Fallout 3 (2008)

Fallout 3

Platform: XBox 360//PS3/PC

Developed by: Bethesda Game Studios

Published by: Bethesda Softworks/ZeniMax Media

Genre: RPG, First-person shooter

Players: Single player, multi-player, on-line multi-player

Released: 31st October 2008

Reviewed: Ken Mooney

Banana Rating: Four -Out-Of-Five Bananas

The world of role-playing games is a curious one: games following an RPG-model are a dime a dozen these days, a new release coming nearly every other month that tries to capture the feeling. Few games, though, are as immersive as they need to be to be to work, and there are a lot fewer ‘good’ games out there than ‘bad.’

Fallout 3, thankfully, fits into the ‘good’ category, sitting comfortably far from the borders of mediocrity. Gamers may already be familiar with Bethesda for their other recent RPG hit, Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, a sword-and-sorcery style RPG that made many critics’ lists for one of the best games of 2006. Fallout 3 takes what worked for Oblivion and updates them into an RPG of the future (despite some very retro looks and feels.)

Set after a nuclear war has ravaged the planet, the lead character of Fallout 3 lives in Vault 101, an underground bunker where society and civilisation have continued. The player’s father leaves the Vault, and from there, the player sets out to find him, traversing a post-apocalyptic wasteland full of mutants, survivors and technological freaks. Despite being set in the future, the game has a distinct 1940s/1950s style to it, in terms of design and the soundtrack, after nuclear war has struck in the mid 20th century.

As with Oblivion, it is up to the player to create the main character of Fallout 3, right down to hairstyles and skin colour. It’s also up to the player to decide the skill set of the character, which will give advantages in certain situations throughout the game (such as the ability to charm during conversations, or even increasing your luck.) These prove important as the game progresses, leading to easier (or indeed, more difficult) battles against the inhabitants of the wasteland outside the Vault.

Most of the gameplay boils down to a first-person shooter, with a lot of twists: the weapons (mostly guns) offer a lot more variety in terms of speed and power than your usual FPS game, but you’re also helped out by your PIP-boy 3000, a watch-like inventory device, that also provides the game’s primary difference, VATS, a system that allows you to ‘pause’ the game, zoom in, analyze the enemy and target specific body parts, along with detailing how much damage the attack will do. It’s an invaluable system when fighting larger beasts (of which there are many) but becomes a little too necessary at times (the targeting reticule is quite small, and many enemies can fade slightly into the background, meaning you have to use VATS even when you just want to run and gun.

The storyline elements of Fallout 3 certainly don’t hinder the game: scientific experiments, alternative history, politics and some familial pathos are all thrown in for good measure, and the game is a lot more than ‘simply’ shooting things. Voices are even provided by Malcolm McDowell and Liam Neeson, lending that little bit more respectability to the game.

If you’re a fan of RPGs, FPS games, or even just a decent game, then you’ll appreciate Fallout 3. In many ways, a devoted gamer will draw comparisons between this and the Half-Life series or Bioshock in particular, but even the most jaded players will find something wholly interesting and fun in Fallout 3.

Verdict:

One of the more imaginative games to claim the RPG label over recent years, Fallout 3 is also one of the few games to truly live up to the title, an immersive world with a lot of RPG elements to satisfy the hardcore gamers, while still engaging and fresh enough for newcomers. Parental advisory is strongly recommended, though!

Originally published on FrankTheMonkey.com