The sun was warm as it touched your face for the very first time and its blinding light was like nothing you have ever seen before. When your retinas adjusted to the brightness, the sight before you was like a waking nightmare that resembled nothing like the old pictures you have seen of the surface. There was no green grass or trees filled with leaves. There was just emptiness with the remains of buildings looking much like old tombstones. This is what remained of a once grand city that was part of a place once called America. Somewhere in the wasteland, your father is on a quest of his own and you must find him. Fallout 3 has us returning to the wastelands of America but this time on the PlayStation 3.

“Look out! It’s Mick Jagger!”

Very few gamers are familiar with the Fallout series since the first two games were available only on the PC. Thankfully, much like it did for The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Bethesda Softworks brings us an action-packed role-playing game that takes us into an alternate reality version of America. Fallout 3 takes a page from Oblivion’s massive environments and gameplay style but believe me when I say that this isn’t just Oblivion with guns. Fallout 3 jumps a step ahead of Oblivion, offering so much more that it will hold you captive for a long time to come.

If one thing remains constant it is that it’s man’s nature to wage war and the one that occurred in this alternate reality has lead to a nuclear holocaust that has turned cities into broken shells of its former self. The lucky few were given refuge in underground shelters known as Vaults while those who were not so fortunate had to suffer the long nuclear winter. In the capitol of Washington, a young infant is born several hundred years later in DC’s Vault 101. That infant is you and due to a complicated birth your mother passes away, leaving your father to care for you. In the coming years, we watch this infant grow up to be a young adult ready for life in Vault 101 when your childhood friend, Amata, tells you that your father has escaped from the Vault.

From the very beginning, you are given the freedom to choose your own path. You’re even given the choice between a male or female character and what he or she will look like when they grow up. We witness several key events in your character’s life from the time he learned to crawl out of the playpen and then when you’re 10-years old when the Vault Overseer gives you your most valuable companion … the Pip-Boy 3000 (more on that later, though). We watch a 16-year old as he or she takes a placement test to see what type of future you will have. Finally, we witness the young man or woman escape the Vault itself and step out into the wasteland that was once this country’s capitol.

While you’re not given a lot of choice during the character creation mode in terms of physical attributes, the best part is that you can pick several specialties and perks you would like your character to be proficient in during the course of your journey. Things you say and do in the game are also taken into account much like the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic games. You gain good Karma by doing good deeds, such as rescuing captive wanderers that were caught by slavers. On the other hand, you can lose Karma by killing the slavers and robbing the captive at gunpoint to leave them in the wasteland with nothing more than just the shirt on their back.

 
“Stop it, human! Disco-Bot was programmed
to roller-skate and dance to the Bee Gees, not for violence.”

The wasteland itself is a massive, open-world environment with many settlements, camps and subway stations that make up the various locales within the city. Famous landmarks will seem vaguely familiar among the rubble and the dust that has collected over the years. Meanwhile, the city has retained its alternate 1950s style with robots that resemble those cheesy 1950s sci-fi films and television shows. This is a world where ray guns and Robby the Robot-like droids have become a reality even among the beehive hairdos and radio station that still plays music from the Andrew Sisters. You’ll encounter a number of radiated freaks such as the Super Mutants to the feral Ghouls that would love nothing more but to take a bite out of you. Speaking of radiated creatures, you’ll encounter giant scorpions, mutated mole rats and wild mutant dogs. 

Aside from the joys of exploring the world’s massive map filled with hundreds of secrets and hidden locales, the plentiful missions are the highlight of Fallout 3. You’ll be helping a shop owner with her research by performing a number of interesting tasks such as drinking radiated water to testing out a mole rat repellent in a dank sewer. Yes, the search for your father is the game’s top priority but with interesting side missions such as delivering a letter to a girl’s family living in a distant settlement that is being attacked by a gang of cannibals. You’ll also be doing missions for Three Dog, a radio disc jockey who happens to be Washington’s only true voice as well as a great number of characters you’ll encounter throughout your journey.

