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Essential Xbox 360 RPGs: Fallout 3

By Chris Pereira Mar 12, 2009 2:27PM PST


Freedom. It's an inalienable right for humans in much of the world. In the world of videogames, few RPGs provide more freedom than Bethesda's Elder Scrolls series. While Fallout 3 might not carry the Elder Scrolls label, it very much follows in the footsteps of Bethesda's flagship open-world RPG series. Oblivion achieved mainstream success with its gorgeous graphics and timely release date, making Fallout 3 all the more digestible to the mainstream audience -- the mechanics of Fallout 3 should feel very familiar to anyone who has spent time playing or even watching Oblivion. Disappointing as that might be for the Fallout diehards who wanted another isometric adventure that didn't drastically deviate from the first two games, Fallout 3 is a triumph for sustaining the spirit of the series while moving not only to a new platform, but also a new .

You could be excused for missing the game last fall due to the sheer number of game releases there were in 2008's fourth quarter. But with the dust settled and spring (and spring break) nearly upon us, it's time to get cracking -- especially if you plan on playing Fallout on either PC or Xbox 360, where the downloadable content releases will even further bury you in a game that can effortlessly suck away many, many dozens of hours of your life away.

Just from casual play, it's clear that the Capital Wasteland ranks among the truly great videogame settings in recent memory, right alongside BioShock's Rapture. Some might call it bland and, as far as color palettes go, it's certainly not the most diverse you can find. From the sterile Vault 101 where you begin your life to the far corners of the Wasteland, the bombed out world of Fallout understandably has more than a hint of brown to it. But the post-apocalyptic nature of the world is what really gives the game its charm, whether that's seeing a weapon built around a toy car or slaves rallying around the decapitated head of Abraham Lincoln from the Lincoln Memorial.

So Why Is It Essential?

In a word, it's choice that makes Fallout 3 so terrific. But unlike choice in other games where it all comes down to a matter of making the good guy decision or the bad guy decision (I'm looking at you, BioWare), Fallout houses a number of multidimensional choices, some with deep ramifications. For instance, in one quest line, a group of ghouls (people who have become deformed due to radiation) wants to be allowed access into a private hotel where people are living but are kept out due to their appearance. Does that make the occupants bigots? Should you kill them all and allow the ghouls free passage, or should you listen to the residents' concerns that they would feel unsafe living alongside ghouls, whom they believe present a legitimate threat to their safety? Do you then kill the ghouls to prevent them from becoming violent to get what they want; do you talk them out of wanting to move in; do you convince the tenants there's nothing to be afraid of?

The radical number of options with which you can approach each situation you encounter in your travels, and the subsequent results, is mind-boggling -- don't even get me started on the decision to disarm or activate a nuclear bomb which will permanently wipe a major town off the map (thereby eliminating any and all quests and characters residing there). Think of it this way: When you can sit down and be captivated by hearing someone else's approach to the same scenario you found yourself in, the game is doing something right.


Combat is a major component of the game, and while it's hardly the game's strong suit, Bethesda should be commended for the seamless combination of real-time and turn-based combat. Fallout is more than happy to let you go at the action like you're playing a typical FPS, but it's not what I'd call the ideal setup -- real-time combat is a messy affair. Luckily, there's V.A.T.S. (the Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System), which pauses time and allows you to pinpoint individual body parts for a slightly more turn-based, JRPG approach to combat (provided you have enough combat points). Swapping between the two combat methods is the most effective and most satisfying way of dispatching enemies. Aside from the strategic advantages that are presented by being able to take out a certain body part, it just looks cool -- particularly if you have the "Mysterious Stranger" perk, where a Dick Tracy-looking ally appears out of nowhere to blow your enemies away with a .44 before disappearing into nothingness once again.

Having played through the game twice on either end of the karma spectrum, I feel fairly safe in saying that Fallout 3 is worth both your time and money. The first DLC pack, Operation Anchorage, may have been somewhat disappointing due to being so combat heavy and easy, but the upcoming packs seem as if they'll focus more on what really makes Fallout 3 fun. Even if they don't pan out, what ships on the game's disc is an extremely well-crafted RPG that simply should not be missed.

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Comments (9)

  • Thoragulus
  • ...but also a new What?

    Posted: Mar 12, 2009 12:00AM PST by  Thoragulus

    I've been wanting to play Fallout 3 since I heard about it. Apart from not having time, I'm actually avoiding it BECAUSE of the DLC. Why do I want to load a mid-game save, go do a quest and then quit? Am I going to keep working on a playthrough I already finished, just because I got a ninja suit? No, thanks - I'll play it once all the DLC is out, so I can give it the proper context within the game.

  • HighWindXIX
  • Fallout 3

    Posted: Mar 12, 2009 12:00AM PST by  HighWindXIX

    Simply put, Fallout 3 is a masterpiece. The one thing that kept me from getting into Elder Scrolls [and believe me, I've tried, multiple times] is the awkward combat. Swinging a sword around just feels so impercise and random. Fallout 3 would get a similar complaint form me if it weren't for the inclusion of V.A.T.S. When played as a straight shooter, the combat is dreadful! The simple implementation of V.A.T.S. though makes the game's combat feel much more satisfying. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Bethsedia will find some sort of way to include something similar in the next Elder Scrolls game so I can finally invest some real time in one of those games and enjoy something other than exploring hillsides and caves and doing my best to avoid any combat . . .

