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

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

A horrible, flawed title with bugs, a poor storyline and little roleplaying options - an undeserving attempt at one of the greatest RPGs of all time - Fallout. You manage to defeat Vault security despite being a Level 1 wimp, then proceed to destroy supermutants and the Enclave with no particular hardship. On your journey, you meet boring, shallow and two-dimensional characters with poor voice acting who give you just as boring and shallow quests. The UI can be a chore to use. The game has countless bugs and the animations do *not* resemble human beings. That's not to say, it contradicts the already established Fallout lore. It can be a fun game, but only for a little while.… 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

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.… Collapse

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.

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

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

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 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

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

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

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.

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

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 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

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.

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

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

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

Fallout 3 was my introduction to the Fallout series and the first time I took note of Bethesda's name (I had played the Elder Scrolls game, but just didn't follow developers then the way I do now). When I first played this game it was on a family member's PS3. I had no current generations at the time and this game made me realize I needed a new console because I HAD to play this game. Personally, I found the beginning of the game's story line very engaging. You are born in a vault in a post apocalyptic future, your father vanishes having escaped the vault which is unheard of, but you can't believe he'd leave for no reason. The rest of the game then rests on you escaping and tracking down your dad while unveiling what has happened in the years since the Vault first became inhabited as you meet side characters and find information throughout a battle-torn, nuclear radiated Washington D.C. The graphics at the time seems amazingly cool, they still stand up as being good quality, but I can't say they're the best or anything.

The side quests alone can have you playing this game for several hours, and it did, and if there's anything I'd say I don't like about this game...it's how many hours you're going to have to spend on it, and how much time you're going to waste travelling around just trying to do everything it has to offer. Maybe it reveals a horder side of me, but I'm over encumbered every couple minutes and have to figure what to do with the crap I'm carrying. The VATS is kind of cool, yet it also takes away from the realism of battling a horde of mutants when you can stop to fix weapons, switch them out, and slow time to make sure you're aiming your grenades at their feet...It definitely has some flaws and glitches, but over all I find it a very fun game that I don't mind loading up two years after buying it just for some running around and mutant destroying.… Expand

Ultimately for a Fallout game this was mediocre at best. For Bethesda however, this is a very good start. I was going to give it a lower score however the GECK (the SDK) was actually released. I'm sure by using the GECK the Fallout 3 community will be able to fix Bethesda's mistakes and turn this into a true Fallout sequel instead of Oblivion with guns.

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

I would recommend Fallout 3 to everyone (especially game of the year edition), so much to do, but just not enough time! I don't know how many days, weeks and months I used to explore every little bit, taking all the quest, following the 'good' storyline and the 'bad'. This game is what you should play -Bethesdas bigest succes! Graphics is great, and you don't need those high-end-computers for it.
Comparede to their new game Skyrim, this is the bomb! Graphics is not much different, but still in Skyrim you need to buy a computer with the price about 2000 U.S dollars to play it at the fullest, no just play it without lagg. Don't always look forward, also look backwards, because you will find this game, and I can ensure you, it is worth every goddamn coin!… 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

I think I speak for all that are great minds when I say, we don't want structure, we don't want a direct quest line, we want real world choices and their consequences, we want to be able to nuke villages and screw things up, we want to be a serial murderer and murder an entire street of people. These things are possible in Fallout 3, because it's a game which actually is a real RPG, you can be what you want. If you want a linear shooter where you just go from point A to B shooting things, following quest markers, first of all go die, but if you aren't willing to do this service to the world, then at least don't complain when you play an epic game like fallout. It's a brilliant game, the style and art really suck you in, it's way better than elder scrolls in this respect, it's not a lame ass medieval game all over but really a dark sad world in ruins after a nuclear disaster. You will feel lost, because that is what the character is supposed to feel as he steps out on this strange world. You will feel the game. Few games achieve this. This is truly one of the best games in the past decade, and one of the few "epic" games ever. No - I am not giving it a 10, because for one it is much too short, for two the max level is WAY too low except if you DLC, which is **** and for three the games posses after all these years game breaking bugs, which if screwed up and would never have been tolerated if it had been a japanese title.… Expand

