Fallout 3 – Review (PS3)

I was initially sceptical about Fallout 3 as I’m not really into RPG’s and I thought the VATS system (which stops time and allows you to pick which body part to aim at) was a complete cop out.

In fact I ended up playing a game that ate away at my time and completely absorbed me in it’s desolate world.

The VATS system actually saved the game in my opinion as the manual shooting mechanic is fairly poor and the fact is without VATS Fallout 3 might have been too frustrating for many.

One problem I (and a lot of others) had was the slow start to the game.

You have a truly innovative tutorial and skill select section inside Vault 101 and then you leave to make your way through the world.

This is a game where you need to level up before attempting main missions. Almost every game I play won’t give you a mission until you’re ready for it but here (as in a lot of RPG’s I’m led to believe) the entire game is open from the off.

But trying to go straight into the main missions will see you die… a lot 🙂

After 5 hours of gameplay where I’d done a few side missions but nothing of note, I was sick of getting killed.

I asked a friend who’d finished it if I should carry on or quit and he talked me into staying on and doing more side missions.

If I’d quit I think it would’ve been one of the worst gaming decisions of my life.

One tip I would give to anyone struggling early on – do the missions for Moira Brown in Megaton, they let you level up enough to survive on missions 😆

The game has a good/bad karma system which is pretty cool – as people respond differently to you depending on your rank.

The thing I loved the most was that other characters in the world could die during missions and it wouldn’t be ‘mission failed’ – you just keep going and try to finish the mission the best you can.

Obviously with a game this ambitious in size there are problems. Bugs and glitches often rear their ugly heads and sometimes character conversations don’t make sense – as if they aren’t aware of just how your story has progressed (referring to a character they should know is dead etc).

However that is a small price to pay for what I would call a gaming masterpiece.

The story line sprawls across the world depending on your actions and you’ll find yourself taking a break from main missions to explore the wasteland or help out other characters.

I could go on and on about various things that happened and how cool it was, how great the story was or whatever. But Fallout 3 is a game that needs to be experienced first hand and your story will no doubt play out differently to mine.

Stick with it early on, it can be incredibly frustrating but once you get on your way you’ll never look back.

I miss the wasteland already and I’m looking forward to the forthcoming downloadable content that is due shortly. 😎

Rating: 9/10

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