I just bought fallout 3 6 days ago and I'm just blown away... I played fallout 1 and 2 and I have to say that it does live up to the legacy ! It is definitely one of the best games of his generation (a generation of many many really bad and dull games...but fortunately there is fallout 3 [and starcraft 2 let´s hope it goes well...]). The only negative point about this game are the many crashes for the pc version although that doesn't disturb me from loving this game to the full extend, because :yeah it´s that good.… Expand

I don't know how so many people reviewed this so highly. Fallout 3, as a game, is directionless and vague in all it does, poorly structured (you can skip out half the story if you're not careful), caters for gaming idiots and worst of all is anything but true to the Fallout name. Ok so I shall start with the positives, it's a good looking game as long as you remain in first person, apparently no one in Bethesda has ever seen a real person walking as evidenced by switching to third person. There are some truly great scripted moments that are only really effective because of the level of the graphics, anyone who's played it should know what moments I'm talking about. Moving onto the world itself, it is big and there are a lot of places to go and visit, a lot of people to meet and a lot of items to collect (if you're a hoarder like me). The ambient sound is ok in most places and good in a few, it never gets annoying so I can't really fault it. Weapons sound as they should or probably should, the music sort of sets the scene but is relatively forgettable. That just about wraps up the good things. Ok so first of all this game suffers from all the faults Oblivion had and some. "Dungeons" or "Vaults" as Bethesda would have you believe all have that same rehashed feeling they had in Oblivion, as do buildings. As I already mentioned, third person character movement is appalling, though this is not too much of a problem as most people, as I did, for a bulk of the game will be playing in first person. You would have thought with the budget they had and the time they had they could at least get that right however. The other thing is that it can't be played as you would play a first person shooter, you can aim your cross hair over an enemy all you want but that doesn't make it any more likely you will hit; whilst this is true to the Fallout series it doesn't translate in their first person iteration of it, except for when enemies are firing at you; they don't seem to be bound by the same constraints. Neither does VATS for that matter, in the original if you specifically targeted and hit an enemy's body part it would have a noticeable affect on that enemy's ability to fight, in Fallout 3 it doesn't seem to make a blind bit of difference, for example, blinding an enemy would make it near impossible for them to attack you. As for the storyline, what there isn't of it that is, now I know that there is much more to a game in terms of its immersive-ness than the main storyline but it does have to provided direction and motivation to finish the game. The main storyline can be completed in five hours or less if you're skipping parts of it and is not once engaging or driving enough to want to continue. Not good by any standard. It doesn't help that the story is told by an incredibly lacklustre group of NPCs. In fact nearly every character in this game has a personality roughly equal to a shade of beige. They are an incredibly boring group and there is little diversity to them, in fact you will come across many with an overwhelming sense of familiarity, even though you may not have met them yet. Also the game is incredibly buggy, even after numerous patches. That covers all of the issues I see with it except for, what is for me, the biggest one of them all. Now then, if you're going to take up already established IP and expand on that you have to pay attention to what that originally stood for. Now I know Fallout has diverged in the past from it's roots but never has it strayed this far. The first two of the Fallout series had some intelligent and very witty writing, a varied, interesting and soulful group of NPCs and hugely interesting world full of sleaze and humour. This variation on the Fallout theme has stripped out all of this, there is never a funny moment, the writing is appalling, NPCs are bland and the sleaze has completely gone. No more can you take a job as a porn star or engage with the post-apocalyptic mob or score drugs from a shady character to fuel your addiction. This strips most of the realism and life out of the world and the fact of the matter is that by comparison to most of the rest of the series Fallout 3 has no soul, it's been stripped out in an attempt to bring it to all out commercial success (yes I know this sounds whiny and unrealistic as these companies are there to make money, but do that with their own IP not just off the back of a recognised and fondly loved and remembered franchise). Anyway in conclusion Fallout 3 is, as a game, a mildly above average game. However, as an addition to the Fallout series it is an incredibly poor and disappointing addition so far removed from what Fallout was that it is barely recognisable any more. I just hope that with some of the original Fallout team working on New Vegas they can get that amazingly lively, funny world that Fallout used to be back.… Expand

What a mixed bag this game is. Pros: Interesting premise, good graphics, expansive world, (some) interesting characters, unique soundtrack, nice retrospective about your character at the end of the game. Cons: Crashes way too much (PC), really annoying repetitive dialogue, awkward control scheme, odd ending, and you need to use the craptastic Games for Windows Live systems for getting expansions. If it didn't crash and require GFWL for expansions, it probably would have rated an 8.… Expand

It seems that some people bought F3 having already decided it was a steaming pile. Anything would be considered a steaming pile if approached in this way. F2 was considered a steaming pile by many players of F1 because they approached it in this way. Think about that before venting your nerd rage.

Okay, lots of people gave this game bad reviews so I'd like to address some of those, First off to the hundred or so people who said "Its hard to find ammo" I say, Your playing in a nuceluar wasteland after a huge atomic war, ammo isn't really a main concern for people then. To the people who say i cant find anyone to interact with I say, GO TO A CITY!, For the game itself its gameplay is amazing, the guns are realistic the textures are amazing the PC versions great because you can mod. Fight sequences are unique and challengeing and it is hard to kill thinkgs, guess why, THEY ARE MUTATED HUMANS! MUTATED! HUGE GREEN MUTANTS! Overall this game is definitly worth 50 bucks hell this games worth 100, ive got 800 hours for Fallout 3 on steam so thats gotta mean something.… Expand

This game is pure epic. It had nothing that I didn't like. Great story, great ACTING, great horror themes, great gunplay and combat. It was beautiful. The weapons were intriguing, the hardware support made me think that Bethesda still love us and the DLC's were brilliant. At least 60hrs of gameplay for the completer, and I went back to it loads more times just for the sake of it. Then I met something I didn't like. It had Games for Windows Live integration for achievements and such, so I tried it out and I hated it. I had to use a "storage device" when I wasn't logged in. Garrrg! Stupid Microsoft. Anyway, great game Bethesda!… Expand

Fallout 3 is bland, lengthy, tedious, and repetitive. I often hear people say they like it because the world is so big. Honestly though, who cares if the world is "big"? It really is all just the same burning rubble copy-pasted all over a big map, so there isn't really a whole lot to explore because very little of it is new and you also can't interact with much of it anyway. The only things that break the repetition and boredom are the cities, but there aren't that many, and they are very few and far between in a HUGE wasteland. The world is definitely "big," but there also isn't much to do in it or interact with. The developer didn't provide any vehicles, so while "exploring," you get to have fun walking...everywhere... at a painfully slow pace. Imagine GTA, but without cars, with a lot of burning buildings that you can't really interact with the vast majority of the time, very few people, and it's populated by the same 5 kinds of bad guys all across 90% of the map. Despite the terrific art-style and interesting setting, the game does a terrible job of storytelling, and what little story-content there is is spread out throughout approximately 60 hours of mind-numbingly repetitive combat and "exploration." Soon, you realize that you are fighting the same bad-guys over and over, that the houses and assorted bits of rubble and trash you see lying all over the world all look more or less the same, and the whole experience is downhill from there. Repetitive combat + copy-pasted rubble + no significant story = boring waste of time. Don't buy into the hype about the game being "open-world." Open world games aren't that great when everything you come across in the game looks bland, lifeless, and identical to 80% or more of everything else you've already come across in the game.… Expand

I loved the fun, immersive environment, sandbox-style gameplay, and challenging, strategic combat. I hated the bugs, lousy ending, low-end level cap, and junky UI. This game should have spent another ten months easy in testing before being released. This is not to say it isn't a good game, it is, it was just half-baked on all fronts at release.

First of all: i HATE ppl who give 10 as a score. if a game should get 10 it would be the perfect game in it genre. NO GAME SO FAR IS THAT! thats why fallout 3 gets a 8. Its a VERY good RPG, and its a mediocre shooter(although if you want a shooter don't buy this, you'll only get dissapointed) but if you want a game thats a better version of Mass effect(because of more RPG, not the graphics(my opinion)) then buy fallout 3. Im a fan of the old fallouts. They were great RPG's with a old fashioned style of camera(you cant do anything but love the camera in games like diablo and old fallouts, but when you look at them again you easily get irritated) thats why i understand the re-use of oblivion camera in this new bethesda game. Yes oblivion(and morrowind, and daggerfall etc) and fallout are universes so far away from each other, but it actually seems that bethesda made the right call on how to design the new gameplay of fallout 3. When talking about combat in fallout 3 you might wonder how the VATS(known from previous fallout games) work. At first i was sceptic.. how will a pause button work in a FPS?? but then i tried it. and realised the following: Fallout 3 still isn't a FPS. It's a RPG with some elements stolen from FPS'. Thats why it doesn't feel wierd to pause the combat and think about where to strike with your deadly weapon(should i shoot that ant i the head with a high % of hitting og in the antennas with more dmg?) Overall Fallout 3 is great! give it a chance! some might feel weird using the FPS part, but as said prios it is NOT a fps! Enjoy it as a RPG with the option to blow someones head off with a big shotgun, but dont expect another far cry. Peace out V COOP COOP.… Expand

Stunning game, the whole apocalyptic atmosphere really works in this game, exactly what I have been waiting for. Day/Night cycles are impressive, however would have loved to see much more changing weather... V.A.T.S should be a buyable upgrade... it makes for very easy killing. I must say im very impressed so far, and hopefully look forward to fallout 4 if it is planned.