Oh, dear, oh, dear... I tried to love this game so hard... I'm just going to say sorry for the guys that love this game. You have the right to love it, it's fair, but it seems that you either got spoiled by modern game industry or didn't know the beauty of TRUE Fallout universe. Bethesda needs to understand, that not every game that it does needs to be done in the same manner. In the end Fallout started to look like The Elder Scrolls after a while. Please, do not misunderstand me, I love TES, but it's design is unique and suitable only for itself. Bethesda seems to think otherwise. Fallout 3 turned out to be more of a shooter, than an RPG. And when I say that, I mean: 90% shooter, 10% RPG. And in the end: it's certainly isn't the best of both world, but a bad example of adapting a series. The game may be enjoyable for new gamers, but for the old school type of gamers this will be a huge disappointment. I'm still in shock trying to figure out why it's score is better than Fallout 2's...… 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

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.

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

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'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.)

I love this game. Combat is interesting, dialogue is great, but is hinderd by bad voice acting, i love the fiction, lots of content, but not half as much as oblivion, which makes sense because the fallout isnt bethesdas series, and too remain faithfull to the series, they have to stay with the established fiction.

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

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

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.

Hmmm that game is probably The Fallout 3 but i look into that game and cant find enything who show me that Fallout in this product - Bethezda one more time show to game comunity how to destroy a good game that is not a Fallout that is a Oblivion with guns

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

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

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.

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

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.

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

This might not be completely fair as i never finished the game but the game just did not resonate with me. The story was decent but not as entertaining as i wanted, i found the gameplay to be incredibly boring for the first two hours and once you finally escape the vault, the wastelands are depressing and unappealing. The graphics were good but because of the setting it just felt too heavily textured and bland. The guns were okay but i didnt progress far enough to discover anything all that interesting. On top of that the game felt confusing with too many things going on at once. In the end i just found the game to be unattractive and boring.… Expand

Fallout 3 is a game that was pretty much abandoned by Bethesda a short time after hitting the shelves. The game did receive five DLC-titles but the lack of bugfixing patches made alot of people quit playing it. I gave Fallout 3 a chance, and i didn't like it. I thought that the game was too open, it didn't tell me where i needed to go. I've played a lot of single-player games and most of them tell you exactly what to do, always. Fallout didn't, and it scared me to have so much freedom. It took me a somewhere between 8-10 of hours of gameplay to completely grasp the Capital Wasteland and it's sheer size. It is enormous. When i finally realized how fantastic Fallout 3 was, it had me in it's claws. And it hasn't let me go since. Fallout 3 has a pretty good main story, but the side missions are better. The RPG-elements are more than satisfying but the game's strong side is it's atmosphere. I think everybody should at least try Fallout. It is a beautiful game set in a horrifying world.… 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.

Welcome to boring, repetitive 'open-world' (copied+pasted maps) game masked as an RPG with horrible (and stolen) storyline, butchered Fallout lore aka Oblivion With Guns. A game that is unplayable without mods that were made by fans. And DLC's are even worse. If you're not a casual gamer and if you like RPG and Fallout, then try New Vegas instead.

The game of the year was really, really good.
The radios are very good, the musics from the 30's and 40's accompany the game very well, the game-play is epic and the world is vast, you can investigate everywhere.
But I'm not going to give this game a higher then 8 because of the bugs,the game is full of them, you can't run the game in Windows 7 and some times it crashes you're PC.
If you want this game buy it for the XBOX 360 and not the computer.… Expand

This game is amazing! A lot of quests and interesting enemies/locations. This is extremely worth the money, you wont regret you bought it...

The story is pretty great, you get born in Vault 101, but when you're 19 years old, you're dad leaves the vault and you have to go look for him.

The graphics is Decent, I would say they are much better than Oblivion. Fallout 3 had also some little bugs, the game crashes sometimes, but it was still enjoyable!… Expand

Overall amazing game...really a work of art. The only things I found wrong was: 1. the game crashed on numerous occasions (looked up online and got a codec fix) 2. The main story is EXTREMELY short. The first time I played I went straight through the story...got about 12 hours of gameplay. I started the game over and did the sidequests...I'm still playing and I've gotten 33 hours.

