Fallout 3 (PC)

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Editorial reviews

Manufacturer's Description
The third game in the Fallout series, Fallout 3 is a singleplayer action role-playing game (RPG) set in a post-apocalyptic Washington DC. Combining the horrific insanity of the Cold War era theory of mutually assured destruction gone terribly wrong, with the kitschy naivety of American 1950s nuclear propaganda, Fallout 3 will satisfy both players familiar with the popular first two games in its series as well as those coming to the franchise for the first time.

The Cold War goes Next-Gen

Welcome to the nation's capital. View larger.

The Brotherhood of Steel is a powerful ally. View larger.

Customize characters with your Pip-Boy. View larger.

The Story: Vault 101 – Jewel of the Wastes
For 200 years, Vault 101 , a fallout shelter, has faithfully served the surviving residents of Washington DC and its environs, now known as the Capital Wasteland. Though the global atomic war of 2077 left the US all but destroyed, the residents of Vault 101 enjoy a life free from the constant stress of the outside world. Giant Insects, Raiders, Slavers, and yes, even Super Mutants are all no match for superior Vault-Tec engineering. Yet one fateful morning, you awake to find that your father has defied the Overseer and left the comfort and security afforded by Vault 101 for reasons unknown. Leaving the only home you've ever known, you emerge from the Vault into the harsh Wasteland sun to search for your father, and the truth.

Key Features:

• Limitless Freedom! – Take in the sights and sounds of the vast Capital Wasteland! See the great monuments of the United States lying in post-apocalyptic ruin! You make the choices that define you and change the world. Just keep an eye on your Rad Meter!
• Experience S.P.E.C.I.A.L.! – Vault-Tec engineers bring you the latest in human ability simulation – the SPECIAL Character System! Utilizing new breakthroughs in points-based ability representation, SPECIAL affords unlimited customization of your character. Also included are dozens of unique skills and perks to choose from, each with a dazzling variety of effects!
• Fantastic New Views! – The wizards at Vault-Tec have done it again! No longer constrained to just one view, experience the world from 1st or 3rd person perspective. Customize your view with the touch of a button!
• The Power of Choice! – Feeling like a dastardly villain today, or a Good Samaritan? Pick a side or walk the line, as every situation can be dealt with in many different ways. Talk out your problems in a civilized fashion, or just flash your Plasma Rifle.
• Blast 'Em Away With V.A.T.S.! –Even the odds in combat with the Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System for your Pip-Boy Model 3000! V.A.T.S. allows you to pause time in combat, target specific body parts on your target, queue up attacks, and let Vault-Tec take out your aggression for you. Rain death and destruction in an all-new cinematic presentation featuring gory dismemberments and spectacular explosions.
• Mind-Blowing Artificial Intelligence! – At Vault-Tec, we realize that the key to reviving civilization after a global nuclear war is people. Our best minds pooled their efforts to produce an advanced version of Radiant AI, America's First Choice in Human Interaction Simulation. Facial expressions, gestures, unique dialog, and lifelike behavior are brought together with stunning results by the latest in Vault-Tec technology.
• Eye-Popping Prettiness! – Witness the harsh realities of nuclear fallout rendered like never before in modern super-deluxe HD graphics. From the barren Wasteland, to the danger-filled offices and metro tunnels of DC, to the hideous rotten flesh of a mutant's face.

Product Description
Fallout 3

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Customer reviews

review by: S date: 2008-12-04 rating:
Oblivion noir
There's a bit early on in the previous Bethesda game, Oblivion, where you exit the sewers and see the outside world for the first time. You see a beautiful sunrise over a gorgeous view of rolling hills, with lush trees and fantastic architecture in the distance. It is an amazingly beautiful first view, and shows how pretty the game world will be, as well as setting the tone of the game in general.

There's a similar point early on in at the beginning of Fallout 3. You leave a nuclear bunker, and view the world outside for the first time. I was expecting the same sort of thing: an amazing showcase first view. I was wrong.

Instead of that lovely view, you see something ugly. You see an almost monochrome view of what looks a lot like a demolition site, set against an equally awful sky. My initial thought was mild disappointment. It wasn't the pretty view I'd expected. That was not a fault of the game engine or poor graphics. It was me. I'd missed the point.

The world of Fallout 3 is ugly.

And that kind of sums up the main difference between Oblivion and Fallout. In Oblivion, you are trying to save a lush, fantastic world. You go to the gates of Hell (or rather, `Oblivion') to keep that lush, fantastic world the same.

