Game Name: Fallout 3
Developer: Bethesda Game Studios
Published by: Bethesda Softworks
Platforms: Microsoft Windows, XBOX 360, XBOX One, Playstation 3
Release Date: October 28th, 2008
Introduction
I played this game a few months after it came out. At that point in time I had not played the original Fallout games, but I got hooked on the look and feel of one. Also, the fact that it was in the first person perspective, I was sold.
I started playing it again recently as I had lost my saves for Fallout: New Vegas on my computer and it seemed like everyone was playing Fallout 4. So I thought it would be a great time to play this game just to be different. Let us see how it plays after all these years.
Story
The story starts with you being born in Vault 101. While in childbirth your mom has complications and passes away. Your dad is doing his best to raise you. Your dad is a Scientist and Doctor. He seems to be pretty respeccted in Vault 101.
You even see yourself growing up. First you are a toddler trying to walk trying to get away from his play pen. Then you are at your 10th surprise birthday party. This is when a Vault Dweller starts to get responsibilities.
Then you are presented in a situation where the vault is under high alert. It seems that you father has left vault and that is a big no no. The Overseer wants to catch the Lone Wanderer (you) and ask him some questions. However, you escape yourself and the journey in the Wasteland commences. You are in Washington D.C. which is pretty cool. All the major monuments are there and have been damaged by the war.
The basic premise of the rest of the game is trying to find your father and ask him about this "Project Purity". The idea behind this was to provide good clean water to everyone. This is a noble cause but seems like it is a lost one.
Of course the story is not as straight forward as that and there are other things that come and make the story interesting.
Gameplay
The gameplay was pretty innovative at the time. You have a V.A.T.S. system on your Pip-Boy which has everything that you need. You can check your health, weapons, inventory and you also have a map of the Wasteland. This is not very new but it was improved over the last few games in the series.
One of the weaker parts of the story was the crafting. You are limited to a few weapons like a Bottlecap Mine for example. However, the crafting that you were accustomed to in Fallout: New Vegas and even more in Fallout 4 are non-existent. You can not make your own ammo and health aides. All of the ammo and health that you need are found on your trek through the Wasteland.
I must admit that the graphics, although not horrible, look quite dated. This is especially true when you look at Fallout 4 or even some gameplay for Fallout 76. A lot of the Wasteland is grey and dark. When I was streaming on Twitch, there were parts which were not very visible to the viewer, even though the contrast is high.
There are many weapons that you can find but to be honest, you can get along with just the Hunting Rifle. There is more than enough ammo that you will always have some on hand. It is not the gun with the most damage, but it suits its purpose.
The Combat Shotgun is good as well. Shell ammo are harder to find but they can pack quite a punch, especially when you meet a Deathclaw or Mirelurk.
There are a few places where you can have a place to of your own. There is Rivet City and Megaton just to name a few. This is where you can rest and hide some of your inventory. You can carry only so much and having a place to put your stuff is really handy.
Below you will find some sample gameplay that I have recorded on my Twitch channel.
Fallout 3 - Sample Gameplay
Bottomline
This game was awesome when it came out and the gameplay still holds up to this day. Yes there are some things that as fans of the series, we have become accustomed to. The crafting part is one of the weaker points of the game.
The story for me is very interesting and it kept me in when parts of the game were getting dull. Yes the map is not as big as Fallout 4, but I am ok with that. For me it is just the right amount of discovery and story. As someone with limited time, sometimes, you do not have time to invest 200 hours to complete a game. At some point you just give up. This game is just the perfect length for me.
The music is amazing and it sets the tone to this series very well. As much as this was not the first game in the series, It feels like it is a new start. The look of the game was changed from the Top-Down perspective to the 1st person perspective. When meeting NPC's (non-player character) in the game you feel like you are really meeting someone unique and that they have their own personality.
The one thing that took a little a little bit from the experience is how many times you hear the same voice actor on different NPC's. I met 3 characters in the span of half an hour that had the same voice. They did not even attempt to change the accent or anything. I think that was just the game studio making sure that the costs were low by reusing the same voice actors. I found that a little cheap but that is just me. I am sure that it was fine for other players.
I have been playing this game on twitch for about 3 weeks now and I am still hooked. I actually look forward to playing and finding weird things and weapons in the D.C. area.
Although this game was a XBOX 360 game, it looks pretty good on my XBOX One. I was impressed as I expected to be more disappointed in the graphics department.
All in all, this is a pretty solid title and I think it is worth in its place in the series. It did a lot of things right and the ones that were not great, they pretty much fixed in Fallout: New Vegas.
The gameplay is still fun and I still like the storyline very much and I hope that this game is sold for years to come. I am sure it will become a classic in about 10 years time. We will see if I am right or not.
Rating: 9 Vault Dwellers out of 10
What do you think, did I miss the boat on this review? Let me know below.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Arroundtable
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aroundtable.ca/
Email: allroundtable@gmail.com
Website: http://www.aroundtable.ca/