Outstanding. If you like games that give you a sense of genuine exploration, you'll love this - except if you're stuck in the past worshipping the original games. Nostalgia is a wonderfull thing, but any new game should be judged on it's own merits. The vats targetting system works very well, the animations are a great improvement over Oblivion (animation always seems to be Bethesda's weak point), and the copy/paste dungeons are gone. Yes, some areas look the same, but they don't suffer from the indentical locations that plagued Oblivion's dungeons. Make sure you try this for yourself, and if you do see someone moaning about the gameplay, I'll put money on them wanting to be back living in an isometric past.… Expand

The game is (sorry but only a superlative will do) brilliant. I would definitely say it was the best RPG of 2008, in-fact quite possibly one of the finest RPGs of all time. I shit you not. I took away one point as I believe it takes some perseverance to truly appreciate it; I did not enjoy it immediately, and many others I have spoken to have said initially they found it hard to get into. But (and I know I'm using all the clichés in the book) it grows on you. Grows like a mutated third arm following some serious radiation sickness. Really, buy this game. Buy it even if you didn't like Oblivion, a game to which it owes a great deal, yet Fallout 3 is an entirely different beast, and I mean this in the best way possible. In fact, I urge you to buy it even if you don't like RPGs or FPSs: You WILL get hooked. Hooked on psycho, jet, buffout. I mean, it allows you to play at your own pace, yet it constantly gives you something to strive for. I haven't had a dull moment within the game were I really couldn't be bothered to do anything. When it comes to the time that you want to replay it, you should set yourself personal challenges; I decided with one character I was going to wear the tunnel snake jacket armoured with a baseball bat. And I felt damn cool. Especially whilst you bat some innocent NPC to death, who doesn't really deserve it, but you just like to admire the brutality in V.A.T.S slow-mo, with a host of different camera angles. Really, I cannot fault the gameplay, the atmosphere, the story, the graphics, nothing, aside from a few bugs/glitches here and there, but that's all due to the complexity and depth of the game. So, to re-iterate; buy it.… Expand

How could you not love this game? It is easily the best RPG that I have played. Its deep enough to cause you to think about what you are going to do next without scaring you that if you do one little thing that you will ruin the entire game. Sure, if you walk around, constantly mowing down enemies with a gatling laser machine gun might be meticulous... Well, it really isnt, but thats about the only negative thing I could think of. It does depart a bit from the old Fallout games, but it at least puts it in a different setting as an excuse. Overall, the game is amazing, the DLC is amazing, and I am amazed that it didnt get 10's and 100's from everyone.… Expand

Fallout 3 is the best game ever after what i mean it got every thing cool places really cool places you can explore in hours i have played 51 hours on my man and not have seen all places around that the cool you need to move around and find places you never thougt would be there and when you find those places there will sjour be something to figth or get and that i love moust of the game is the end where it ends whit saying (War war never change us) That did mean so much to me i would hope all in the world would buy the game and see what there mabye could happen if we did throw atombombs after hicother but not where there is gonna come monsters out of it but the hole map is incredible and can show something about the future watere there mabye not can be drinket and food there is bad for you i love the game. Thanks for you guys created the game i hope there will come a fallout 4 Multiplayer where you can play whit your friends in normal singleplayer places or campaigns where you begin a place and figth monsters there come from every where or just Team deathmach figthining mabye super mutant against raiders or vault members. But i moust say that you guys have made the game there inspired me and manny others keep going that way that is the rigth way.… Expand

Amazing game, with the best atmosphere I've experienced in a game since the first half-life! Not a shooter and not a rpg, but something all together different and wonderful. It does have some bugs, but most can be avoided at least until the patches finally come out.

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

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

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

Oh dear oh dear. A risible runner shooter. RPG elements all but destroyed.

Thje music sounds like a remix of Oblivions (esspecially the "plonk plonk plonk" slow morose piano intro followed by low key strings and wind. It might as well be a remix. The game feels and plays like a poor mans Oblivion..and all the text and menu's are in VERY low resolution -showing to be the poor console port that it is.