Thankfully, you’ll have plenty of help on your journey through the remains of a once great city. Leveling up will allow you to tweak a number of specialties and abilities. Raising up your Science, for example, will help you hack into terminals while increasing your Big Guns will allow you to shoot assault rifles more accurately. You can also build your own items and learn to repair your equipment so it doesn’t easily fall apart. Your Pip-Boy 3000, a piece of tech you wear on your arm, allows you to bring up your inventory screen, map, switch radio stations and even Fast Travel to places you’ve already visited.

Combat in the game is also a major improvement over Oblivion even though there are similarities such as the ability to switch from a first-person perspective to a third-person view via the LB button. The real-time battles are bloody and violent and considerably fun. Unlike Oblivion, though, the game introduces the V.A.T.S. feature that allows you to pause the game during action to target different enemies then target specific body parts. You can, for example, disable an enemy by crippling their arm or hobble them by shooting one of their legs.

 
“Oh, jeez, I did it again. Sorry about that, man. I always confuse guns with cameras.”

While the story and missions are amazing and surprisingly fun, Fallout 3 is not perfect. The PS3 version has a number of glitches that do pop up in the Xbox 360 version but the clipping problems are far more excessive on the PS3. PlayStation 3 owners are now use to lengthy installations but this only means that the load times are quicker in this version. The worst glitches in the game, however, happen when somehow gets stuck between rocks or a wedge. This glitch will have you loading your previous save seeing as there’s no way out of it.

Fallout 3 is also a visually impressive game on the PlayStation 3. The environments in the game are wonderfully detailed to the point that you will often stop just to admire the scenery. It’s almost heartbreaking to see the city in shambles but it’s also a sight you won’t be able to take your eyes off. The action is quite gory at times thanks to the V.A.T.S. feature. It’s also good to see that there’s variety when it comes to the character’s faces.

The game’s sound is equally detailed so you’ll know when a mutant dog is nearby because you’ll hear its growl before you even see it. There’s some great voice acting in the game that brings out each character’s personality. Plus, Liam Neeson is awesome and having him voice your father is a treat. The game’s original score is also wonderfully cinematic and Three Dog plays some lovely pre-war classics.

It’s rare to find a role-playing game that will haunt your dreams long after you turn off your console but Fallout 3 for the PlayStation 3 is certainly one of those games. Like most epic masterpieces, this game’s massive world, deeply compelling story and entertaining quests will make this an unforgettable gaming experience that shouldn’t be missed by fans of the genre. I recommend this one very highly and believe me when I say that it is worth every dollar.

Gameplay: 9.5
The controls can start off a bit awkward but once you get the hang of it you will be enjoying guiding your character through the wastelands in search of your father. There are a number of great quests to take on in this game and the story is just plain spectacular.

Graphics: 9.0
From the cold blandness of the Vault to the jaw-dropping landscape of the wasteland, the game’s graphics handle these things beautifully. There are a few graphical glitches that show up more consistently on the PS3 version including clipping problems. Still, it’s hard to complain when the character models and environments look this good.

Sound: 9.5
The voice acting in the game is top-notch and the sound effects are pleasantly heavy on the details so you’ll hear the wind blowing through the remains of old buildings. The radio stations coming through your Pip-Boy offer a nice assortment of music including some old-timey tunes.

Difficulty: Medium/Hard
Much like Oblivion, there are huge enemies like the Super Mutant Brutes that take a lot of damage to bring down and you will occasionally find yourself outgunned by the many roving raiders and slavers scattered throughout. The wasteland itself also has its environmental dangers.

Concept: 9.6
Fallout 3’s alternate reality is a frightening, heartbreaking massive environment that is utterly fascinating and filled with enough to see and do whether you chose to be a good person or a bad one. The V.A.T.S. system makes for some great moments and the quests are inventive and interesting. There are plenty of options for your character from the very beginning.

Overall: 9.5
The minute you step out into the wasteland that was once American soil, you know you will never forget the things you will see and do in this world. Fallout 3 is a game that hits all the right notes and excels in being a role-playing game that wishes to challenge the genre to bring something bigger and better. If you have yet to pick up a role-playing game, I highly suggest you start now with Fallout 3.