Reviewed by:
Christopher Kulczyk
CIS 487 - 9/28/09
Fallout 3
About the Game
Developed by Bethesda
Live-action RPG
Post-Apocolyptic theme
1st or 3rd person view
Linear and non-linear story
Good or Evil
Does not support Multiplayer
Won many awards including Game of the
Year for 2008 (IGN)
Hardware Requirements
Multi-platform
Xbox 360 ($59.99)
PS3 ($59.99)
PC ($49.99)
PC Requirements
DVD-ROM
Windows XP/Vista
1GB System RAM (XP)/ 2GB System RAM (Vista)
2.4 Ghz Intel Pentium 4 or equivalent processor
Direct X 9.0c compliant video card with 256MB RAM
(NVIDIA 6800 or better/ATI X850 or better)
Comes with Manual
Gives a lot of information for a person unfamiliar to the
series
Overview
Game immerses player into a very large
world
Follows players life from birth
Gives player tons of freedom
Different levels of difficulty that can be
switched on-the-fly
Save anywhere (with minor restrictions)
Can be very forgiving for new players
Capital
Wasteland
Story (Main)
The world was destroyed by Atomic War
between USA and China
Game takes place in 2277, 200 years after the
war
Main character leaves Vault 101 in search of
run away father
Hunts down his dad across Capital Wasteland
Finds out dad was working on a project to
purify water
Helps complete project
Resistant forces trying to take over the project,
The Enclave
Player’s Role
Some video sequences
Video and Game Play are rendered the
same
Player controls the Son/Daughter of
James
Fight/Talk your way through a Hostile
Environment
User Interface
User Interface (Pip-Boy)
Game Play
Health Based
Live-Action with V.A.T.S.(Vault-Tec Assisted
Targeting System)
Action Points
S.P.E.C.I.A.L., Skills, Perks
Fast Travel
Stealth
Fight and/or Talk scenarios
Follow Main and/or Side Story
Ambience
Setting
Washington D.C.
Partly Destroyed Buildings
Dust Storms/Radiation Pockets
Day/Night
Radio
Dynamic Radio DJ
Optional Channels (Some story line specific)
Each channel has its own theme
Mostly 50’s or Patriotic Themed Music
Sound FX
Mixes well with game play
Washington Monument
What Makes It Good?
Customization of Character
Dynamic Story (Radio)
Good or Evil
High Quality Graphics
Very little loading times
Short term and long term goals
V.A.T.S.
Choices have their own ups and downs
Ammo/Money is not easy to obtain
Forgiving on bad choices
What Makes It Bad?
Can be overwhelming
The original ending was abrupt
Addons can make gameplay unfair
3rd person seemed to be an afterthought
AI not very challenging
How Does It Compare
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
Close to being the same game with a
different setting
Fallout 1/2/Tactics
Similar setting but totally different gameplay
Live Action/Turn Based
Fallout 3 Fallout 2
Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
Last Words
This game has many strengths and few
weaknesses
Greatest Strength
Choices given to the player, and how they effect
the outcome
Greatest Weakness
Overwhelming to some
Game is rated M, and designed for a
mature audience
So much to do in game makes it worth
buying