It all looks nice at the beginning. Then things (plot, repetitive world and tasks, so much to do but nothing I really WANT to do, or seems relevant to the story) go downhill so much, that after investing 30 hours into it I just couldnt bring myself to still be immersed or care about what I'm doing. I guess the keyword to this game is "repetitivness" in almost every aspect. The game was far too long and samey without any sign of overarching plot, or any incentive for me to care about it in the long run.… Expand

I purchased this game twice. When it first came out, the whole DLC hype hadn't started yet so I assumed I purchased a full game and finished it. I quite enjoyed my first play through, spent several hours per day playing it. Now that I bought the Game of the Year Edition on Steam to have all the content I missed out on before, I am revisiting the game and now wonder how I could have put up with such shoddy gameplay the first time around. The interface is simply horrible, quite obviously dumbed down for console players. The physics system causes items to fall through the floor and often make it hard for you to use grenades and other explosives because they do not always trigger the way they're meant to if they do not land properly. The inventory management system is horrible. You can't even use the mouse and it feels exactly like a 90's DOS application. This was intended but only to hide the fact that it was designed for console users. Another excruciatingly annoying feature is that you can only wield one weapon at the time. If you want to wield another weapon, you will first have to locate it in your inventory. For a game that expects you to use several weapons at once, they sure aren't making it easy. Not to mention the massive amount of loot that you will find in this game. You'll spend a lot of time trying to find a way to make it all fit in your inventory; you will find so much that you'll be wondering if perhaps the British rioters have had a go at the scenery before you went in. The AI in the game is absolutely pathetic; it gets stuck behind every conceivable object and the way they attack is unrealistic, reminiscent of Doom 1; they simply march straight forward while firing away, always scoring several cheap shots on you while you limp (You can only walk or run, not sprint.) to the nearest cover. If you're unlucky, you'll find out the hard way that car wreckage does not make for good cover; they tend to CATCH FIRE and DETONATE like nuclear bombs! The good parts of this game are few. I thought the story was interesting the first time I played it through but now that I play it again, I can't help but think just how childish the writing is; Vampires? A town full of children? A town full of teenagers? A town built around a nuclear bomb? Really? I just can't bring myself to care for any of these places. They characters in them have no personality whatsoever and you continuously run into the same voice actors, destroying immersion. Fallout 1 and 2 created a much better and believable atmosphere. The main plot is reminiscent of the previous titles and arguably the better part of the experience. Unfortunately, the ending suffers from dimwitted writing once more. Haven't gotten around to trying the DLC yet. Don't know if I'll get to that point, I am already fed up with walking for hours and hours running into the same boring piece of lifeless scenery again and again while shooting the same uninspired enemy that I managed to get stuck behind the same uninspired object over and over.… Expand

As a game, Fallout 3 is mediocre at best. As a Fallout game, it falls flat on it's face. It seems as though Bethesda really couldn't grasp what the feel of Fallout was supposed to be. Most of the environments were uninteresting, the characters really had no depth, the main quest line was a joke, RPG elements were incredibly weak (You could easily "break" the game becoming too powerful), the animation is just awful, and the writing and voice acting is cringe-worthy. The game can be enjoyable at times, but for the most part it's not a great follow-up to Fallout 2 or 1.… Expand

This is along side COD 4, Halo 3, and Gears 2 as the best games in history. BTW Derek T, you are a dumb f**k. I am pretty sure that there is something wrong with your brain. The game is a extremely improved mod of Oblivion, if a mod at all (most people don't think that it is a mod, it took three years to make). The movements and animations are better than any other free world game, just look at San Andreas 2, and there is a world of difference. There is no reason that anyone should rate this less than a 9.… Expand

Does not entirely live up to its hype. The shooting part of the game doesn't work - it is very bad in comparison to other shooters and it is not fun. The dialogue system has its flaws and sometimes feels very cheap. Fallout 3 has a lot of boring and long quest "dungeons" with lots of repetitive fights and dull backtracking. There are not many types of enemies. The difficulty is not balanced and the fact that you can adjust difficulty at any time means that Bethesda just did not bother nor care. Also, the main story is not very good and certainly not satisfying for an RPG. The third-person view is a joke. Inventory management is not very user-friendly and I was mad from constant switching between all the menus and sub-menus on PIPboy. About its tone, sometimes I had a feeling that the game can't decide whether it is serious or a dark comedy. It can't be both and it shows. But to summarise Fallout 3 like this would be unfair. It has also many positive aspects, for example its beautifully looking (graphically and aesthetically) post-apocalyptic world for you to explore, with sometimes mind-blowing attention to detail. Wandering around the Capital Wasteland is an experience itself. Peaceful music during exploring and action music during, well, action is also very well composed and deserves a mention - it greatly adds to the atmosphere. Other thing that deserves attention are side quests - the game hides some very powerful stories, which you may or may not uncover and resolve, whether by helping people or hurting them. It's up to you to choose, but you will be immersed and intrigued by the stories either way. Listening to the radio with music from the fifties and a funny DJ while shooting mutants is also great. Also, shooting off heads and limbs of enemies in slow motion almost never stops being fun thanks to its intentional, gory exaggeration. Another positive thing is the beginning itself, which is very original and fun. Next several hours of gameplay are also fun and a satisfying experience. The bad thing is that it doesn't last till the end.… Expand

This game does not deserve a 0 but since so many people rated it a 10 I felt I had to bring the score down a bit. I honestly don't have much to say much about this game, there is no good distinguishing features about it. I thought the environment graphics were pretty, but the character / weapon models were terrible. The dialogue was boring and I felt uninspired to do any of the quests except the main one, which was also very boring and short. Overall this game is worth less than $10.… Expand

This is Oblivion in future.I give it a 10 not only because i liked The elder scrolls 4 oblivion very much but for its nice game play elements as well as the exploring world.A nice game detailed and in which the atmosphere is very very realistic. You can see the elder scrolls elements in it like jumping at a place if you have discovered it or the usage and repair of items.But netherless is a solid game even if the main story is short has many side quests… Expand

this is a great game for anyone who likes to explore large areas and this game is easy to play due to the targeting system making it much easier for people with even the WORST aim in the world to pick up the game and get into it imediantly.

Great game, lots to do and a massive play area to explore, I sort of don't like VATS and the large amount of ordinance it takes to put things down, but that doesn't even merit half a point deduction. Story is pretty interesting in a wasteland of uninteresting stories that fill most games these days. Really sucks you in, just wish the FPS aspect was a bit better implemented ie. no autoaim, stronger weaponry being used by/against you. Tons of content for 20 or 30 bucks, can't go wrong.… Expand

I cannot believe the amounts of 10/10 this game got so I'm giving it a zero. This game is an insult to the Fallout series and to Fallout 1 and 2 fans. It is a dumbed down game with zero replayability. The ending made no sense. The settings were bland and the NPC's were forgetable.

This game loves to crash, interesting my fix is not running the game with quad-cores good start. But thats fixed and when you go past it? Well it starts well the atmosphere is good though I can't say I ever felt any engagement with the plot, but none the less the atmosphere is pretty dam good. BUT, that doesnt last once the wasteland starts to feel more familiar , it feel safe, you reach a point of financial comfort and then it's kind of over. The rpg/shooter gameplay is far from a stong point and simply doesnt carry the game when the feel fades. Had the game kept the player from feeling comfy and maintained the feel of the wastes no doubt I would be giving this 8+ despite its poor gameplay but sadly this isnt the case and the game just falls short of the mark.… Expand

I purchased fallout 3 GOTY edition last summer (2011). After my initial (partial) playthru, i confess to being astounded that this particular game could b awarded GOTY for the yr it was issued, or, 4 any yr. Virtually everything about the game is steeped n mediocrity, including (but not limited to) graphics, plot, storyline, audio, continuity & interface. It's not that it's a bad game, but there's nothing i could find that's outstanding n any way. But thats not the reason i gave it a 2. It gets a 2 b/c this is simply the buggiest game i hv ever purchased. U will probably find the remainder of this paragraph difficult 2 believe, but i hv no hidden agenda n writing this. There r sections of the game where i had to restart the game every 10 seconds or so for over 10 times n a row to continue playing it. There were instances when i've attempted to start playing the game & it took between 5 & 10 attempts just to get it to load, so i could start playing it. Ultimately, of course, u should check w a variety of sources of input b4 making a final decision on whether to purchase this, or any, pc game, but 4 me, i've promised myself to NEVER pruchae any product from bethesda again, since i believe there's no way they weren't aware of the bugs, but decided to release the game that way anyway. Thats a str8 punch n the face of the consumer & i feel they shld b punished. U've been warned.… Expand

Probably one of the best games I've ever played, it improved on Oblivion and its engine, had a fantastically immersive game world with an awesome atmosphere - loved the radio personally, much of the lack of the variety in Oblivion was dealt with and there were a ridiculous amount of unique locations, the stat system worked just fine if you ask me, and I found the graphics to be a lot better than the 'dated' graphics others are talking about here. Only faults are poor AI, a fair amount of bugs (but considering the scope of the game it's hard to fault them) and VATS glitching sometimes. Otherwise, between this game and the DLC I've spent well over 100 hours in and around the Wasteland. Loved every minute of it!… Expand

