Fallout 3

LEVEL (Czech Republic)

A vast and open world of unimaginable possibilities opens in front of you in Fallout 3. Great story, flawless combat system, and the option to choose your own way makes it a hot candidate for game of the year. [Nov 2008]

1UP

Faults be damned, though; this is the kind of hugely ambitious game that doesn't come around very often, and when it does, you'd be a fool not to play it and enjoy the hell out of it and look forward to the day (next-next-gen?) when the fidelity of open-world RPGs takes another big step closer to the uncanny valley's far side.

GameSpy

Yes, Fallout 3 is a lot like Oblivion (with guns!), but it's a superior game in nearly every way, as it features a more engaging storyline, impeccable presentation, and hundreds of hours of addictive gameplay. While the jury is still out on whether or not hardcore Fallout enthusiasts will accept the game as part of the storied franchise, Fallout 3 is a must-have title for most RPG fans, as well as one of the finest games of this generation.

Game Revolution

That’s the beauty of survival, and this world of fallout: It feeds on adventure and breathes in freedom, yet it dreams of order and the safety of the Vault. I can describe it, explain it, tell it in finely chosen words, but I can never make you fully understand for as long as you sit and listen. But even if I die, I do not worry. There will come a time when you will seize that lever and open that metal door, and it is then I will return.

G4 TV

The ironically devastated world of Fallout has never been better realized than in Fallout 3, offering a vast landscape that is almost relentlessly bleak in its hopelessness. It's absorbing, immersive, paradoxically beautiful, and kind of depressing to play over long periods of time.

Thunderbolt

I hesitate to say, at this early stage, that this is actually a better game than either Fallout 1 or 2, but it very well may be; at the least, it is game-of-the-year material.

The Onion (A.V. Club)

A massive, enthralling achievement.

Cynamite

After this game-experience negative points are hard to find. Sure, the radio program is not mind-blowing and the third-person-view is suboptimal. But this doesn’t matter, as Fallout 3 is wonderful and even a class better than Bethesda’s last title - Oblivion.

Total PC Gaming

Vast, visceral and every inch of it is worthy of the highest acclaim. Pure genius. [Issue#14, p.48]

Just Adventure

The deranged fiends at Bethesda have built a landmark game, and I think you’d be crazy not to play the damned thing.

MEGamers

Combining 1950s art style with a sci-fi mix, gives the game a unique heartbeat. Fallout 3 is a game that will last in your mind long after you’re done playing it, thanks to its memorable characters and adrenaline filled combat. We can finally derive at a conclusion that Fallout 3 is NOT Oblivion with guns!

IGN

It's rare that a game can hit the mark in so many different and often conflicting areas. Fallout 3 offers freedom without sacrificing a focused story. It delivers fantastic combat without forgoing a deep role-playing system. The characters you meet are engaging and oftentimes hilarious without feeling out of place in this harsh world.

Gamer 2.0

So what you have here with Fallout 3 is a great addition to the series, even if you are a die-hard fan of Black Isle Studios’ work with the previous Fallout titles. It has some slight faults, but the quality of the rest of the package more than makes up for it all.

Worth Playing

Fallout 3 isn't perfect, and some longtime fans may focus more on what it isn't rather than what it has become in Bethesda's hands, but its shortcomings pale before the fun that kept pushing me ahead to find out what was over the next hill of rubble.

AtomicGamer

The PC version's controls are certainly sharp and I found myself pulling off many more headshots and quick kills with a mouse and keyboard than I could on the console counterparts, but if you really do want to play with a gamepad, Fallout 3 does fully support the 360 controller on the PC as well.

Gameplanet

The sequel we've been waiting for. It more than lives up to years of expectation, as Bethesda has seamlessly transitioned the franchise from RPG to tactical FPS without skipping a beat. Game of the year? Quite possibly.

Meristation

Fallout 3 is one of this year's best games. It's an unforgettable journey that lives up to the series. You are an ex-vault 101 inhabitant, and you discover a whole new world, full of zombies, mutants, raiders, aliens and all kinds of creatures. Welcome to this post-apocaliptic reality, where you are going to spend hundreds of hours.

GamingExcellence

Fallout 3 is an experience in itself, and while it may not offer as much replay value as Oblivion, it’s so much more then an “Oblivion with guns”.

Vandal Online

Definitely, no videogame fan should let Fallout 3 escape. There are so many things you can do, places you can explore and situations to experiment, that regardless the many times we could say this is a superb title, an instant classic, there is no better way to understand the reason for such praise than to get lost in the ruinous Washington D.C. region.

GameStar

Fallout 3, a successful reanimation of a classic role-playing game, is one of the best modern RPGs and one of the greatest games of 2008. With up to date 3D graphics, good game design and adequate playing time, it's one of those rare pleasant surprises one doesn't dare to hope for anymore. For some it's almost video game art, but it's definitely very good entertainment.

DailyGame

Different from Oblivion but bound to be compared to it, Fallout 3 is deep, rewarding and as open-world as you get, with only a few issues that warrant a sight raise of the eyebrow.

GamingXP

Fallout 3 is an outstanding game. The main story claims a small part of the whole post-apocalyptic world, which can be explored totally free.

GameZone

Fallout 3 is the best PC game I have played all year, the developers did a bang up job of making the series come alive once more and I for one couldn't be happier.

