Playstation 3, Xbox 360, and PC versions of Fallout 3 were released in 2008. The game follows on from the hit PC Fallout series, but changes the viewpoint to either third person or first person, creating a fantastic blend of first person shooting and role playing. Developed by Bethesda, which also produced The Elder Scrolls series, this was a classic style.
Through the Pip Boy gauntlet, players could customize their characters from the start of Fallout 3. As a result, players were able to craft characters that were strong and good with guns, or weak but good with melee weapons and stealthy. Certain Perks would help players progress faster in their play style as they leveled up their characters.
Wasteland was another highlight of Fallout 3. A nuclear war between China and the USA decimated this area around Washington DC. Vaults, underground safe houses that people were sent to just before the war, have sprouted up around the world. When players emerge from their Vault for the first time, they discover the small towns and rare cities of the Wasteland as they explore. As has always been the style of Fallout games, these areas are both realistic and comical, with a distinguishable 1950’s era look but with a slight futuristic twist.
Fallout 3’s quests are another highlight. It is not necessary to finish any of them to play the game, they simply add a sense of freedom previously only found in big titles such as Elder Scrolls and GTA. These quests allowed players to explore more of Fallout 3’s weird, wonderful, and sometimes scary world. The quest involves killing a character who has mutated into a humanoid tree, searching for their organs that have spread far and wide underground by their roots.
Fallout 3’s core quests provide an enjoyable story, but the real fun is exploring more of the Wasteland and picking up other quests. Players make choices that result in good or bad karma. Players who are very good can persuade others more easily if they are very good. Nevertheless, if a gamer is very bad, some characters will fight or run from them, making for a lonely experience.
As a first person shooter, Fallout 3 was almost at its peak at the time. It was a pleasure to explore the Wasteland, and the enemies were fun and engaging. Players can just go and do something else whenever the game gets boring, unlike most other games. With its freedom in both game play and choice, it comes across as a very different kind of shooter, compared to Bioshock Infinite. It leaves me wanting more, but I’ll definitely invest in Fallout 4 despite its sequel leaving me wanting more.