Fun game, I've liked it so far and I think it's better than oblivion in many, many ways, voice acting is juiced up, atmosphere is breath-taking. All in all it's a solid, fun game. BethesdaSUX, Fallout 3 was made by Bethesda, -not- Black Isle, you can't expect to play the exact same game you did over 10 years ago. And why would you want to? And to have a go at the inconsistency is just nit-picking. It's like you Fallout 1/2 die-hards go out to get this game, just to find every possible way you can criticize it.… Expand

BethesdaSUX is retarded . . . So Fallout 3. The entire fate of the Fallout series falls upon Bethesda's shoulders. Do these people know the fallout universe? do they even try to convey the hilarious parallel universe? Hell yeah! Bethesda created a perfect game to go along with the fallout series mostly because they went away from where the other fallouts took place. They created their own world using the rules of fallout and it does not fail. VATs is the most satisfying way of killing anything. Combine the weapons, carnage, choices, and spectacular graphics, this game steals best game of 08. Well worth the $50+, Oh yeah, fuck you BethesdaSUX.… Expand

Bethesda did it's best to take this classic franchise and slap it on their Oblivion engine, but a few elements did fall through the cracks. And while it is a bit buggy, it's still a valiant effort. And while I'm an old skool bitter gamer, enough of the original managed to get translated into this title that I find myself forgiving its many sins. There's a lot to hate (mono-chromatic environments, weak character models/ animations, Oblivion similarities, etc.), but there's a lot more to love. The notorious character progression system from Oblivion is replaced by the system that the Fallout is loved for. Item degradation and repairing them makes for a tough challenge in the wasteland. However, there's enough content that those who are perceptive and resourceful will be just fine. Distributing the right skill points and perks at the right time in line with your own play style will result in a very rewarding experience. This is a first person RPG and hardly a shooter. Shooter purists expecting one will be disappointed. However, the VATS / game play pause / targeting feature does a good job of making up for this. If you're looking for an exact translation of the Fallout franchise, this is as close as you'll find. My feeling is that the magic that came from Black Isle Studios is very difficult to duplicate. Take my feedback with a grain of salt, but I'm I remember the original F1, F2, and Fallout Tactics... this title isn't perfect, but I find myself loving it anyway. With a few patches, it should be much improved.… Expand

Near perfect game with some bugs that may well be fixed by christmas. Graphics are stunning (aside from the wooden character animations) and the sheer number of places to visit and blow up is amazing. Felt like i was in a fallout game from the start!

I just read through a couple of 0 ratings and it seems like these people didn't even play the game. There are definitely similarities to Oblivion, but they are quickly forgotten due to the strong atmosphere. As for the complaints about color...Did you guys even play Fallout 1 or 2? It's a barren, desolate world that is devoid of color because the world has been destroyed. It9;s not supposed to be bright shiny rainbow land. I'm sorry, but after so many years after a nuclear holocaust, paint is probably going to have faded away. Fallout 3 does a fantastic job painting a bleak, dangerous world where you start out struggling to survive against the odds and slowly develop skills to become king of the wastes. The game also allows you to develop a character that works best with your style. Your choices really do matter outside of the main narrative. Blow up Megaton early on and you'll struggle through the rest of the game because you've lost the ability to gain the experience and bonuses from the quests obtained there. Stab the people who want to blow it up in the back and you'll be dogged by assassins for the rest of the game. All in all, the game is superbly done with an atmosphere that expounds on the foundation created with Fallout 1 and 2. If you want a game experience that is exactly like the first two games, you won't get it. But you will get an enjoyable romp through a desolate, dangerous, and expansive world that feels familiar and foreign at the same time.… Expand

Great game Bethesda captured the feal of the original games very well the only con i can think of is the animation for running and some other movements is very strange looking and erratic.

Stable it ain't. I experienced frequent crashes under Vista until I started doing a clean boot before playing. And it still crashes occasionally. Fortunately the auto-save function fires every time you change location. The game is roughly comparable to Mass Effect in terms of play but with ten times as much stuff to do and better ambiance. Even with the crash problems, a great RPG. This is the game Mass Effect should have been.… Expand

Great game, I haven't played the previous Fallout games but I really enjoyed playing Oblivion, this is more of the same but with cooler weapons and a more interesting setting. Despite being mainly grey the landscape is far from being bland, everything seems natural and the attention to detail is superb - it's the kind of world that just begs to be explored. Combat is fun and the AI appears to be an improvement over that seen in Oblivion. Everything runs like a charm even with graphics settings turned up quite high. I feel I have only just begun to scratch the surface of this game but so far it lives up to all my expectations .... and then some, I can see Fallout 3 occupying quite a bit of my time over the coming weeks.… Expand

I see where some people are coming from, when comparing the original installments in the franchise with this newest one. It is indeed quite a bit different. But different isn't bad. I'm really thoroughly enjoying this gaming experience. It is predominantly a first-person/third person shooter with a stronger (but not pure) RPG element. Despite all that, it's really just well put together. Most people downvoting Fallout 3 are basically cult-loyal to the original 2 games. I don't really think anything could have been done to appease these people. I really enjoyed 1 & 2, and 3 does feel incredibly different, and at times, it's hard to take it seriously as a 'true' addition to the series.. but it's definitely addictive, immersive, vast, detailed, beautiful and enjoyable. I think that deserves a 10 in itself. There's really nothing that I don't like about this game. As far as action-RPGs are concerned, this totally blows Far Cry 2 and Clear Sky out of the water. Get it. The people complaining are really being way too anal for their own good. They're just upset that this game isn't Fallout 1 or 2.… Expand

This game is a highlight of the derivative - meaning it is exceedingly derivative given its visibility. Sure, there are tons of generic copy-paste DS brain-age games, PC FPSes, etc, but they generally are forgotten within weeks of release. But this game is a big deal, and it's getting nothing but great reviews(just like what happened with Oblivion), meaning it will have lasting visibility. Is it too much to ask for an RPG to "capture my imagination"? What ever happened to that concept? I know it's still possible. Portal captured my imagination. Katamari Damacy did it. So why has it been so long since an RPG has done it? RPGs are the games that need to do this MOST!… Expand

This is quite the extraordinary game. Not only do you have have the amazing story line, you have your choices on how you want to carry it out. You can choose to go down the path of the good and the righteous, or you could be as evil and maniacal as you wish. And you don't just have to do the campaign, you have many many choices of little side quests to do along the side. Depending on how you play the game, you get a different ending. This does have its little flaws... its little glitches, but nothing major... and nothing that takes away from the playablity and the fun.… Expand

Meybe for someone that game is greate, meybe that game has something to show but not for me, i got enough of it, that game is one huge BUG! - that game do not deserved for that high ranking marks - what is wrong with it..? Do not known - sometimes i can play 3-4 hours in row with no crash in othertimes got crash after 3-5 min of play - this is not a fault of my PC this is fault this crappy game - now i must w8 for patches why? beacouse im foreginer so im play at nonEnglish wersion... This is not Fallout 3 this is Crapoult 3 - remeber Gothic 3 that game has that same problems and rankings of that game..? LOW - that same from me to Fallout 3… Expand

This is one of the best RPGs I've ever played in my 36 years. There's a large world to explore with numerous imaginative quests that can be done any time you like. The perks system makes the game especially fun. I played this game 8 hours a day for a week. This is the only game in which I've ever had to choke back tears at the end -- literally. After this one, I can forgive bethesda softworks for having released oblivion.… Expand

There's enough details in the other user comments to justify a 10. I'm just adding my vote to help offset the retards who give it a zero. Zero would mean the worst game ever made. FO3 is NOT the worst game ever made. It's fine to have your opinion that FO3 might be the worst Fallout game ever made. But the worst game ever made? Voting any game a zero is a sign of a hollow vote. Wish there was some way to flag retarded posts for deletion... And a lesser rant: for people that refuse to give a 10 because that would mean a perfect game... umm... then you really have a scale of 9. 10 means "as perfect as any game you will buy at present." The industry and technology are advancing, and will always advance. Ratings on video games are on a curve, not an absolute. You know, by that logic, why give things 9... surely the 9's of the future will make current games look like a 5, maybe we should reserve more than just 10 for the future? Yeah, let's rate all current games a maximum of 5 so that the future has room for 6,7,8,9, and 10s. D'oh!… Expand

The overall concept for Fallout 3 was good. The media hype surrounding the game was excellent. The only flaw in this apparent gem of the gaming industry is that it doesnt work. Yes you heard me. The game is so buggy that I havent been able to play for more than 30 minutes without a crash to desktop and I am deeply insulted that a company like Bethesda would ship this to market in its current state. Only game I have issues with on my current rig which is vastly superior to the minimum requirements. Despite my affection for Oblivion I will not purchase another Bethesda title solely on principle. It is now Jan 2009 and still no patch for the PC version. Game buying public out there beware dont be duped. Just do an search on PC issues with Fallout 3 and judge for yourself.… Expand

If you want to witness the very definition of a mediocre game (as in "not bad and not good at the same time", not "the perfect representative of the usuall crap"), then play this. If not, don't bother. But seriously, it has it all - mediocre combat (and lots of it), mediocre speech sections, mediocre setting, mediocre landscapes and landmarks to visit (most of them are pretty good on their own, but they are so similar that you quickly stop caring after the nth metro station / ruined home / vault / ...), mediocre enemies to fight (again, the complaint is similar as with the locations), mediocre quests (well, a few are good, but those are balanced out by the bad ones quite nicely) and mediocre and uninspired writing. Still, it's much better than Oblivion, which was the previous RPG in this style from this developer, even though it feels like a conversion of it at times. Then again, the only way to go from it was up, so... Oh, and don't mistake this game for a part of the Fallout series. I know, I know, it's called "Fallout 3", but about the only thing that connects it to its supposed predecessors is the butchered setting and forced references. Honestly, those feel so out of place for someone who has played FO1 and FO2 that the game would probably have been better without them. I'd give this game a 5/10, but it can't NOT lose a point for it's ending. It's not mediocre, it's bad. And so it gets a 4. It has so much content outside of the progressively more dumb main quest that this may not even be an issue for some. In summary, if you have time for video games and no good games on which to spend it then it can be a viable substitute. Otherwise don't waste your time.… Expand