PC Gamer

But Fallout 3 has fidelity to its predecessors in more important ways, such as offering an incredible depth of role-playing opportunities. [Holiday 2008, p.54]

Gamers.at

The unique Fallout-Atmosphere has survived the changes in the gameplay without a scratch! Players can easily overlook the shortcomings of the German synchronization – and maybe it is even because the game provides such a high level of quality that it seems as if true highlights are missing. Unrivalled in freedom of choice and complexity it has become a worthy heir to the great line of previous Fallout games. [Issue # 16]

PC Zone UK

For a pure-hearted escapist adventure, and what I consider the meatiest and most satisfying combat system around, you can't go wrong with Fallout 3. It's been a rocky road, but we got there in the end. [Dec 2008, p.50]

PC Gamer UK

Thrillingly dark, gruesomely adult and one of the most atmospheric games ever. [Dec 2008, p.66]

GameSpot

In fact, Fallout 3 is leaner and meaner than Bethesda's previous efforts, less expansive but more intense, while still offering immense replay value and quite a few thrills along the way.

Total Video Games

There's no denying Fallout 3 is little more than Oblivion in a post-apocalyptic setting. However that's more a compliment than complaint.

PC PowerPlay

Minor niggles aside, Fallout 3 is almost entirely spectacular. Everything from the graphics, to the sound, to the plot is first-rate. The VATS system worlds like a charm, and it’s so easy to get the hang of, you’ll be cracking skulls like there’s no tomorrow. [Dec 2008, p.55]

VideoGamer

This is a massive game: in a month that's seen the release of five or six of the year's best titles, I reckon this is the absolute peach. It's packed with interesting places, with choices to make, with that nebulous sense of adventure you only find in the best RPGs.

YouGamers

Great game and definitely worthy of being called Fallout, easily beating my modest expectations. Not perfect, but the flaws are mostly inconsequential when you consider the big picture. Excellent storyline, interesting game world and plenty of gratuitous violence.

Hardcore Gamer Magazine

Fallout 3 is the biggest accomplishment in adventure gaming since Oblivion.

PC Format

It couldn't possibly satisfy all of our hopes, but Fallout 3 is still a glorious experience that will utterly nuke your social life. [Christmas 2008, p.86]

PC Games (Germany)

Not only is Bethesda's masterpiece a worthy successor to the precious Fallout franchise, but it is also, simply put, one of the best action-roleplaying games in years.

AceGamez

Undoubtedly a worthy title in its own right and has enough character and charm, coupled with solid gameplay, to make this one day after tomorrow that you shouldn't miss.

Game Over Online

In Fallout 3 Bethesda has made a very good thing, though it is somewhat hampered by the lack of variable scenery and a VATS that plays less than perfectly.

DarkZero

Regardless of the sometimes-weak combat, this is role-playing at its finest.

3DJuegos

Fallout 3 brings back a legendary saga to the foreground of video games and it does it with remarkable successes. Graphically it is a very powerful title, the ambience is carefully planned, and its size, freedom and scope are its principal highlights. It is as captivating a game in the beginning as easy to forget in the mid term; despite this, we can say that it is a title that is worth trying.

GameShark

This is a good game. It’s a really good game. It’s only failing is that it has a mark of greatness upon it and, ever so cruelly, fails to completely achieve it.

Giant Bomb

Across the three platforms, the PC version of Fallout 3 is the best, provided you have hardware that can handle it. The PC version has better lighting, a bit more graphical detail, and just looks better, overall. It's a Games For Windows Live game, too, so if you're dead set on playing the game with an Xbox 360 controller, you can do that on the PC, as well. Additionally, it has achievements, just like the 360 version, though they're kept separately--this means you could technically double up, play the game to completion on both the 360 and the PC, and have double the points as a result.

GameDaily

Anyone who played Bethesda's Oblivion, 2006's 'Game of the year,' will find the mission structure familiar, save for the game's auto-targeting system, called V.A.T.S., which is sometimes more of a hindrance than help. Even so, gamers with a taste for detailed storylines and Mad Max style visuals, will find that Fallout 3 delivers a solid, entertaining role-playing experience that will keep you glued to the couch for hours.

Boomtown

Bethesda has done the Fallout series justice and should be proud of the game they made, unfortunately, the scope of the project was too much for them and the PC game felt unfinished in places, but simply outstanding in other areas.

Play (Poland)

Dark humor, brutal combat system, riveting story, wide opportunities for exploration and development in the unforgettable postapocalyptic setting. No, it's not a holy Grail some rpg fans were looking for, but a very decent game nonetheless. [Dec 2008]

Absolute Games

Grim post-nuclear romanticism of Fallout 3 is going to be a huge revelation for console owners. Those who spent the last 11 years exploring the nuclear wastelands of America on the PC, will probably see this game as nothing more than Bethesda’s attempt to fix the mistakes of Oblivion.

Computer Games Online RO

The main quest is pretty short and unimpressive, but this was never the “backbone” of a Fallout game. I’d estimate that an uninterrupted run through the main story could take around 3-4 hours, while not being particularly juicy.

2404.org

Fallout 3 is just mediocre. It’s bogged down by too many problems, engine issues, and poor writing to really wrestle its way into classic status.

Edge Magazine

It’s a game that rewards the long-haul with deep, inventive missions which eschew the usual fetch and kill structure, ensuring that the many hours spent in Fallout 3’s wasteland aren’t wasted. [Christmas 2008, p.88]