Fallout 3 was released in 2008 and marked the first of the Bethesda-style of the Fallout series. The game moved from an isometric perspective into a first-person one and also shifted away from turn-based combat in favour of real-time. At the time I wasn't entirely sure of the shift though playing it alleviated a lot of those concerns, a lot of it was my love of the originals I think.
As Ron Perlman tells us: War, War never changes. Fallout however did from its first three games into what I'd call the Bethesda era of the series. It's still Fallout though it has its unique feel and take on the Fallout setting that I think helped further popularise it.
The move from isometric to first-person was also joined by a shift toward a more action-oriented approach with the franchise's turn-based roots being used for a pause-and-shoot system for greater precision. Though we'll get into that later in the review, it is a system I found quite fun, giving some greater depth to the combat.
Fallout 3 is set in the capital wasteland, an area near Washington DC with the player as one of Vault 101's inhabitants. I'll do my best to avoid story spoilers though I will at least describe the set-up at the start to give you a good idea of what you are getting into.
Honestly, it feels weird to me this game is considered old yet at the time of writing it's about 16 years old. How time flies, eh? As with all my reviews, I'll try to be as concise as possible and avoid as many spoilers as possible except maybe the story opening. Let's get into it!
Character Creation
The character creation system is woven into the game with you starting off being born, choosing what you'll look like (when you are older) and your name. For the time, it had some pretty good options and you could create quite a range of character appearances, though the Vault-Tec style screen it gives you can make things not appear quite the same as they are in the wasteland. Still, points for being creative with character creation!
The SPECIAL system returns pretty much intact from the earlier titles, Bethesda opted to ditch the traits system. In its place, you instead get a perk every level rather than every 3 or 4. All stats start at 5 with you having 5 to spend and you can tinker and tweak until you have a character you like (Stats cap at 10 as before.) They even give you the option of a complete do-over once the opening segment is done which is a plus. Meaning if you decide by the end of the intro
Going through the early years in the vault you get your Pipboy and learn about movement, and shooting before you end up out in the wasteland. Levelling up as mentioned gives you a perk to choose from, the ones you have access to will be determined by your SPECIAL attributes, your level and a few other things. Each level-up also gives you skill points to improve your actual skills. The number of skill points you gain with each level up is determined by your intelligence attribute. Each skill also has a range from 1 to 100 to determine your proficiency with its related activity, be it shooting, lockpicking or speech.
There are a lot of ways to improve your character outside levelling up, the VaultTec bobbleheads often give a stat or skill boost. Reading magazines can increase your skills and even some quests can give extra perks. All in all, it feels like a decent modernisation of the old system.
So, roleplay is good and character appearance can look decidedly dated but given this is an old game now that probably won't surprise anyone.
Gameplay
The first difference between Fallout 3 and the games before it is the most obvious one, the shift from an isometric perspective into a first-person one. It also leans more toward real-time combat and exploration over the turn-based gameplay of the older titles. However, some of that influence is still present thanks to VATS (Vault Assisted Targeting System.) At the push of a button, time freezes and you can choose where to aim your shots akin to the aimed fire of the old games.
You can use that for some tactical finesse though it's not quite as necessary as it was in the original titles. You can still disarm people, go for more damage to the heat, cripple legs to stop a fast enemy closing into melee and the like. Its main advantage is that it can help people with poor twitch aiming skills still do well (like me.) You have action points based on your stats and you spend them for shots which depend on the weapon, pistols use less though automatic weapons fire in bursts, that kind of thing.
There is no world map this time the world just is with various indoor areas and DLC separated by loading screens. You can still fast travel between any point of interest you have visited. The Pipboy is still present though it acts as your inventory, character sheet, map and general immersive UI tool. It also helpfully pauses the game as you cram pre-war food into your face to heal in the middle of a fight (there was even a YouTube video for that I believe.)
Everything you do from kills to quests and skillchecks like lockpicking earns you XP toward your level of which the cap is 30 with one of the DLCs. However, as I pointed out in the character creation section, you get a perk choice at every level up which makes every level feel like a big improvement.
Conversations make use of dialogue trees and skill checks or perk options are clearly marked making it an improvement over the first two games. Though that shouldn't be all that surprising. There is even a karma system present for various factions and towns, help them and when you visit you'll find its residents showering you with gifts. Part of me wishes they'd kept the karma system for Fallout 4 but seemingly it wasn't to be.
There are a lot of playstyles and ways to approach the game, though obviously some fare better than others. Sneaking for example gives huge advantages, meaning you can often topple large or dangerous foes before the fight even starts. You could also choose to run and gun, talk or just plant a live frag mine into someone's pocket and creep off before they become the new wallpaper.
As you would expect, there's a variety of weapons from baseball bats and brass knuckles to hunting rifles, plasma pistols and miniguns. The only downside is you have to keep a variety of weapons if you use ammo, more than once I found myself switching guns just because I had no ammo or the gun I was using broke. I mean I get what they were going for having to repair and maintain your weapons, scrounging for ammo. Sometimes it feels like weapons break far too quickly, meaning you have to head to a vendor to repair it or cannibalise similar weapons using your repair skill to fix it yourself.