    Oh, and lastly, it makes me sad that PS3 users won't get a shot at DLC, especially since I'm one of them. If I'd have known last year that the DLC was gonna be exclusive, I'd have probably made a different choice. Alas.

  • Demiath
  • Tedium Redefined

    Posted: Mar 13, 2009 12:00AM PST by  Demiath

    I was never a huge fan of the original Fallout games (although looking back at them now, I can appreciate their fine writing and complex character development system). Still, "Fallout 3" has got to be the most tedious, unimaginative and uninspiring RPG released by any major developer in recent years. It takes everything that was wrong with the already astonishingly bland "Oblivion" (such as shallow combat, a simplistic and broken skill system, utterly forgettable dialogue, phoned-in voice acting, generic environments and comically stiff character models) and reproduces it as faithfully as possible in a new, even more repetitive setting.

    I've certainly played worse games than Bethesda's latest RPG, but the downright depressing feeling of unmitigated boredom I felt while playing through "Fallout 3" probably ranks among the worst gaming experiences I've had during the last 20 years or so, and all the positive, well-written reviews this game has received continues to puzzle me. Did I and the reviewers really play the same game?

  • Sinfullyvannila
  • Demiath

    Posted: Mar 13, 2009 12:00AM PST by  Sinfullyvannila

    If you weren't interested in the setting and wasn't a huge fan of Oblivion, why did you bother playing Fallout 3?

  • Szolius
  • Almost makes you want to live in a post-apocalyptic world

    Posted: Mar 16, 2009 12:00AM PST by  Szolius

    Truly a great game. I agree with HighWindXIX about maybe buying it for 360 or PC if I'd known about the DLC being exclusive to Microsoft. Shit like that hurts the fans in the long run (but a smart business move nonetheless by Microsoft). Makes the saying "money talks" ever the more truer.

  • Big_Baker23
  • The DLC kills me

    Posted: Mar 17, 2009 12:00AM PST by  Big_Baker23

    I might not ever buy a bethseda game again after learning of that. If your gonna be a mult platform game you need to produce for all platforms. I loved the game and I logged a ton of hours into it. My roomate played it at the same time and when we would compare notes at first I would say "wait. wait, thats not right I did it completely different." When we found out that we could get different stories just based on how we were playing it put me in awe. I had that feeling that most people have when they reach the end of a game thats got a hold on your attention "Damn, its over, I wanted to see what comes next." and then to find out there would be more to play but I cant use it... oh god. I wanted to march down to Sony's office's and demand that they put money on the table to make it happen or was gonna wipe my arse all over their little executive faces (if I could do half the things I think of Id be a really cool person). Ah well. I still love my PS3.

  • Disgraced_Cop
  • Fallout III

    Posted: Mar 17, 2009 12:00AM PST by  Disgraced_Cop

    Fallout 3 has literally everything you could want in a game:

    - Liam Neeson
    - A child serial killer dressed as a clown
    - A small town populated by inbred cannibals
    - Intolerant rich people getting their comeuppance from murderous ghouls
    - People's heads getting blown up by magical collars
    - Children being tricked into slavery
    - Gigantic ants being shot with lasers
    - Depressed talking trees
    - Kids running a Lord of the Flies-esque underground civilization
    - Loads and loads of ruined books. Loads of 'em

    Most games usually have 4 or 5 of these things but not Fallout 3, it has all of them, and that's why it's a modern classic. It dared to put child slaves and gigantic ants being shot with lasers in the same game and the gamble paid off.

  • Damiannnn4
  • Ahhh Fallout 3...

    Posted: Apr 18, 2009 12:00AM PST by  Damiannnn4

    Many many hours were spent wandering the wasteland and it has never been as satisfying as this game. Hands down this game is the best RPG this generation since Oblivion (IMO it is better than Oblivion). Sure there might be a level cap but it going up soon and the DLC are awesome. I have to say that they are better than Oblivion DLC because the only good one was the Shivering Isles. Aside from that Fallout 3 was amazing. I can't find any game more addicting than it except for COD4. I am hooked to that game like crack cocaine.

  • Relayer71
  • Fallingout 2

    Posted: Apr 25, 2009 12:00AM PST by  Relayer71

    Bethesda does an excellent job building "worlds", this I can readily admit.

    But they fail miserably at writing believable, half-way intelligent dialogue and telling a gripping story.  I mean you have a pure action game like God Of War which can pull off great story telling so why can't Beth get it together?  

    Fallout 3 is just mediocre.  It didn't falter as bad as Oblivion but it was still disappointing.  They tried hard to live up to the Fallout pedigree and it shows but in the end it really did feel like Oblivion with guns.  Simplistic dialogue seemingly written for 12 year olds? Check.  Cheesy voice acting? Check.  Lack of logic in its gameworld?  Check.  Daggerfall and Morrowind showed so much promise.

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