Another example of a fanboy infested, overated game. I had high hopes for this game as its predecessors were so outstanding. I was extremely dissapointed. I was expecting a engaging and interactive atmosphere in a post apocolyptic setting but I was given instead an empty map with nothing going on in it. It was a chore for me to walk from point a to point b as I was expecting a STALKER like system in which there is constant fighting between different groups in the environment where I would be caught up in the crossfire and be able to take a side or take cover and wait out the battle or navigate around it, except I was greeted by a empty environment where the only fight you will get are single robots and mutants placed randomely throughtout the map and a small group of pathetic bandits which are easy to dispense of. I don't see why they made such a big map if there is no point of bothering to travel anywhere, it was a serious bore for me to travel anywhere because the map was empty. Then theres the guns. Oh dear. The guns all feel unfinished and poorly designed and there is a pathetic aresenal of weapons that you can obtain. The player crafted weapons I have all seen before, (a gun that shoots anything you put in it, yeh that hasn't been done before) and they didn't really make me want to seek out the blueprints for them as they were simply terrible weapons. The guns are all extremely underpowered and they all have terrible recoil and animations that had no real appeal. One quest near the start of them game has you gooing to a mutant infested city with only a hunting rifle (which is a total peice of shit) and a crrappy little pistol to fight mutants with miniguns and rocket launchers. But mind you, the AI is so dead beat retarded that you are able to walk up to them and melee them to death. Then theres VATs. This was were I lost a huge amount of interest in the game. All you do is select VATs, target their head and they're dead. If I were a retard or a mindless console fanboy drop kick I would be drooling at the prospect of having my aiming done for me, but thankfully I wasn't born with a brain the size or a pea and I can aim perfectly on my own. I dislike the fact that Bethesda regards it's buyers as idiots who can't do anything for themselves, mind you it is true though, as this game was swamped by mindless fanatical fanboys. Then there is the storyline and the quests... This is where the game is at its worst. The main quest would take you 3-4 hours to complete uninterupted by side quests or item hunting. It has you following your dad... Yes that's right, your dad, on a fairy tale quest to purify the water for all the people in the wastelands, who also happen to be trying to kill you, so I wasn't really that keen. Almost every single side quest was a go there get that then come back quest or go there kill that come back quest. Then there is the AI. I was so bored with dad's stupid mindless speech and boring responses that I blew off his head and proceeded to dismember his body parts, at the dismay to the characters involved in the quest regarding the dad and the water whom I also proceeded to dismember. I then happened to stumble across a fallen space ship with a alien ray gun that disintergrates anyone in one shot, so the difficulty level fell to about the same difficulty as breathing. I then ventured out into the wasteland hoping that I could get a battle that required more than selecting Vat's, going for a piss then coming back to every enemy dead, but once again, the only enemy I encountered was a single mutant or robot which proved highly boring. I was also told that there was endless customization. WRONG. The only customization there is are 2 different pairs of glasses, a hat and 3 different types of armour. Then I was also again told that there is great character interaction and hard choices to make and well written responses and speech. Once again, WRONG. It's jsut a typical, good response, neutral response, random question, witty response, the witty responses would only make a 12 year old kid laugh, then again that is most of the buying audience for this game. This game is is non deserving of it's score and is only so highly rated because of payed reviewers and hyped fanboys that know no better. Overall a medicore game that brings nothing new to the table. Just another post nuclear apocolypse RPG that is going to be gathering dust on the shelf. I will never play it again. I gave it 2 because the graphics where somewhat pleasing, other than that, a simply put, shit game.… Expand

Best on PC. Huge game. I'm not big on the fallout setting, but Bethesda does it so well. If this kind of attention to detail were given to Oblivion, we would have had a perfect game. That aside, I got many, many, MANY hours from this game, and would recommend it to anyone at all. It's that good.

Fallout 3 is the best game I've played. Ever. I have a feeling only it's successor, New Vegas, will dethrone it. It's horribly buggy, though, and I hate buggy software. So I knocked three points off for that. Still, you should buy this.

A good FPS with some RPG elements. Pro: - Immersive, huge environments: you can play Fallout 3 for months before finishing it. - Good graphics: I really enjoyed the "comics-style" graphics. - Simple but not easy: yes, you have to use few commands but you have a lot of stuff to do. - For the beginner and for the pro: I enjoyed the simplicity of my first games then I switched to the "pro" gaming LOL just joking but yes, the game was really hard and time-consuming. Cons: - Frustrating: and you can bet it, expecially the first games, when you learn that aiming can be used not only to eliminate your enemies but also to disarm them. - Time consuming: yes, Fallout 3 is simply a great game but you have to play it for hours - weeks - to finish it. And you have some fun DLC too so ... some more time. - Cartoon: it's a pro or a con, it depends. - Nukes: the game is about a post-nuclear war and you can use some "radio" equipment against your enemies. I know it's only fiction but someone said me he found it not good.… Expand

When I heard that Bethesda(somebody, please! Help me about pronunciation) was going to make a new Fallout game, I felt tight little bit. Just because this is a company that makes games which are both massive, and at the same time superb boring. Take Oblivion for example: At first massiveness of the game embraces you thanks to all the details like story, music, etc... but all these stuff has only 3 or 4 hours lifetime. We have same thing for Fallout 3 here. Post Apocalyptic world with 3d graphics, some different quest, weapons bla bla.. but beyond all of these, this game has no soul. All characters in the game are so mechanic and dull. They speak as if if they were forth or fifth class actors. All the environmental is lack of persuasiveness. so on ans so forth. From that point, this game looks like a more fan-base 3d Fallout clone(and I would give 8 if it was) rather than spiritual incomer for original Fallout.… Expand

Huge game with tons of playing hours. If you don't have time to put into this game for a long time don't get it! It's easy 100 hours of playing time and very involved. Huge maps, clues, tidbits, secrets, missions, etc. It is a Roll Play Game but adds first person and 3rd person shooter styles to it. It really LACKS in the shooting segments. The shooting is worthless unless you use the special PIP BOY aiming system. You can't accurately hit anything with Iron sites with any weapon. It doesn't feel REAL. That's my main complaint about the game and it takes me out of it. There are a few glitches here and there that can cause a system to crash but no big deal. Also a few strange things that don't really fit realistically with the story they present. But it's a game. Enjoy it! Just make sure you have TIME!… Expand

The people in charge of handing out Game Of The Year awards should be ashamed of themselves for giving this bug ridden game the award. Bethesda show complete lack of care for their customers by churning out such a blatantly unfinished product. The gameplay is also repetative to the point of being boring. There are some saving graces but whats the point when the coding is this bad.

I think i need to defend my score for this game, this was my first Bethesda game to play since oblivion, so the retro style, the gameplay elements, the RPG backbone and the well crafted story caught me by surprise. Still, i have to recognize it gets repetitive and buggy at times, and that it was probably the game responsible for the actual stupidity of many game developers, with its interest in making money by DLC and beating franchises with sticks to see how much money they can get away with before having to start making decent (and complete) games again.… Expand

This game is a definition of failure and wasted potential. It's not even that it's just a modification of Oblivion (even some textures and models are the same! I couldn't believe my eyes that Bethesda had started to do such things!), it's a fact that this game is just... plain stupid. Really. Even more than Oblivion it's like a world, lore, and story line were made by a mentally crippled person. Mininuclear bombs throwers? An armed nuclear bomb in a city, that after explosion does literally nothing (one woman even... makes it alive! Although she was in this little junkyard city!), just nonsensical characters, situations, quests, items, places... Is that really a Fallout game? Well, a title states so and it's the biggest catastrophe in the video games history, because it's just remade Oblivion game. And you can't do a good mod (because that's all what Fallout 3 is) for a game which is just plain bad in every way. I wouldn't finish it if not this ridiculous V.A.T.S. idea. Are we making a fps like game, or a Fallout game? This fight mode just ruins fights, because while it's on, you're simply immortal (shot with a rocket while you were shooting a headshot with 23% skill? no problem, after animation is finished you don't loose even a single heal point), and after getting one perk, you can play with this mode all the time. It's not even silly, it's very sad. I can't believe people like this game, what's in here to be liked?! And it's not a nerd rage, I was hoping for a big remake of Fallout series, but God is my witness, I was not hoping for a murder of this series!… Expand

An excellent game let down spectacularly by its main quest. Atmospheric, visually fascinating and manages to maintain your curiosity at high levels. Can't say I met any NPCs with anything resembling a personailty (with the possible exception of Moira) but that's not uncommon nowadays. Sniping with the dart gun was great fun, but the tube stations got irksome quickly. I don't see what all the fuss about VATS is - to me it just seems like cheating so I never used it. There is a lot here to interest the casual FPS and RPG fan but perhaps not enough to interest the hardcore elements of both factions. The main quest is totally uninspiring and (maybe thankfully) a fair chunk of it can be missed without warning. Plenty to see and do and I finished it 3 times which probably says more than any of the above. Definitely worth a try.… Expand

for what was a very creative and fun game series, fallout NV and 3 set an all time low. Sure, fallout 3 and NV pulled the series to 3d and open, and i admit it was kind of fun, but that fun was ruined by the major bugs, freezes, glitches and crashes i experienced on my copy. it happened on my PC,ps3 and 360 copies so its not my system. This is a very crap game that does not deserve a sequel. If 4 gets made, it must not be developed by obsidian and not use that crap gamebryo engine. I cant even tell you how bad the DLC makes it. Its unplayable after 3 hours gameplay. its like it purposly freezes to tick you off!… Expand

One of the best games of all time. I mean it. Gameplay can go over a hundred hours if you want to finish all quests this game offers. The ONLY drawbacks of this game are: - few kinds of enemies; - bad movement's mechanics. But all the superb positive features make this game a joy to behold.