There are unique weapons and items to find, usually, they have some special traits or effects that make them superior to their standard version. It helps make exploration feel more rewarding beyond simply finding more ammo and meds.
Exploring the capital wasteland is honestly fun, Bethesda built a compelling post-nuclear wasteland to roam around it that is for sure!
Story & Setting
It's the same setting just viewed from a first-person perspective and it does 'feel' like a Fallout game to me. Including the abundance of grey and brown though the DLCs do add some environmental variety to that such as the Pitt. Bethesda leant a lot more heavily into the 1950s art-deco style of things it felt to me though perhaps it's just more noticeable than in the older titles.
Now, I know I keep these as spoiler-free as possible but the early years take place in the vault, acting as a tutorial as you grow up while giving a unique perspective on Vault life. All while subtle and not-so-subtle hints are dropped that not everything is as it appears to be.
The main story is decent enough though as with a lot of open worlds and especially Bethesda games of that type, it's easy to get lost amid battles with raiders, looting new locations and digging into the vast array of side quests. It isn't the most groundbreaking story though there are more than a few interesting twists and turns along the way which genuinely help shape the capital wasteland (more so with the DLC.)
If I were to choose one word to describe the main storyline it would be solid, there are a few interesting twists and turns with some good characters mixed in. The side-quests steal the show however with a lot more memorable encounters in those.
Graphics
Well, the game doesn't look bad for its age though it definitely does look its age these days, a very washed out and brown and grey colour palette for the capital wasteland. Mods can alleviate a lot of the worst graphics if it bothers you that much, for me it's not a huge deal I've never been a massive graphics nut. Gameplay and/or story are far more important aspects to me personally.
The DLCs at least provide some variety to the environments though most of them are their own self-contained areas that you have to find a travel point to reach. Though I feel like that might've simply been due to hardware limitations at the time (Fallout was jointly developed for consoles after all.)
The animations can seem very stiff and occasionally a bit fudged like some of the reload animations are very hand-waved away. Though for the most part they still work, it only really stands out heavily in conversations. There are some wonky animations and glitches that can happen as well, especially when you use VATS. One I had until I switched weapons was I had an invisible hunting rifle, other times weapons holster by having an inch from people's hips or backs. I mean I get why it was done that way it just looks a bit jarring to me.
Most of the time the VATS makes for some rather cinematic views, which at the time were kind of awesome to behold. Spent brass sailing through the air a burst of assault rifle shots send a raider toppling backwards sans a noggin.
The best way I can sum up the graphics if you opt not to go for the modding route would be functional but dated. The limited colour palette really doesn't help matters in the Capital Wasteland either.
Sound & Music
Music is generally good using a lot of 40s and 50s style licensed music tracks used across various in-game radio stations. It definitely helps the atmosphere lean into the whole art-deco divergent time a little better in my opinion.
Sounds are also good, some weapons sound a little weak, the 10mm pistol sounds very weak compared to something like the hunting rifle but in general they are fairly well done. Creeping through an abandoned subway hearing feral ghouls roaming around is more than a little spooky. Ambient noise is also generally quite fitting I found so overall the sound gets a thumbs up with a few weak notes on weapons.
Voice acting is a mixed bag, main characters are well-voiced but side or incidental characters seem to share voice actors a lot. You'll notice it the more you play. It's not a huge issue but it being such a big game you'll start to see the reused voice actors the further you get. Having said that, having so many voiced lines for NPCs is always a big thumbs up from me.
UI & Controls
Controls fairly well, typically very standard set-ups for first-person movement, aiming and the like. There are no aim-down sights for anything except the sniper rifle most weapons simply have a slight zoom-in when you use the aim function. The VATS system can help in hectic fights, ensuring even if you have slow reflexes so long as you approach a fight smartly, you'll be able to succeed.
Conversations have their interface even if it looks almost comically stiff as mentioned above in the graphics section.
Inventory UI is less than stellar likely owing to its joint console development, make sure you store anything you don't need so you aren't scrolling for two minutes through piles of weapons and ammo. Balancing trade offers, checking shop inventory and the like does feel like the original Fallout games though not in a good way.
So, standard controls are slightly let down by the inventory UI though that can also be alleviated somewhat with mods.
Overall
I'd give Fallout 3 a recommendation even now, a lot of the problems with its age and jank can be rectified with mods. It's a fun world to explore and is filled with interesting characters and environmental storytelling. The main story is alright but it isn't the game's strength if you ask me!
I did suffer some random crashes to the desktop, though they seemed to be related to alt-tabbing which once I stopped made them happen far less often. This is an old game, even if it feels weird to say that these days, tinkering to get it working should be expected.
It does feel like age is catching up to it yet it's a lot more playable than the originals for a modern gamer. That and the power of mods can alleviate most of the issues you might face if they tarnish the experience for you. If you want to explore everywhere and do everything you can the game should give you a solid 80 hours if not more.
Fallout 3 was a new take on the franchise and honestly, I think Bethesda by and large pulled it off. It's only really held back by its age these days though a lot of the bigger issues can be resolved with mods easily enough.
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