In Fallout, the world has already been lost - the environment is a wasteland, and you can't really expect it to change into the pretty world of Oblivion at the end. Think about it... if they did that, they couldn't create a Fallout 3 expansion storyline! The wasteland must remain whatever you do. You can't be the hero of Oblivion in Fallout, because in Fallout there's nothing to save.

That theme occurs throughout the game. There's a certain cynicism that underpins everything. From the first town you see (Megaton) that takes its name from the unexploded bomb in the centre square, through the two main factions, neither of which look like the good guys, to the futile ending of the main quest, it's all a little dark. There's humour also, especially in the way that the world is seen through a distinctly upbeat 1950s retro mindset.

Fallout's magic is not in the pretty graphics, but in the storyline. The quests are a little deeper, and the storyline is a little more offbeat, with a few real surprises. The way you tackle each quest makes a much bigger difference to the outcome. For an example of this, you come across a hoard of mutants that turn out to be vampires. The easy option is to assume they are evil and try to wipe them out. If, however, you take a little more time and try to see what is going on, it's a very different story.

Strangely, however, the only quest that doesn't have this depth is the main quest itself. It has an ending with few branches, and once you reach the end, your story actually stops. In Oblivion, the world carries on, and you can stay for as long as you want after the main quest. Not so in Fallout.

The main quest is really good (better than Oblivion, and much less repetitive), but shorter. That's not actually a problem with a Bethesda game. The saving grace of Oblivion was the community add-ons, and this will also occur with Fallout now that we know that Bethesda will be releasing the game editing tools to the community.

Fallout has lots of things that Oblivion doesn't (a turn based combat system and the ability to create very large monsters for two), so this will be the saving grace of Fallout, and the thing that will turn it into a classic. In Fallout we have a game world that more closely mirrors the current theme: dysfunctional, dark worlds, inhabited by grey characters rather than straight black vs white (see the latest Batman movie for a feel of this) rather than the good vs evil fantasy worlds we more often see in RPG. The main storyline is certainly not as good as something like Planescape:Torment (IMO the best RPG storyline ever), but with Fallout, we have a game world that allows the community to create something similar... or better!

Disclaimers and setup:
I have played through the full game before review. I used the latest available patch (1.0.0.15).
I used a Radeon 4850 (1GB video ram) Q6600 (quad core) processor, 2GB system ram. I experienced no crashes or glitches throughout the game (and I saw very good framerates throughout) at 1400x900. All graphics set to ultra, 4x anti aliasing.
NB1 - Although the game could be played at the full resolution of my monitor (1900x1200), I chose a lower resolution because the Gamebryo engine that Fallout 3 uses can stutter at high resolutions. this appears to be a problem with the graphics engine rather than video card/driver issues
NB2 - Although the game box states that it uses multicores, it doesnt. Windows Task manager shows usage of one core only (although this doesnt seem to affect framerates, as the game doesnt appear to be processor intensive).

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review by: date: 2008-12-01 rating:
Even the patch is buggy
This game would be great if it worked. A patch has been released but it refuses to install on my machine. My pal also bought the game and he is having even more crashes than me and he managed to install the patch! And its not my machine as its all good kit.

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review by: Charley Farley date: 2008-11-28 rating:
Fantastic! Reccomend to all!!
I originally tried this game on the Xbox - I loved it so much that I bought it for the PC! The graphics are superb - my PC is quad core Q9550 with 9800GT card and it looks great! The load screens are very quick as is movement! It gives a realistic feel that you will get hooked on!

I don't normally play this type of game - usually preferring the first person shooters with loads of action - but this game has really got me hooked!

I had no problems loading or playing the game and haven't come accross any bugs yet! I'm on level 11 so have been playing it for a while!

Its real value for money, will provide hours, days, weeks and months of game play! Well worth it!!

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review by: Gobson date: 2008-11-28 rating:
Magnificent
This is a challenging, superbly-designed game full of wit, style and guts. Total freedom to roam through a fascinating post-apocalyptic landscape which some describe as bleak, but what do you expect after nuclear war? Bleak. sort of yes, but beautiful. Superb graphics, Mad Max style badlanders, and a wasted city to explore. The map may at first look small compaired to Oblivion, but try getting through the maze of subways. Great soundtrack, great storyline and cool quests; AND A DOG. If this game was available in the 1600s, Shakespeare would be making it.
As a fan of Half Life, Crysis, Far Cry and Mass Effect etc, this for me is the game of the noughties.


review by: Gillo date: 2008-11-26 rating:
Excellent dark adventure in post WWIII world
An excellent adventure into the wasteland that was America. On a low-spec ati XT 1600 with only 128MB of RAM, it looked amazing. I finally finally finished after 45 hours and will return. GOTY 2008.

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