"It’s ironic that there can be a beauty in absolute and total destruction, and Fallout 3, the newest open-ended role-playing game from Bethesda Softworks, has forsaken the lush forests, ornate castles and moody caverns and dungeons of Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion to dazzle us with a world in complete ruin. Sequel to the two PC role playing games developed by Black Isle Studios, Fallout 3 brings the popular franchise to Xbox 360 as well as bringing the game into full-3d and first-person, putting you in the boots of a man (or woman) left to trek through the atomic destruction of a post-world-war-three Washington, D.C."
Overall: War. War never changes.
Fallout is a series of rpg set on an alternate reality, where, during the 50's, in which somehow humankind was extremely advanced, a war breaks out leading the world to a nuclear holocaust. The two first games of the series set the player in a desolated north-american wild west, full of radiated creatures and such. Then Came Fallout Tactics and Fallout: Brotherhood of Stell, both were very weak games, and even though Fallout 3 was in production, the fans dreams were shattered with the awful news that Black Isle had closed its doors. Fallout 3 seemed lost forever.
Than Bethesda released "Oblivion", the game was a hit, with its huge scenario of gorgeous woods, shinning lakes, and mighty knights. After some time Bethesda took on the role to reshape Fallout 3 and bring the game back to production. The game wouldn't be set in California anymore, but in Washingto DC, also it would go through many changes, as fans will realise when they play it, but Bethesda really hit the spot: it's a game that pleases fans and newcommers.
You begin with your chracter being born, your father tries to see what sex you are and then you choose your sex, he then asks your mother what name she'll give you and the player creates a name, after that you create your character's facial appearence per se and you're taken to play the game... as a baby!!! That's where you'll start distirbuting points to the chracter, and from then on you'll grow up in a fast pace, going through some studying getting "perks", etc.
When you're "grown" you awaken to find out that your father has left Vault 101 (this Vault in aprticular has a director who prohibts anyone from leaving), now you're in trouble as well, you soon find out that things are VERY complicated and you decide to run after your dad.
As soon as you escape you'll see what fallout is really about: your first view is that of a HUGE landscape, a big desert, ruined houses and buildings, towns that look like slums. Not a pretty site at all.
From then own you're free to do as you will, go around helping people for hgood or bad, go in a psycho frenzy shooting everyone, or be the nice guy, or simply go and get the main storyline done with. It's your choice. Gameplay: The gameplay is a mixture of shooter with rpg. The old fallout games had a system based on "action points", one would spend them to walk and attack during every battle, here the action points were given a new life: you play like a fps, you can shoot but the player aiming right doesn't mean the chracter is aiming right, it's always based on atributes, your points are only spent when you use the system called V.A.T.S. This means you get to choose body part to hit and the percentage of chance that you'll be succesful.
You'll be doing a lot of talking, even getting out of very ugly situations with mere talk. this is real RPG taken to the next level! Graphics: Visualy the game is consistent if you're playing it in first person view, taking it to thord person you'll realise your character moves in an awkward way, it seems Bethesda hasn't really hit the spot there.
The scenario can change from a wasteland to little slum-like towns, and remains of cities, it's very climatic, and it makes you feel like people are trying to make a living, as hard as that is.
When usiong VATS and killing an enemy, the player is usually rewarded with a short slow-motion scenematic view of heads popping up and other gross kinds of dismemberments.
weapons range from realistic to downright nostalgious, for instance, the laser pistol, looks a LOT like those your dad probably had as a toy when young. So yes they look weird, and it only looks weirder when you see the carnage they do.
It's a very violent game and it's also very complex, it's really not for children. Even if you keep watch on your kid and make sure him or her are making a "good guy" character, there is a lot of violence all the time, from mutated desfigured figures, to the very essence of the scenario itself. Sound: Remember the old days... Music here is only ambient sound and a few scores. However, your pip-boy (a machine that acts like the menu, you where it on your arm) can play the radio, and the radio works just like in GTA, it has DJ's and songs, only old songs you'd expect from the 50's. There's a radio called Enclave Radio, it's from a military unit called The Enclave, it's only babbles from the President making propaganda of the army and such. All in all, the music is great, the special effects are great everything is wonderful and ads to the expected sound of a Flallout game.
Made in Canada