Maybe it's not awful, but in comparison with 1&2 (and tactics) it's pretty close… Expand

This game did not live up to my expectations. I played Bethesda's TES: Oblivion and loved it, beating it multiple times. It is true that Fallout 3 is basically Oblivion with guns, but its a very bad oblivion with guns. Very bad voice acting- the characters dont match up with what they are saying. The character could be saying that the world is about to blow up while nonchalantly standing there with a minor arm movement. There are also many bugs including invisible items, problems with the targeting system, and AI problems. I have no idea why so many reviewers gave this game a 100. Really? This game is so perfect that you could play for ten hours straight while having 0 problems, glitches, or otherwise unwanted actions? No, that's not the case. This is a B- game, not an A++ game. It does have an interesting storyline, if a little predictable. My suggestion: Play a friends game for a while, or the whole thing (story line takes just a few days to beat), or wait until this game is under 30 or even 20 dollars. If other gamers have noticed all the things wrong with this game too then that shouldn't take too long.… Expand

I cant remember playing a more tedious and broken game. the interactions with enemies is neither FPS like nor RPG like and the game runs terribly slow for something that has ancient graphics.

I don't get it. What's all the hype about this game? Same thing over and over and over- just in different parts of the map/world.

Seriously overhyped. This is boring.

It wasn't a real Fallout game, nor was it an RPG.
Everything imaginable was done wrong, Bethesda have proved that they can't make a real Fallout game.
It was just dumbed down into a shooter with stats slapped on.

As a stand alone its a great game, just by being plain fun to play. Boring main quest and, unkillable children (dont put them there if i cant shoot them in the face) and other idiotic flaws like that drags it down but overall its a good game.

As a sequel it fails miserably, at least according to my personal definition of what a sequel is.
This is a first person real time action/rpg with pause bullet time. (NO GROIN SHOTS WTF)
It fails to capture the spirit of its predecessor, not saying Fallout 2 is a better game, but fallout 3 is a horrible sequel.… Expand

Were I writing a review for the Xbox version, it would be a 10. This game simply doesn't work on many computers (with no solution from Bethesda or anyone on the internet) which blow the system requirements out of the water such as mine. I could say that this game was my favourite game ever, except that on the PC I can't play it.

The game is ok, graphics are pretty good. The detail and story line is so and so and can be messy. However, the game is very strung out, not much to do, characters have little to no facial expression or show of emotion and the game can be very melancholy. Its not the worst game I've played, it does have its good moments, but its not the best and can be a little depressing. But that's just my opinion.… Expand

One of the worst games I've ever played. This game is terrible. There are much better games than this. The critics provided good reviews for this game and I don't know why. The game is terrible.â

While Fallout 3 isn't a bad game overall, as a sequel to Fallout 2 it just fails tragically. It's inconsistent with lore, primitive and illogical in many places. Overall, for a long time Fallout veteran such as myself, this game was a huge disappointment. If you haven't played the previous installments or are just looking for some cheap entertainment, you can go ahead and give it a spin. Otherwise, you'll be better off with New Vegas. Actually, scratch that. You'll be better off with New Vegas either way.… Expand

When Bethesda announced new Fallout game i was really excited. In the end fallout 3 was one of the biggest disappointments. Game play is inferior to both Oblivion and original fallout. The main story line is short and boring. I expected much more from Bethesda.

Ok. This game is one that requires absolutely no skill whatsoever to play. If you're completely ham-handed and can't actually play a FPS; this game is for you. I played the entire way through; then wondered why I had bothered; as the ending is abrubt and poor. It's a game made for people who don't like having to try. You click a button to go into VATS, you choose which body part you'd like to blow off (generally the head), and then you watch as it gets blown off. It's a disgrace to the Fallout series.… Expand

I expected a lot better from all the hype. The script and character dialog is horrendous. What an injustice for the argument that games are "art". I have fond memories of playing Bethesda's Skynet back in the 90s. Great game. But it must have been developed and written by different people, because this latest effort is poor.

I would have given this game a 10, IF I COULD PLAY IT!!! This game is so buggy you can breath without it crashing. See for yourself go tot he official website, forums and PC issues, You will find page, after page after page after page of glitches, bugs, hardware issues, Software issues, and all around bad programming on Bethesda's part. Seriously, Bethesda makes awesome games if you could actually play ANY of them, all of their games are so buggy and they never even bother to fix any of it, they just release one or two patches to fix small problems like a particle of dust going in the wrong direction on some obscure level you have never been to and will probably never find, and just forgets that game exists, moves on to their next horrible game and make more money. Bethesda should get off their butts and fix this game, or give it to someone who knows what the hell they are doing! They really are AWESOME games during the 10 minutes you can actually play them before it decides that you're stepping on too many cracks in the pavement and kicks you back to your desktop.… Expand

Even if you compare to Mass Effect which was also targeted for consoles Fallout 3 is just really bad. Worse in every possible way. Not to mention how much worse it's to an actual PC RPG. Bad shooter with very bad RPG sprinkled on top.