Overall, a great game. I struggled with a rating, but in the end went with a 9 because despite its flaws, it's really a very fun and addicting game that still keeps me coming back to play it. The main storyline isn't thrilling, but the numerous side quests and unmarked side activities hold the player's interest and are far more fun than the main quests. Tons of stuff to find and explore, lots of situations to deal with. The game's problems are significant, though, and this is where rating it is difficult. The graphics are pretty good on the highest settings, but I've noticed that it slows down computers (sometimes even the consoles) more than it ever should. A machine that runs Far Cry 2 flawlessly will still have trouble with F3 from time to time. Lots of oversights; floating objects/debris piles/buildings/etc. Many bugs and glitches that are potentially game-breaking. Character animations needed some work, and I did not like the built-in inaccuracy of the weapons. The fact that I still give it a 9 out of 10 shows that I think the gameplay is solid, and the game, at its core, is a great one.… Expand

Word's cant describe how much fun I've had with Falout 3. At the very moment i sav it was 75% Off i had to buy it! I didn't regret the buy as I've done with so many other games because right now I've spent more than 50 Hours playing and Exploring Washington DC and its surroundings.

It gets off to a slow start but Fallout 3 really pays off. Once you've escaped Vault 101 you feel the impact of the nuclear war and the game doesn't stop reminding you. Sadly for a 3rd-Generation game the graphics aren't up to scratch. While visually its absolutely stunning, the body movements of AI's is hideous and it becomes a mess when several of them come up to the screen and start waving around infront of you. VATS (slow motion cinematic attacks) will definitely miss when this happens and usually when your cornered you're reduced to your melee. Though its not like you happily switch to your melee weapon, this happens after you've wasted your EXTREMELY PRECIOUS ammo, which the game doesn't give nearly enough of. Other than those flaws, that are often found with nitpicking, the game lives to standards of an amazing (hybrid) First and Third Person Shooter RPG. Although, while the Third Person option is available, it's far too poorly constructed. The crosshair is much too small in the first place, and when your character runs on a diagonal axis it looks like they are floating (honestly, you can't play without moving diagonally). You can fix this by zooming in close enough and only showing from north of your characters belt. It work's perfectly - shame though that PS3 and X360 couldnt do this, PC version reigns supreme for this feature. Again, minor things that don't exactly affect gameplay. It makes up for this with a gripping storyline, that never seemed to end. There are countless side quests if you don't mind exploring the map, which you probably won't. Excavation of random shopping malls, mines and silo's is as exciting as can be, finding new guns and new threads. The game is very very addictive and every gamer should own it.… Expand

I would give this a 10, as it is probably the best game I have ever played. The only problem is the crashes, this game crashes so much, I'm not really getting anywhere with it, because it just goes to the last save, though I have noticed disabling SLI cuts them down a bit, and there are patches (if you can get them). So, if you can be bothered trying to fix this game up and making optimum conditions for it so it doesn't crash so much, or if you think you can handle it crashing every 5 mins (and sometimes it can be as much as every 10 secs, seriously), then this is a brilliant game.… Expand

Fallout 3 is a great game but incredibly glitched and most of the time you'll find your self wedged between a tree and a hill. Forcing me to reload an older save. Another feature is what you have done in the affects the rest of the game and multiple choices of finishing quests.

This game is one of the best role-play games I have ever played. The role-play part doesn't interfere with the story line, which I found very nice. The weapons are very realistic because they can get f=damaged and that causes them to do less damage. The NPC AI isn't as bad as some say. So they make a wrong turn, or don't listen to you, or walk into a rock. So what. No AI is perfect. Another part of this game is you can customize the color of your Pip-Boy and your HUD. And a nice part about the role-play is that you can be good or evil. And even if your evil, you can still become good. The karma system is very cool. The karma even effects how people like you in the game. I can't think of anything else. Best game ever.… Expand

I got a strong feeling of deja-vu when I first loaded this game. If you've ever played Oblivion, than you'll pretty much know what to expect with Fallout 3. Aside from the setting and story, almost everything is similar to Bethesda's fantasy RPG; from the menu system and mechanics to the graphics engine and playstyle (the VATS targeting system notwithstanding), there's nothing you haven't seen before. It seems like Bethesda took the easy road and decided "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". That's not necessarily bad, but it's not necessarily good either. The good: the main storyline is sweet, but short; tons of locations to explore along with tons of quests; VATS kicks butt; lots of weapons and items to find; unique characters and situations; good variety of NPC voices. The bad: Bethesda is still using the archaic menu system they implemented with Oblivion, which means there's no weapon cycle mapping allowed, and there's only one key to access your entire character menu; the graphics engine is starting to show its age; the many locations all start to look the same after a while (pure laziness on Bethesda's part); the main quest is waaaay too short; not enough character and creature variety; gameplay doesn't seem to change much when higher stats and new skills are added to your character. Certainly not a terrible game, but it's not "the best game of our generation" as many critics are claiming. I have a feeling that, as was the case with Oblivion, the excitement will wear off after a couple years and people will see Fallout 3 for what it really is: a fun game, but nothing groundbreaking or life changing.… Expand

I played this game for a while on the 360, got bored and annoyed. Bought it again on special for the pc. I thought mouse and keyboard would make this game's UI easier to handle, but I think it's actually worse. Having loved 1 and 2, I can't help but feel that 3 is a 3d skin over the same gameplay mechanic. I actually hate the realtime combat and the VATS system. I loved it when the combat was all turned based. Now it makes for a frustrating mix. Not quite an action shooter and not quite a tactical rpg. Frustrated and bored is my overall reaction to the game, even more so on this second try (and I'm sorry I bought it...).… Expand

The best graphics by far and an awesome game play. Even in the wasteland you can just take time and look around at how amazing it is. The game play is good to. With the vats even new people can be good at it. A good story line where you can choose to be good or evil. I played it more then twice to see what would happen as playing it evil then good.There is also a bunch of side quest in case u beat the main one.If you like shooting then you definitely should get it.… Expand

I'm one of those who has been with this franchise from the start and i have to say I'm very impressed. The combat seemlessly stitches real time and vats together, the game has a ton of different options for every situation, the atmosphere is great and characters fit in very well. Sadly, fallout 3 still has a few problems. As most people know, the game can be very buggy at times and there are parts of the game where i feel that it falls short of the awesomeness that is fallout 1 and 2, such as areas that seem to have just been placed there for no particular reason and nothing to do with anything. Also, the main storyline is short and sadly close to dull. It is as if they put more work in the side quests, which they're aren't enough of. even with all the cons, i would still say the pros pull through enough that you still thoroughly enjoy the game.… Expand

As a fan of the fallout series, I really enjoyed this game. Despite the vastness of the landscape the surroundings still has a handcrafted touch - the world is full of small details, hidden caches and interesting locations to discover. What finally won me over, however, was the dialogue and plot content - finally a computer rpg that in some how resembles actual pen-and-paper rpg:s! Quests that are unique and consist of more than the usual "kill 100 monsters", "find item x" or "deliver a message to npc y" -stuff. To sum it up, the game looks fine, dialogue is good, skills are useful and going up levels is fun since all skills are equally useful.… Expand

Just ignore bums like "BethesdaSUX" (short form of that nick would be BS...) No, it's not Bethesda who suck, it's YOU. They create great games with a lot of creativity involved. YOU Mr. BS are creating nothing but bs and pointless whining. Stop wasting peoples time and do the world a favour - just get lost.

Amazing game, has it's flaws but really is a work of art. I can't put it down. I'm sure there are some inconsistencies but I'm having FUN and not going to nit pick. To me it's not oblivion with guns, other than an enhanced engine, the story, leveling, lore, environment is completely different. As for being all one color? it's called a wasteland (and it's not really 1 color), not sure what people expect, there's not going to be a flowery romp in the country side.… Expand

Personal preference…I don’t see anyone giving this game a 0, unless you hate great games. Yes it might not have a lot of color, but neither did pokemon on the game boy, and man was that an addictive game. Getting to the point, Fallout is addictive, innovative and just plain awesome. Im loving every minute and can easily look past any flaws…Game of the year? Definitely has a chance.

Very good game so far, ingenious tutorial system. I am someone who very much enjoyed Elder Scrolls: Oblivion, so I have no problem with Fallout 3. The characters and story are very engaging and interesting.

