Too busy to devote 12+ hours a day to your gaming habit? Here's a review that's sensitive to your needs: Short and focused on just the things that a busy gamer like you really needs to know.
Busy Gamer Review - Fallout 3
Reviewed On: Xbox 360. Also available for PC and PlayStation 3.
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| Your Pipboy is where you view maps, manage items and adjust stats |
At its core, Fallout 3 is both a first-person shooter and an RPG - though more of the latter due to its dependence on stats over aim (also, you can trade first-person for a third-person view if you prefer). This is balanced by a unique turn-based targeting system that enables you to freeze time and select quadrants on enemies to aim your next attacks - as long as you have action points, which regenerate over time. The combination of action and strategy in an edgy sci-fi setting makes this a more of mainstream game than its spiritual predecessor, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, and the actual earlier games in the series - which were more RPG than shooter, managed from an isometric view.
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| The targeting system balances the FPS and stat-controlled RPG elements |
The Save Game: By default, Fallout 3 autosaves when you fast travel to places you've been before or enter/exit buildings and towns. You can also save your exact place and status in the world at any time, which makes it perfect for the busy gamer.
Family Factor: Very mature for extreme, intense and sustained violence and some sexual situations (you can purchase the services of a prostitute, though all that happens is that you sleep and awaken refreshed). Keep this one away from kids and even younger teens until they are emotionally ready to handle Tarantino-level gore.
Buy, Rent or Skip? Buy. This is one of the best games of the past several years, and you will get your money's worth from it. The only real downside to this game is that you can easily spend 100+ hours enjoying it, which may seem antithetical to busy gaming. But, as a single-player title, there's absolutely no harm in taking as long as you want - spread your game play out over several years if you like (I'm on my second year now and working through the expansions and completing side quests I missed due to the sheer size of the world). At this point, you should wait for the Game of the Year Edition due next week (October 13) since it contains all of the expansions for the same price as the original game - and with none of the DRM hassles.
On a Personal Note: If you've followed this site for awhile, you know that I tend to choose the light side when playing morally ambiguous games such as Fallout 3, and GrrlGotGame chooses the dark side. Normally this puts me at a severe disadvantage as I end up with less loot, weapons and/or health packs. Not so in Fallout 3. The game is balanced to reward the goody-goody players and punish the wicked! This is due in part to the game's understandably deflated economy - there just aren’t a ton of caps (the game's currency is bottlecaps) to go around, so stealing really doesn't buy you much. You're better off helping people and reaping the often generous rewards they provide.
There are so many tales of the Wasteland I could spin, some of which would spoil major story points and surprises. So I'll keep my personal stories high level. Getting around the ruins of D.C. and suburban Maryland and Virginia (where, incidentally, I grew up for reals!) isn't always a matter of just picking a direction and walking. You'll often be forced underground, into the remains of the Metro subway tunnels, to reach your destination.
I particularly loved wandering these dark tunnels on my quest to find a radio host who mentioned talking to my absentee in-game dad on the air. Stepping out at various subway stops to mark them on my map (so I'd have a fast travel checkpoint for later) proved to be a dangerous game as there were often ambushes and traps waiting. I quickly learned to look out for mines on the ground (which I later developed the skills to disarm, keep and re-use) and dodge rocket blasts from well-armed enemies.
When I arrived at the Metro stop for the radio station, I was thrust into a firefight with some friendly soldiers helping out. I did my best to contribute to the downfall of a particularly large and intimidating foe. It was an epic battle, one that was made a tad easier thanks to the portable nuclear weapon I had acquired. There were casualties on our side, which became a topic of discussion among the NPCs - who don't seem to constantly hit on you the way they do in Oblivion! (Drat. And I was hoping to do a follow-up set in Fallout 3!).
The game is full of tantalizing side quests, such as finding a lost historical document, tracking down a lost violin and researching a survival guide. I won't say more except that I'm 130 hours in, have finished the main quest and I'm still finding plenty of fun things to do.
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