Fallout 3

Fallout 3 review.  Focused on the game itself and how it is experienced by a fan and former Fallout player.

A revival of an old, legendary series. Let's be honest, how many of those attempts actually succeeded? Every attempt to recreate legends with a big fan base eventually ends with a failure as the development studio is trying to blend in a lot of new things to bring the game closer to more gamers. Sometimes this is a complete adaptation to current gaming trends. Fallout 3 is no different. In fact, the game is basically a blend of Oblivion and Fallout. Since I've never played any of the older Fallout sequences, I'm going to look at the game as a modern RPG.

For a long time, I have not played any RPGs that kept me for a long time in front of the screen, so I expected a lot of Fallout 3, as well as most gamers who like to play a good RPG. And here, I can say that the game is really great.

Let's start from the technical side of the game, which is done quite decent. Graphics are ok, but we've seen better. It uses the modified Gamebryo engine used in Oblivion, so it's logical that some things look similar. The textures are good, and the distance view is pretty good. Much better than in Oblivion.

Some scenes, such as atomic bomb explosions, water and exterior at night, seem simply phenomenal, while others are simply poor and outdated. Let's say, the animation of the characters is pretty bad and woody, and the worst is the movement of your character, which can be seen if you play in a third person. The character moves strangely, and the feeling that actually stands on that surface is not at all.

And there's also a classic problem with Elder Scrolls - pathfinding and recognizing other NPCs are pretty bad. This means that the characters will often hang in the walls, and when a few characters find themselves on the same stairs, so everyone gets confused and sticking to each other, you will laugh first, but it gets annoying quickly.

The voiceover was done with quality, with Liam Neeson (father's voice). This time there is no Jeremy Soule (Oblivion) or Mark Morgan (Fallout series), and the composing music is pretty bad and badly made, but there is a great licensed soundtrack that is quite similar to that from Bioshock. The overall design is also reminiscent of Bioshock.

What made me most disappointed in the game is a story. It had potentials and initially was relatively attractive, but it was not even close to what I expected. Almost every character appears in the story only once, and there is no deeper connection between the characters. Well, remember that they said that this time they will not make generic characters with the same lines of text, but that in F3 there will be fewer characters, but they will be more elaborate? It's only partially true. Key characters are somewhat more elaborate and have some kind of ... let's say personality, but the rest of the NPC characters are again completely generic. Damn, I was expecting a detailed elaboration for space pirates. Or something.

Also, the main storyline is quite short. With fewer excursions it can be completed in fifteen hours, and even less. And be sure not to forget to save the game before the end of the game because after you finish the story, the game does not continue. You can only load and continue the other way.

However, it can not be said that the story has no great moments and interesting missions, which makes it even worse that it is so short. What's good about the story is a replay value. Though the storyline is the same regardless of your actions, the rest of the game, not even the end, will not be the same. But surely after one pass, you will want to play the game at least once again in a different way. And believe me, definitely worth it. You can finish a large number of missions in a number of ways, but you have inevitable consequences for each action. Will you take part in the destruction of a whole city or will you report these vicious actions to a local sheriff? Or are you not going to do anything? Will you sacrifice everything and your own life for the benefit of all people, or will you give up the excellency to others? Do you need something from someone? You can solve the side quest, try to get the information you need, or force it to take what you need with your charisma.

Everything is on you, and all you do will bring you positive or negative karma. Karma is very important in the game. Certain things you will not be able to achieve if you do not have the right karma, and there are also some cool extras. For example, if you kill the general population (including children), you get a negative karma. And "gather" enough negative karma, you can become a paid killer.  

The fight was done perfectly. Killing the weakest opponent (especially at the beginning) is not easy, and when you see the group, think quickly, because the foolish take-off will only lead you to a lying position faster. No, I'm not talking about sex. Shooting your opponent, you can disable a specific part of his body, but hell, they can do it for you too. Also, you will almost always have too little bullets, so be careful to make good use of each.

At the beginning of the game, you get the Pip-Boy 3000. It looks like a giant wristwatch, but it's actually just a fancy way to show inventory and other data.

Fallout 3 also presents a new computer hacking system. Unlike the vast majority of games that hackers present as stupid mini-games that have nothing to do with common sense, let alone logic, this game will make you think. You have 6 attempts to hit the password before the computer is locked. You get a lot of different words, letters and characters that you need to try. When you select a word, the game will tell you exactly how many characters are right, but not what they are. This approach dramatically complicates the thing, which is excellent, because you will have to endeavour to get first aid, weapons, and ammunition. It should be noted that if you play the game on consoles, you try to play on a larger screen if it is possible. As in most of the games of this generation, the text is simply unreadable on smaller screens.

The atmosphere is also an essential factor of immanence in the Fallout world. It nicely reflects the post-apocalyptic atmosphere full of loneliness, despair and hopelessness. Within cities, you will feel relatively safe and peaceful, but outside of them, the situation is entirely different. The world of Fallout is full of mutants and ghosts, wandering in search of any value, so they will infallibly attack you as soon as they see you. The ruined remains of cities contribute significantly to the atmosphere, as well as radio stations. 

Humor is also a hit; you will see most of the humour through conversations with characters. 



Fallout 3 did not disappoint. Atmosphere, combat system and the decision-making process are excellent. The most prominent controversy in the game is, as I noted in the text, the story. It's not very elaborate, it's short, and the end seems blurry. The similarity to Oblivion is apparent, which I don't mind. Basically, we got the RPG of great gameplay (yes, the story is short but has a lot of side quests) and a good replay value. If you are not already playing, I do not know what you are waiting for ...