It's a good game overall. Nice story, nice graphics, decent gameplay, but on the whole it is not nearly as fun as I would expect from a game with such high production values. As with Oblivion, Bethesda's last major RPG, the game is too watered-down to be truly engaging, and it is difficult to look past the ineptly designed controls and user interface, which, contrary to Bethesda's statements, do not appear to be designed with the PC in mind. All things considered, it's a step up from Oblivion, and it's generally true to the Fallout franchise, though it's hard to judge that when you consider that Fallout 3 is being made with a different style of play by a different developer in a different century. I recommend this game, but only inasmuch as it is on par with the quality and enjoyment of most games these days. Compared to previous games, both by Bethesda and Black Isle, Fallout 3 has lost its charm.… Expand

Amazing game that has managed to keep most of the elements from fallout that I loved. Only problems I've found is the inability to remap keys properly (some keys don't work, and defaults are kept despite changing them). I can explore seemingly endlessly and run into different tribes, factories, etc.

This game accomplished one of the goals I never thought it could: I felt like I was in the world of Fallout I and II. The atmosphere of the first few levels inside the vault was as expected, quirky and a time to learn how to play. Once outside I saw the same landscape you would expect to see in the first two games, but from a powerhouse FPS perspective. That's a compliment if anyone is wondering. Dogmeat makes a return appearance (as he did in Fallout 2) and the brotherhood of steel are still there, as are supermutants, ghouls, molerats, giant ants, ridiculously overpowered weapons like the nuclear catapult and rockitlauncher. While some might complain that the game feels a bit like Oblivion (there is something about how the texture work was done that shows Bethesda's fingerprints a bit too much) I would say that is nothing to complain about. The controls are tight and the rather well done VATS system (which makes every bullet a ballet) gives perfect moments of gore in the middle of frenzied firefights. My one qualm might be with the inclusion of housing and upgrades for housing which brought me out of the fantasy a bit. This forces you to sleep in beds to regain health rather than simply resting. The enemies do get a bit dull at lower difficulties too. The first time I saw a group of gangers fighting supermutants I was level 4 and remembered Fallout 2's rather difficult to kill supermutants. So I turned tail and ran like hell only to discover, much later on, that the green beasts are a bit of a push over. Same with Ghouls (who could be found in the second fallout as zombie-like enemies). I was frightened at first (a creature screaming and running at me without skin reminded me of Oblivion's rather hard to kill zombies) But then I blew its head off and kept going. For those who have fond memories of Fallouts of the past (and are not as obsessed as mr. SUX) this will feel like going home all grown up. For those who enjoyed Oblivion, enjoy the better story and firearms. For those looking for a good game, enjoy.… Expand

Look, I loved the original Fallout games too. However, this game exceeded my expectations completely. I loved this game, and I believe that the effort that went into this game is what makes it good. Sure, it's not by Black Isle and sure there are a few bugs, but that is no reason to give it a terrible rating. Everyone has their own opinion. You cannot say a games sucks if there are many people who find it enjoyable, you may hate it but someone else will love it. Now Turok... THOSE were bad.… Expand

First off, this game isn't perfect - I have yet to find one that is - but i'm giving it a perfect score rather than a 9 just to spite BethesdaSux, a butthurt loser who probably hasn't even played this game. On to the game. I'm only a few hours in, and I am completely drowning in the depth and immersion. I loved fallout 1 but really didn't care for fallout 2 (too much extraneous and stupidly incredulous stuff world and narrative wise), and fallout 3 is much more akin to the first than the second. I'm not one for writing big reviews, so i'll sum it up - impossible to do everything with one character, perfectly balanced combat (is this fun vs is this necessary), WAY beyond "oblivion with guns", and gameplay-wise the crown prince elect of titles like S.T.A.L.K.E.R. (inspired mostly by fallout in the first place), sitting next to the dusty throne of the grizzled old king Deus Ex - whose own genetic heir, deus ex invisible war, was a retard with multiple sclerosis that the kingdom disowned out of sheer lack of love. Anyway, long story short, fallout 3 is a worthy successor to its predecessors and is leaps and bounds above "oblivion" in every single way.… Expand

I'm giving this game 10 rating because I hate the oldschool Fallout fanboys and people who gives the game ratings before it's even released!!!!11one (Just kidding, I honestly believe it deserves more than 7.8. And I'm Fallout fan too. It's not Fallout 1 or 2 but it's good in it's own right. If it gets that many 100% percent reviews it can't be THAT bad.)

As a fan of the previous Fallout games, I was naturally disheartened by the demise of Black Isle Studios and the apparent death of the series. Feelings for seeing Bethesda pick up the license later on were mixed. Joyed to see that a long awaited third sequel was on the way, worried that it's artistic and mechanical direction would stray too far from the style and feel that made the first two games so gorgeous and in my opinion, the best Western CRPG's I've had the pleasure to experience. The teaser trailer released a year ago was a good indicator of the new developers grasp of the atmosphere (in addition, the fact that they chose the original Inkspots piece intended for FO1 was a welcome tip-of-the-hat to the fans). But the indication that the same engine used for Oblivion was planned for this game resurfaced early fears. I have very much enjoyed Morrowind from Bethesda, despite a general dislike of the arche-typical fantasy-sword-and-sorcery genre of RPG's. Oblivion on the other hand, while possessing an engine that provided a vast, rich and colorful world setting and a character creation system that allowed intensely detailed tweaking when it came to physical looks, still overall disappointed me with a combat system that felt too clunky, voice acting that lacked enthusiasm, level-scaled enemies, and an NPC AI that acted far too awkwardly for me to suspend disbelief. Overall it only felt like a step-up from Morrowind and graphics and physics, with most other aspects feeling like a downgrade. Having played Fallout 3 for several days now, I would posit that the early fears were not entirely misplaced, but thankfully a little bit exaggerated as one would expect from an oversensitive fan base that was hyped up and let down one too many times over the past few years ;) The landscape, colors and settings definetely reflect the feel of the previous games; Desolate, hopeless with death and decay everywhere, no signs of life or motion other than the occasional dust winds. The soundtrack is very fitting to this atmosphere, with pieces that are either soft and slow that induce a sense of solitude, or louder scores that emphasize the vastness of the wasteland, and thus just how hopeless the prognosis of this new world is. As it was with Oblivion, detail is not spared from observation. Whether the player is traversing the wasteland or walking about in the few makeshift towns of surviving communities, they will notice the gritty look of decaying or rotting structures, the various amount of junk material sprawled around and about, perforated or covered with dirt and rust where applicable. The visual and aural setting, certainly does not disappoint. The behaviour of the NPC AI however, is still on the awkward side as it was in Oblivion, though perhaps not as painful to watch. For example, NPC's converse with each other as it was in Oblivion. And while it still looks stiff and artificial, their conversations seem to be more coherent, much unlike the almost completely random lines spouted by their Oblivion counterparts. The voice acting, while not convincing enough to be heralded as an industry example, has definetely improved enough to be considered satisfactory. Different characters sound more apart, and emotion in their tones is easier to pick up. Some textures and models in the game feel a little dated, possibly implying that the game engine has not improved since Oblivion. The first gun you procure in the game (the classic 10mm) looked and felt disturbingly clunky in my hands, although this is partly due to the fact that the pre-rendered drawings and illustrations on the previous games had given the same gun a nicer, smoother look. Fortunately such issues are not numerous, and can be ignored in time, for the most part. Combat has left me with mixed impressions. The game certainly does not play like a typical shooter for obvious reasons; The condition of the weapon as well as your skill in utilizing it directly affects your performance. Still, after previous FPS-RPG's such as System Shock 2 or Deus Ex, the glaring hopelessness of trying to shoot or snipe an enemy from afar, or even middle-range is slightly irritating, more so when said enemy doesn't seem to be having much trouble perforating you with burst fire from the same distance. Still, this is somewhat an early observation. I'm currently Level 5 with a Small Weapons skill of 55 to 60, and all my weapons are at about 55% condition at best. So the challenge, while irritating, is perhaps understandable. The transition from turn-based combat to real-time is disorienting for Fallout veterans like I, who are used to taking their time to plan their moves and spend AP's as efficiently as possible. The paused combat option of VATS compensates for this, but only up to a point. It allows time to think about your next series of moves, and of course, allows for called shots directly influenced by the usual RPG mechanics of the game. The slow-motion cinematic play out of your commands is definetely satisfying to watch, more so when you score a critical hit. However, perhaps due to the shifting camera angles during this cinematic phase, the player is disoriented for a split-second when it ends and combat continues onward. Even if only for a split second, its still typically enough for a speedy AI enemy to fire off a few more shots at you as you regain your senses and move on. For the most part, my combat style has consisted of taking some calculated shots with VATS, then taking cover while my AP's regenerate for the next attempt. The pace feels too slow for an FPS, and perhaps a bit fast for an RPG. Nevertheless, the cinematic phase entertains me enough to overall enjoy combat. Plot wise, I have not made much progress with the main quest, seeking out side quests where I can to extend gameplay. However it looks interesting so far, and I will eventually move onwards. The missions offered from various NPC's so far have not felt boring or tedious. Some are tied to the main quest, others are enjoyable distractions. The amount of solution choices and the feel of the quests are in line with the Fallout spirit. I am once again the diplomat I used to be in the West Coast of post-apocalypse USA, looking for peaceful solutions, but sometimes just going with the flow of my rifle barrel :p Overall, I am enjoying Fallout 3 with great gusto. Yes, I would have very much loved to see the Van Buren project of Black Isle succeed. Having tried out its released alpha form a year or so ago, I have little doubt that the original Fallout 3 that was supposed to happen several years earlier would have been fantastic, probably much better than what we have in our hands today. But sadly that project is buried in history now. I don't subscribe to the belief that "Any X is better than no X." In my opinion, the Fallout 3 delivered by Bethesda is not a cheapened form of Fallout, nor a fundamentally different form of Fallout. It is a Fallout that fully delivers the retro-futuristic, dark-humored setting its fans have come adore. The changes in gameplay, while understandably troubling for some veterans, are not major enough to dismiss this game as a failed Fallout by any means. Still, I would urge Bethesda to either drop this Oblivion engine, or fix those stiff movements for the next installment ;) .....there will be a fourth installment, right?… Expand

