Fallout 3
Unlike most people on this forum this game wasn't on my top priority list and I thought it looked alright. When I heard all the positive reception for it and some friends recommened it to me i managed to pick it up in GAME for £20. Having played little of Oblivion most of this was new to me so that added to the experience.
The opening game is basically just talking and building out your character, taking tests and then escaping the vault. It sounds boring but i liked it until I encountered a glitch which meant the GOATS test wouldn't start (This was very annoying). When escaping the whole multiple way gameplay is introduced when you get a chance to escape in many different ways (Sneaking past, talk to him to convince him, blowing his skull off etc) which changes characters, quests, events etc.
When leaving the vault you come out on top of a hill. The entire wasteland stands before you, the rubble of destroyed building, houses with no walls and mud and dust over it all. It really is quite amazing. Then you encounter Meagton. You get the choice to blow Megaton up or save it. This has a great impact on the game. Do you blow it up, kill everyone and get bad karma or do you save it, feel the honour and be known as a hero. It really shows of how different each playthrough can be.
Combat wise Fallout 3 is pretty good too. You can go into First or third person and use an array of wepons from baseball bats, shotguns, laser rifles and miniguns. Of course the main difference in Fallouts' combat is VATS. VATS allows you to stop the battle and target specific body parts and let loose. You can't constantly use it though, you need to make sure you have enough Action points (Don't worry they recharge).
One of the greatest things about Fallout is the legnth. This game will last you for ages. The main quest takes a decent amount of time and there is an incredible amount of side quests. You can play thge game for an hour and do absoultely nothing. You will head out on a quwst and decide to check out the road to your left which takes you into more intresting places and then a few hours later you realise you haven't done your quest yet. Thats not a bad thing though.
It isn't without it's problems though. It does have a lot of glitches. Many bodies get stuck in the walls and disapear, sometimes you just get stuck and can't move. It can be annoying but fortunately they don't happen too often and you can save at anytime preventing frustration.
Fallout 3 is the first western RPG I have had a good amount of experience with and I loved it. One of the best games of 2008 tbh.
9/10




