATS RIGHT, I AM DEAD SERIOUS. But even with this flaw, this game is still outstanding.
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Free_Agent
- 4:59pm EST - November 3rd, 2008
- 19
I agree, this game is great. I bought it on PC, and it's everything I had expected. Granted I'm only 3-4 hours into it. My one complaint would be that it doesn't seem like their is nearly as much content in this game as oblivion. I realize that it's a different game, but I guess I was kinda expecting a little more content to explore. It seems like this game may not have that everlasting feel of exploration that oblivion gives you. Either way, I say it's a must buy, no matter which platform you pick it up for.
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PS3-The Ultimate Machine
- 5:29pm EST - November 3rd, 2008
- 20
It's weird how any other title would've gotten a 7 becuz of these issues,but for FallOut(because it's a name of caliber) can get away with being glitchy as h*ll and still get a 9.Sorry PSU but that just seems a bit of a double standard.
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