I'm an old gamer who started playing games in 1984 and few games have surprised me so well like Fallout 3. It has great graphics, a huge game world full of side quests that will entertain you for hundred hours, cinematic combat, good weapon choices, detailed scary monsters and much much more. But most of all, the gameplay immersion.... oh God, the immersion with this game is absolutely wonderful: the breathtakin' nuclear landscape of D.C., the sad '50s retro-music and the attention put on details are all amazing and makes you feel like you were really left alone wandering around in that raped postnuclear world. Even the sophisticated AI routines of the NPCs make them look alive and real. What more could you ask from a game? Nothing is my answer. I thank and bow to Bethesda team for this gorgeous game that will enter the videogame history for sure. Now come with me into the Wastelands.… Expand

This game is simply amazing, from the gorgeous graphics, to the all out action. Not to mrtion the voice acting is pretty amazing too. This game is non-stop fun. One of my favorite things about the game is the V.A.T.S. targeting system. Overall this is one of the best games I've ever played.

This is an extremely good game. I did not like Oblivion for various reasons, but this game does away with most of what annoyed me in Oblivion (the bad combat system etc.). This game is a great First Person Shooter, but it has a lot of depth too. Under the surface, it's an RPG, so although the combat is as fun and visceral as an FPS, it is a lot less shallow because the game requires a lot more thought and care. You have to explore, pick the character traits that best suit your style of play, you have to build up your character's weapons and armour, and there is a real story with lots of real characters. So to me it's the best of both worlds. RPG's have depth but poor combat, and FPS's have good combat but are shallow. This game has the best of both worlds with great combat and lots of depth. It's just a fantastic game. I am constantly reminded of the magnificent System Shock games, and that is no small feat.… Expand

A lot of whining over 'it isn't fallout!' Grow up. I see a lot of zero's from people who haven't played the game. Also, grow up. Game's solid, plays well, story so far has been good, voice actings good. It's similar to Bethesda's other games, but it's what you'd expect, with a few good surprises on top. Get over yourselves.

Very fun game to play - visuals, atmosphere, action, and story are decent. Runs very well. Definitely not 'Oblivion with guns' - they've learned a little since Oblivion. There's some brilliant moments - they've nailed the feeling of exiting the vault perfectly, and some action sequences are amazingly good fun, such as the behemoths. I haven't really come across any "go halfway across the land and collect 5 [item]" to complete a quest. There is some running around to do, but these have interesting story lines. The scale of the game feels right, and I'm happy to see there isn't duplication in dungeons. It isn't perfect through, there's quite a few minor problems, most of which you've probably already read about. None of these issues really effect the fun to had though. The 8-rating reflects these weaknesses and a couple of poor design decisions - e.g. the first town being 2min stroll from the vault. Don't pay attention to the 10/10 reviews - the reviewers must have been intoxicated. I'm not sure what's wrong with some Fallout veterans and Bethesda haters - the game really isn't bad at all. The weaknesses in voice acting etc. aren't really noticable unless you're looking for them. I'm hoping that a series of mods will improve the game - if so you can safely jack up my score to a 9 or 10.… Expand

Holy heck, I'm surprised you guys gave it a low rating. I played Fallout 2, and personally I find Bethesda did a great job switching Fallout over to more action oriented. It is in fact different than Fall0out in multiple ways, but it's better to think the game as its own. Great graphics, achievements are there, role playing to boot. I have experienced no bugs other than having to turn of DotNet3.0 in control panel, and it runs incredibly smooth on my average comp (at least 40fps). I recommend this game to anyone who hasn't played fallout, i think bethesda targeted you for the game. However, if you are a fan of the old games, there is plenty enough in here, but remember, it's not the west coast in the game, things must be a little different.… Expand

Fallout 1 & 2 are incomparable classics, my favorite RPGs of all-time, and the only RPGs I've ever enoyed a second go-around with after completion. So far, while in the early stages of playing Fallout 3, I'm enjoying the experience of roaming the Wasteland. The atmosphere is wholly absorbing and the gameplay is quite fun. I gave up hope of a true third installment after the Brotherhood of Steel Tactical game came out. Then, like most Fallout purists, I was disappointed to learn that the long awaited follow-up game wasn't to be 3/4 isometric (nor turn-based) and developed by a different team. Playing it, however, I realize it's been developed by Fallout Universe fans. Fallout is alive and well. Enough pontificating; time to hunt some Raiders.… Expand

I love it. I feel like I am wandering a post apocalyptic world. It is great. Oodles of atmosphere and just all around great game. However, I find the UI annoying. why press e, x, or tab to get out of different dialogs? Why not use a single key for all? Why do I have to scroll down to select "I have finished talking" why can't I just press escape of x or whatever?

Only played this one for about 6 hours and all I can say is that it's more than enough. The fighting system is at least ineffective, the bullet times showing how you've missed are boring and unnecessary; also, I can't understand why they've chosen this game mechanic - for example, there are times I score headshots (from outside VATS) and the actual hit is a miss (lol) due to chance modifiers, despite the bullet being clearly traced through the opponent's eye for example. The dialogue is dull, and the NPCs lack any AI in regard to speech (with AI I'm referring to the logic behind the NPCs from Vampire Bloodlines for example), while the minimap is plain stupid (clue: here, on PC's, we have enough keys in order to put as many markers we'd want onto a minimap; we could also give them names, since we have keyboards, or write whole journal entries about them). The atmosphere is very good, and the Oblivion engine looks quite nice even in 2008, in this second installment of TES: Oblivion.… Expand

Bethesda has crafted one of the best role playing games ever with Fallout 3. The gameplay is refined, the open world is incredibly detailed and great to look at, and the moral choices and multiple paths may send many gamers through multiple playthroughs to experience everything. In short, this is one of the best games to be released this year and should not be missed by any action, rpg, or adventure gaming fan. It's an experience not to be missed.… Expand

I have played Fallout in the past, and this isn't exactly what the die hard nutjob Fallout fans will want, but it is still a good game. Never mind the zero score haters, because they haven't played the game. And beware of the 10 fanboys, that fail to mention many of the flaws. The good parts are the ability to explore the fallout world in whatever way you want. Fallout 3 is different from the previous games in early gameplay. If you want energy weapons early, chances are you will find them. If you want to blowoff the campaign, go for it. But expect to find hard enemies like robots and supermutants early. The voice acting and dialogue options are pretty fun, and in tune with the previous games. They aren't long and boring like many other RPGs. As you increase in level, the character becomes overpowered relatively quickly, but can still be overwhelmed by masses of enemies fairly easy. The graphics seem a little dated, but overall pretty good for an outdated engine. There are a lot of moral choices and decisions that affect that gameplay in huge ways. AI is kinda bad, kinda sub par for an RPG. NPC bugs are crazy and often. Repair has become the new must have skill. I can't complain about the story and depth of the game. They did a lot of little things that really help paint a good post-apocalypse 1950-ish setting. They also did a poor job of giving the PC users better control options and buttons. Melee and unarmed animations are kinda boring and repetitive. Overall, still a good game, and worth it's weight.… Expand

Here comes the voice of reason: Fallout Review from a true Fallout Fan: GRAPHICS: 9 These are fairly Oblivion-esque, obviously, they were made on the same engine, well technically not the same engine, an updated version of the engine. But they still felt whole heartedly like Fallout, you got the sense of despair and dirty/grimy/realism that the original had. I know I had many a time where when I went into a building or a vault that I saw things on the ground or wall that I went.... "Oh shit, I'm gonna die," never once did I have that feeling with Oblivion. Bethesda pulled off the gore level nicely, we must remember that the originals were over the top for their time as well. GAMEPLAY: 9 The gameplay was solid, I am really impressed that it wasn't just Oblivion with guns, they made it a true Fallout game, and the V.A.T.S. was truly what did it. This allowed for the turn-based ability that one could hope for, I personally never did like the full TB system in the old ones anyway (used the "speed up" mode) I think that there was too much planning for killing one or two critters. If you were battling the echelons of hell then I would understand full TB, but it was only ever at most maybe 3 or 4 at a time. The dialog level fit in nicely, the swearing was only where it was in good taste, which is much like the originals. STORYLINE: 10 Simply amazing. I knew the story really had me when, after searching for my father's holotapes I come across one that is named "Better Days," where it sounds like the character's parents are in the course of romance, I didn't go WTF, but instead I laughed a little and cringed a little at the same time, as if I was actually the kid coming across this. They did a superb job of giving characters that needed to say something a personality that makes you love them or hate them or even something else. I know there were many times where I liked a character so much that I couldn't kill them, or was compelled to when asked to within a quest, this is what the original did as well, and I know it would make the original Fallout team proud. MISCELLANEOUS: The animation was clunky at times, but I expected that, this being on the same engine as Oblivion, and seeing the animation in Oblivion, I knew what to expect. I would say that the PC version is definitely the more streamlined of the 3 systems, and made my overall experience that much better. This definitely was built for the consoles simplicity wise but the computers pull it off so much better. My final verdict is a must buy. It's got its quirks but I know that the community is already strong and those things will be worked out pretty quickly.… Expand

