Finally … Fallout!

Published October 27, 2008

It's been a decade-long vigil for the armies of Fallout® 2 fans eagerly awaiting a sequel to their favorite game. When hopes for a reboot to the critical-darling franchise appeared bleak, along came The Elder Scrolls® IV: Oblivion™ developer Bethesda to snatch up the rights to the franchise and flip the irradiated switch on a beacon of post-apocalyptic hope, giving birth at last to Fallout 3.

It's finally here!

Vault 101
The world of Fallout 3 has been seared by nuclear war, reduced to rubble and death, where lonely tufts of yellowing grass mock what was once fertile land, and shattered buildings stand in hollow memory of a now-dead civilization.

Despite this catastrophic destruction, fragments of humanity have survived, many of them in vast fallout shelters known as vaults. It's in one of these shelters—in Vault 101 on the outskirts of Washington D.C.—that you are born, and it's during your birth that Fallout 3 begins.

Nearly every time you stray off the beaten path or take the time to complete side quests, you'll find yourself better off.

Yes, your first few in-game moments are as a newborn looking up at your proud father welcoming you to the world. It's here that you'll determine whether you're a boy or girl, what your name is and how you'll look as an adult. The game even adapts your father's appearance to account for your choices.

In fact, you'll play several moments throughout your childhood in order to learn the game's basic controls as well as determine your character's physical traits and skill aptitudes.

Alas, your tranquil formative years shatter in a moment as your dad goes missing from Vault 101, triggering your own quest for escape and hope for an eventual reunion.

Stay frosty in the wasteland.

The Wasteland
Emerging from Vault 101, you find a hostile world indifferent to your plight, a post-nuclear Wild West where survival trumps law and order, and where what few survivors remain must hole up in walled-off outposts to stave off the irradiated creatures, mutants, slavers and raiders. That's just to name a few of the dangers skittering about the wasteland that was once Washington D.C.

Your Own Way
It's when you escape from Vault 101 the game really begins as you discover the wasteland's first major city, Megaton, and strike off on your own to make your way. Fallout 3 is riddled with factions and settlements both small and large, all with their own agenda and all waiting to be impacted by your own unique approach.

For example, you might find a small outpost being terrorized by a local gang. Do you track down the offending gang and eliminate them? Do you infiltrate their ranks and discover the secret behind the attack? Do you turn on the outpost or broker a peace between the two groups? These are all viable options.

Similarly, you might impress the Brotherhood of Steel enough to earn a place in their ranks, but that doesn't mean you have to take them up on the offer. How you behave and who you side with are up to you and no one else. Fallout 3 demands little and offers much.

Use V.A.T.S. to knock that mini-gun away.

Fallout Mechanics
Much like Bethesda's previous game, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Fallout 3 utilizes a level-based skill system. Whether you're convincing a character to go against their better judgment, defusing live mines, hacking terminals, picking locks, or sneaking up on an enemy to drop a live grenade in their trouser pocket, your success with nearly any action is affected by the related skill.

New skill points are earned every time you increase your character's level, but you also earn Perks as well, unique upgrades further defining your character's abilities. For example, the wittily named Black Widow Perk grants you bonus damage against men, and some unique dialogue options when talking with them. Likewise, the Fortune Finder Perk makes it more likely to find money in containers or on fallen enemies, while Thief adds bonus points to your Sneak and Lockpick skills.

V.A.T.S
The Fallout franchise has always been known for its turn-based approach to combat, and while Fallout 3 utilizes real-time combat, the Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System (V.A.T.S.) adds some much-appreciated turn-based tactics to the action.

Tap RB at any time to pause the action mid-moment and highlight your chosen enemy for attack. You can then target their arms, legs, torso, head, and even the weapon they're carrying. Each sub-target has a percentage chance to hit so you can accurately weigh the risk versus reward.

The Fallout humor is alive and well.

Much more importantly, hitting each body part affects the target in different ways. For example, cripple the leg on a Super Mutant and you'll have a few more precious seconds to shoot before they get close enough to bash your head in with a sledgehammer. Similarly, if you target the antennae of a giant fire-breathing ant, you'll send them into a frenzy so they attack everything around them.

Once you've made your decisions and tap RB to get back to the action, you'll be greeted with a slow-motion cinematic view of the results. The combination of several unique camera angles (such as one that follows the bullet from the barrel of your gun to impact), the ability to sever limbs, and an outstanding physics engine result in some truly spectacular action shots.

Cause and Effect
Where Fallout 3 excels perhaps more than in any other area is its unfailing ability to reward you for your efforts. If, say, you take the time to head to an out-of-the-way outpost, you may find a character willing to grant more expansive access to the various traders that travel the wastelands.

Likewise, taking the time to finish a quick, non-critical side quest or find a diplomatic solution to another will open opportunities to sell otherwise worthless items for a great deal of cash. Similarly, investigating an abandoned hospital, school, or hotel not involved in any quest can turn up quantities of rare and useful items needed for crafting your own, more powerful weapons.

Uh oh.

Nearly every time you stray off the beaten path or take the time to complete side quests, you'll find yourself better off. There is no wasted time in Fallout 3.

News and Notes
In addition to the primary game mechanics, there are a number of smaller features adding immeasurably to your feeling of immersion in the world.

• Used world: In the post-nuclear war world, there are no factories pumping out new guns, armor, and gear, so what gear you do find and use is already halfway falling apart. As your weapons and gear degrade from use and abuse, they become less functional. Guns do less damage and armor takes less of a beating. Provided you have the parts or access to a merchant, you can repair them.
• Radiation: Life may be creeping out from hibernation in the wastelands, but radiation is still both rife and lethal. From contaminated water sources, dormant bombs, burst radioactive waste barrels, and more, you can contract various degrees of crippling radiation sickness. Luckily, this can be cured outright by paying a doctor or using enough of the Rad-Away drug. Radiation awareness is a must if you hope to fight at peak capacity.
• Addiction: It's a hard world and sometimes you've got to turn to pharmaceuticals to heal or empower your character to make it through the tough times. Chemical dependence comes at a price though, so you risk addiction every time you pop a pill to get the edge on an opponent.

Decisions, decisions.

• Crafting: A bottle of Nuka Cola Quantum, a dash of turpentine, a box of Abraxo cleaner and a tin can may sound innocuous, but put them together and you have one of the game's most powerful explosives, the Nuka Grenade. The world is littered with precious salvage for those with the know-how and schematics to put them to good use.
• Landmarks: Fallout 3 doesn't take place in some fictitious city, but Washington D.C., and it's this familiarity that adds a poignant resonance to the game. The first time you approach the battered Washington Monument, or catch a glimpse of the Capitol Building through a radiation-tinged sunrise are all moments to remember.

Fallout 3 is simply enormous. There are dozens of hours of dense, thrilling content to pore over and comb through. The preceding explanations should give you some indication of what Bethesda's latest masterpiece offers, but nothing spells understanding like experience. Fallout 3 is waiting for you.

Article by Ryan Treit