Fallout 3: The future's so bright, it glows in the dark

By Joe Dwyer     11/6/08 6:00pm

After four long years in development, Fallout 3 finally emerged from the vault last week. Was it worth the wait? Hell, yes.In the game's alternate history, technology after World War II evolved at an incredible pace while American society remained rooted in the idyllic, Leave it to Beaver-esque 1950s, similar to Disneyworld's Tomorrowland, only with the imminent threat of nuclear holocaust on everyone's mind. Nuclear war eventually broke out between the United States and China, and scores of people across America took shelter in giant underground Vault-Tec fallout shelters to escape the destruction and wait for the radiation to clear.

That was 200 years ago. Now the year is 2277, and you wake up one morning to discover that your father has somehow managed to escape Vault 101. You set out to find some answers, as well as your father, and the story takes off from there.

The objective may sound simple, but as soon as you take your first steps outside the vault and start exploring the gargantuan Capital Wastes around Washington, D.C., you will realize that finding your father may not be as easy as you had initially thought. The game world is chock full of people to meet and places to explore, and you are free to go wherever you like right from the get-go. In fact, I spent the first 15 hours or so of the game completely ignoring the main story quests and carrying out side quests instead.

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The level of freedom in the game is refreshing; players aren't forced to complete quests and can even decide mid-quest to switch to another one they have information on. This comes in handy early in the game when you are meeting lots of people who need your help, but some of your skills may not be quite up to snuff, in which case you can file the quest away on your wrist-mounted Pip-Boy 3000 and come back to it later when you're ready. Many quests present some interesting moral choices, allowing the player to resort to cannibalism or to choose between defusing a leftover nuke or using it to level a town. The results can radically change peoples' perception of your character or even the outcome of the game.

As an action-RPG, Fallout 3 places a pretty heavy emphasis on combat. Unfortunately, the first-person shooter controls feel a little wonky in comparison to games like Call of Duty 4. After some practice it gets easier to draw a bead on those pesky Super Mutants, but players will most likely find themselves using V.A.T.S. instead of basic first-person combat.

V.A.T.S (Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System) is the second, more traditional mode of combat in Fallout 3. With the push of a button the game is suspended, allowing the player to spend Action Points to target specific body parts on the enemy. Running low on ammo? Put your last bullet into that grenade the merc is holding and enjoy the fireworks. Need to make an escape? Blow his legs off and see how well he follows you then. Or if you just want to get to the point, go for the head. After selecting which body parts or enemies to target, the game will enter into a slow-motion combat cut scene, often resulting in some hideously gruesome yet oh-so-satisfying kills.

The game's setting may be pretty bleak and desolate, but the graphics are stunning. Fallout 3 boasts an impressive draw distance that not only shows distant landmarks on the horizon but also displays crisp textures within the player's immediate surroundings. The enemies are slimy, the guns are rusty, the explosions look awesome and the level of detail in the junk and rubble alone is amazing.

Fallout 3 is one of the deepest and most rewarding games released this year. The multitude of options given to players ensures that no two people will share the same experience; everyone's journey through the Capital Wastelands will be unique. And just when they think they've poked into every nook and cranny, gamers who pick up Fallout 3 on Xbox 360 or PC will soon be able to enjoy downloadable content to further expand the game. Definitely check this game out - just watch out for those humongous Radroaches.

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