My opinion, it's a ok game that has some severe technical problems a very lame plot but that's OK. The Ai are no smarter than the ones used in oblivion. There are some path finding issues for npc's. The dialog is very childlike but tries to be adult. Obviously there trying to appeal to all ages. Story is not very well presented. Low on believability. They overdo the go fetch that item as usual. Some of the quest were very lame. The entire time line there trying to present seemed a bit off 200 years my eye! There's nothing to make me believe that. Graphics are good but not that good, low resolution textures. Typical Bethesda they don't give a damn about the PC. This game was made for Xbox. Sadly Bethesda seems to offer no technical support or any kind of contact at all. Once again everyone is left wondering when is the patch coming out and what will be in it.… Expand

I am very surprised by the other users' ratings of this game. IMO, this is the best game I've played in a really long time. If you are used to a scripted/linear game, you may not like it because the entire premise of the Fallout series is that it is non-linear. You can do a huge variety of things from being good, evil, neutral, mechanic, gun specialist, energy weapons, melee, etc. If you think the game is too easy, I'd be curious to know what difficulty level you are playing. I do admit that the Super Mutants should be a bit tougher than they are, but they're not easy especially if you run into a whole patrol. To each their own I guess. As a huge fan of Fallout and Fallout 2, I really give this a major thumbs up.… 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

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 really did not have a problem with this game. Not a huge gamer; it was definitely entertaining to me. Interesting story line (what would it actually be like after nuclear fallout?), although it CAN become repetitive after a while. All in all a ten for me.

This game is truly quite miraculous and here's why: It combines in a wonderful way features of FPS and RPG. It even involves some SIMS-type game play including the decorating of your own house, wherever that might be (see for yourself). The playing area is large and flexible, you'll find that restrictions are very few in number. The weapon/item arsenal is very large and what9;s more, you can make your own weapons or other stuff. The fact that the game is situated to happen in Washington DC area (and outside) adds to the excitement. This together with the Cold War-type of background story cooks up an amazing game atmosphere. I could go on for pages, enough spoiling though: the goodies are all there for you to find. Bad sides? That's a tough call. If I was forced to dig out one, that would be the fact that the main story is so short. Compared to how large the area is and how much there is to explore and try out, the main storyline seems inadequate. This combined with the fact that once you finish the final objective the game ends is disappointing. Nonetheless the game is wonderful and if you're not in a rush and like scouting around, you'll find tons of stuff to do and even if you only did the main story line there will be hours after hours of gaming to do. I have no regrets of making this purchase even if it cost me $30 :)… Expand

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

One of the best game i have ever played. Awesome environment with stunning graphics, sounds and atmosphere. What i liked about this game it's the oportunity of do whatever you want, go to any place you want, and especially the oportunity of take different decisions. At the beginning i didn't hold hope for this one since i never played Fallout 1 and 2. But then i gave it a try and i realized how amazing it is.. This is a ''MUST HAVE''..… 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 pretty and all but, buggy, buggy, buggy. It is completely infuriating. Load, take two steps, crash. Repeat over and over again. patching that they came out with makes it worse. everyone says wait for the real patch? They should have fixed it before they released it. Last game I buy from Bethesda.

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

Fun game, but I am not particularly happy with paying a lot of money for something that borders on a mod for oblivion, which in itself was a mediocre game with great graphics. Sadly, not much has changed. Rack this one with CounterStrike- Mods that should never have been made.

After a bad year in gaming My Pc finally made some sense Conan was awful (I might have had too high hopes) Warhammer Delivered fine for two weeks then I lost all my will of playing it. Fallout 3 I love that game a fallout game you can play on a 2008 gamer pc (I thought it wouldnt play this nicely) it is the best rpg title in years for me .It is a rpg not an fps great story funny and damn those super mutants.From an hardcore Fallout fan I say it is a true fallout game not oblivion 2.… Expand