Before I start, let me go ahead and clarify that I havn't played any of the Fallout games, even those considered non-canon. I'm a big fan of Bethesda. Not just for the Elder Scrolls, but also for some of the games they've published like Call of Cthulhu. When I figured out they were remaking Fallout, I thought it would be a good time to get in on the Franchise. Now, I can see the comparisons with Oblivion. The MELEE combat is almost identical. The way you interact with the world is pretty spot on as well. But in my opinion, the engine is where the similarities end. For one, Fallout 3's world doesn't even have a flavor of Oblivion. It's dark. It's gritty. And in places like Downtown DC, it is pretty obvious that there's few safe havens. There's alot of scrounging early on, though I will admit that it does get easier to find mid ranged equipment and ammunition, but stuff like Mini Guns and Mini Nukes stay relatively rare. As for combat, melee, like I said, is very similar to Oblivion. However, I went with guns, more specifically energy weapons. Let me say that it operated NOTHING like Oblivion's bow and arrow, or even spells. Each weapon felt considerably different. Firing my pea shooting 10mm was far and away different than the gatling gun or missile launcher. Now, the game could have easily gotten a 9 out of 10 or even a perfect score, but I did have a few complaints: First, the characters were pretty bland. The only characters I really cared for at all were Fawkes, Butch, and Amata, but even these characters didn't have enough depth or related quests. You couldn't even ask much about their past, or how they felt about certain things. Dogmeat, one of the only announced followers. was awful. Yea, he could be sent to go get stuff, but he acted very little like a real dog, which I guess is kind of biased after playing fable ii. I mean it just followed behind me and alot of the time I had to look behind me to make sure he was following. In fable ii the dog would bark, run ahead of you, and interact with other people. Which will kind of fit into my last complaint. Second, the different factions don't really feel that alive. The Enclave felt like it had field operations going on, but you almost never saw the Brotherhood of Steel doing anything important save for a few instances. And last, in the 4 years since Oblivion, they weren't able to add any kind of dynamic content to the world. Roving bands, yea sure, people who talk to one another, ok, shops that close, alright. But come on. You never have more than 2 people talking to each other. Those roving bands are just that. Roving bands; they never interact with anything. And you can learn very little from the people themselves. You talk to them, get all the information they have initially, and then you never have to go back to them. They have nothing to reveal about current events, or the past. Still, small complaints from a game that accomplishes so much. Much more than alot of the other games that have come out. And to the people who DID play Fallout who don't believe it stays true: Despair, black humour, and violence. That's what I understand made the series. Well it's all there. If you're complaints are about leaving the turn based system, or the non isometric view: That's evolution of technology. I don't want strategy. I want immersion, story, graphics, AND strategy. All of these are in the game.… Expand

I have mixed feelings about this game. I loved both oblivion and fallout 2, but I have to agree with some of the other comments that this is more oblivion than fallout. Its a pretty good game, but it lost that strategic element that was so critical in the fallout 2 game. This is essentially a game that is impossible to loose. You could assign skills randomly and still have a playable character. Unlike oblivion, there is no weather effects, in the PC version there is no button to holster your weapon(assuming because they ran out of buttons on the xbox controller), there is no sound when you reload, there is some serious issues with continuity, and there are some really lame bugs in the game. Not bugs that crash the game, just bugs that make you say "that's dumb". I've played it for about 20hrs now, and its becoming a little repetitive, there is no creature or situation that I can get knocked down below 1/2 health. This is a game that is better than most games on the market currently, but it really is not much of an RPG, it belongs with in the basket with Bioshock and half-life 2. So if you like those FPS, you'll love this, it will be a challenge and a change. This may become an more intensive RPG game in the future, IF the release the editor so modders can get a hold of it and make some improvements/corrections. I'd like to congratulate Bethesda for making the transition from 2D to 3D, that had to happen. But it would have been nice if more effort had been made to retrain the strategic elements that made the previous fallouts famous, and not simply modded Oblivion.… Expand

A worthy addition to the Fallout franchise. One point subtracted for not having any multiplayer capability whatsoever. A second point subtracted for including "Xbox Live" support in a PC game without any other multiplayer support whatsoever. If I wanted to have anything to do with Live achievements and other BS, I would have bought a Xbox.

While, its not perfect, this is probably the best game I will play all year. As for the people giving it low scores, they can't seem to get over the fact that the fallout franchise is being made by a new company. This game is worth your money. I played for about 10 hours and then restarted to build a better, stronger character once I had learned the ropes and am now looking at over a hundred hours of gameplay. Yes, it is similar to oblivion, but it is made with the same engine so their are going to be similarities. The dialogue is great, even if some of the voice actors are not. Final verdict, get this game.… Expand

As a fan of both fallout and oblivion all I see here is the best that both games had to offer. The "turn based" combat is excellent and visually stunning, the storyline is captivating. Its one of if not THEE best game out at the moment. The folks here who have rated this game "0" clearly have no idea what they are talking about!

Absolutely incredible game. Fallout 3 is a near perfect genre meld, borrowing the best virtues of First Person Shooters and RPGs. This game creates a stunningly immersive and incredibly detailed world that combines action, storytelling, and player choice into an unrivaled masterpiece. I have largely steered away from RPGs, due to a dislike for both the fantasy genre and stats based gameplay, as well as a love of the first person perspective. Immersion is key to me. Half-Life 2 had previously been the bar for the "perfect game", but Fallout 3 may have vaulted over it. The attention to detail is unbelievable. Bethesda has created a magnificently realistic post-apocalyptic world that defies belief with it's plausibility. It is a testament to their work that you quickly stop marveling at the world and forget that the crumbling world around you had to be painstakingly created. It feels like the developers built a city, nuked it, then traveled 200 years in the future to see what it was like. I just "beat" the game, in terms of finishing the main storyline and being kicked to the main menu. I have not, however, experienced a large quantity of what this game has to offer. Depending on your choices, you create the "game" as you see fit. My decisions led me down a path that my friends did not go, and thus we experienced different things. I visited places they didn't even know about, and vice versus. We did different quests, and completed some in different ways. All of this blends seamlessly with the immersion and storyline to create a living world that is nothing I have ever seen.… Expand

While the graphics/environment are amazing as a gamer who loved Fallout/Fallout 2 I was semi disappointed in Fallout 3. As many previous raters have said this is a great game for oblivion followers. "Oblivion, with guns" is a perfect description of the game. Storyline was too flimsy, leaving me sometimes confused, "what next"? The new VATS addition was great while the pipboy took obvious hits. Skills were very limited compared to fallout 3. The new condition/repair could have been left out of the game as it didn't add any substance. Overall, great game for oblivion lovers, not for fallout followers. Can we get a release date for D3 please?!?… Expand

Fallout 3 is a true masterpiece of PC gaming and probably the best RPG since Oblivion. Yes, I played F1 and F2, and yes I love the Elder Scrolls series. Somebody tries to compare Mass Effect with F3. ME does not deliver even a shred of RPG experience you get with F3. This game deserves all the money the developer asks for it. And considering the poor state of PC gaming industry today (i.e. a tidal wave of ultra-low quality PC games that flooded the market in the recent years) it deserves it even more. And yes it uses the Securom rootkit spyware. So the score is 9 instead of 10.… Expand

Great game Bethesda captured the feal of the original games very well the only con i can think of is the animation for running and some other movements is very strange looking and erratic.

Overall an amazing work. The world begs to be explored and there are many mysteries to unearth. The character progression system is easily learned and quite fun, yet also has a level of depth allowing for countless types of characters and strategies. The dialogue and story draw you into the world well. Praise is also given for the scalability of the engine. I am playing it on a budget laptop with an AMD Turion 2.0 GHz Dual Core Processor and ATI 3100 Integrated Graphics. On that system I have Fallout 3 running at 800x600 with low/medium details and HDR Lighting activated. The framerate is smooth and the game looks amazing. Watching the post apocalyptic sunrise on a balcony in Megaton is a sight to behold. Wandering dead and broken highways, strolling through ghost towns and empty shells of cities is engrossing. It truly feels like exploring the remnants of civilization. The action that is mingled with the exploration is also top notch. The V.A.T.S. targeting system adds more tactics to encounters and is a joy to use. That's not to say that you're forced to it, regular first person combat works swimmingly as well and mixing the two is great fun. I highly recommend this game!… Expand

A Fallout sequel that has been well worth the wait. This game is a true show of Bethesda's ability to recreate that FO environment. Equipped with amazing visuals, atmospheric sounds and top notch gameplay. The immersion factor is at an all time high with this game.

Unfortunately, a big disappointment to many. This game is a GOOD example of BAD design. Graphics and sounds are poor, which doesn't help much. Everything is dumbed-down. This game has more common with Bethesda's other game - TES: Oblivion, than with previous Fallout games. Story is nice. Some of the quest ideas and some of the dialogue humor is OK. An average game with a lot of hype. It's not worth the money, believe me.… Expand

A truly great game, where you feel there's always something new lurking round the next pile of nuked rubble. It takes out a lot of the more fussy aspects of Oblivion, and adds some innovative features like the VATS targeting system.