Shane (Master X)
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Fallout 3 is the latest game in a series brought back from the dead by Bethesda Softworks, developers of the acclaimed Elder Scrolls series. It takes place in a post-nuclear apocalyptic world, and more specifically on the desecrated west coast of America in and around Washington D.C.

It all begins in Vault 101, a facility created by Vault-Tec where people can live in safety from the harshness of the Wasteland above. You create your own character from scratch using a in-depth system in which you create your own face and hair style, and then proceed to select a set of skills and attributes which will grow in time as you play the game furthur. All is fine in Vault 101 until the Main Quest really begins, and your dad leaves the vault with no explaination and the Vaults Overseer (the leader) tries to have you arrested in an effort to learn what he's doing. After completing this very small section of the game, you finally reach the outside area - the ruins of Washington DC.

So what do you have to do from here? Well that's the brilliant aspect of Fallout. The game doesn't force you to do anything. You can just wander around doing whatever you feel like, the game doesn't hold you back. You can choose to follow the main storyline which takes across Washington DC where you'll encounter enemies like Super Mutants, Ghouls, Raiders and Enclave Soldiers and discover locations like collapsed metro stations, land mark slike the Museum of Technology and Washington monument and even the White House. Alternatively, you can choose to follow your own path, or do the side quests for a few of the many people you'll meet along the way. The options in Fallout are endless.

Fallout also has an extensive array of weaponry. These are broken into 5 categories - Big Guns, Small Guns, Energy Weapons, Melee Weapons and Unarmed Weapons. Unarmed weapons are simple like gauntlets or brass knuckles that assist primarily in beating the living daylights out of someone. Melee is similiar to unarmed, only this weaponset is based around swords, bats, pipes and best of all - sledgehammers. Then we move onto ranged weaponry like the Small Guns category, which is guns that use bullets like Assault Rifles, Shotguns, Snipers, and Pistols. Big Guns is your rocket launchers, mini guns and nuke launchers. And Energy Weapons is your plasma and laser weapons. And all these become easy to use with the all new VATS targeting system, where you highlight an enemy, select the body parts you wish to fire at based on chance and hope you hit which you often do.

Now that we've covered the basics, let's go into detail on the main aspects of the game.

Story - 7/10
The story of Fallout 3 is very good. However, it's main downfall comes from the time it takes to complete which is very little. While the idea of finished a years old experiment for the betterment of a post-apocalyptic wasteland seems fun, Bethesda in this case didn't expand it enough and your done with the main story in a good few hours. Also, the way the story ends (not revealing) is a little disappointing. But overall a very good story.

Graphics - 8/10
The graphics in Fallout are brilliant. The natural enviroment is very well done. The main downfalls in the graphics are the rocks, and the blood spatter from blowing someones face off. Those flaws aside, the environment is well-rendered, and enemies made to look pretty realistic.

Gameplay - 9/10
With a sandbox style of play, Fallouts gameplay is nothing short of amazing. Limitless possibilities, countless enemies and a world where anything can happen. This game is definately one of the best games in terms of gameplay.

Sound - 8/10
The sound effects and voiceovers in Fallout are well done, despite the occasional annoying voice of some child you met in the middle of the Wasteland. Gunfire is very realistic, although the silenced pistol in VATS is enough to drive you mental. Some characters voices are also irritating but overall voice acting is very good.

Replay Value - 9/10
Thanks to a large landscape various side quests, a system that determines a good, evil and neutral side to a character and downloadable content to further expand your gameplay, Fallout 3 is a game that can replayed over and over again with little loss of enthusiasm.

Overall score - 8/10
A very good game, most definately worth a look.