To be honest, I'm going to start off this review by revealing something about myself. In my group of friends, I'm the only one who just downright doesn't like RPG's. I've attempted to play many in the past and have come out disappointed with every single one in the end. But Fallout held something new for me.

A lot of my friends will point to the fact that it was not turn based as I have very little patience for turn based games. I thoroughly enjoyed Oblivion and this game QUICKLY became one of my top 3 favorite games on the Xbox 360 console.

The things I loved about this game number in the many. So I'll start with the pro's.

-While a lot of people have complaints about the V.A.T.S. system and while I can definitely see the point being made, the system enables you to focus in on a particular body part/weapon and attempt to disable that body part/weapon with a much more accurate shot than if you didn't use the system at all.

-The PipBoy was one of the better item management tools I've seen in a game to date. It was the go-to gadget for your stats, weapons, clothes, maps, radio stations, etc, etc..

-The music in this game was big for me. I'm not really a fan of the era of music being played but I have to admit, a part of me loved listening to these little tunes over and over again. However, there is also a con to the music and I will list it below.

-The main questline, while relatively quick to get through if you did nothing but focus on it, was a deep story which immediately drew me into the game and kept me playing for hours.

While I have many more pros, I don't want people to be reading for hours so lets skip to the cons...

-The music, while I enjoyed listening to it, I do believe more tracks could've been added. When you've roamed the Wasteleands for as much time as I have, it tends to get kind of annoying.

-I understand that Washington D.C. has been ruined by a nuclear war, but the fact that almost everything in the inner-D.C. ruins was only accessible by a series of confusing tunnels was a bit annoying. I found myself spending more time in the deep, dark tunnels than I did breathing in post-nuclear war air.

And really, those are the two major cons I have with this game. Otherwise, I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed this game. I told my group of friends I wouldn't even touch this game and to this day I'm the only one out of my group who actually got addicted to it.

Hope this helps!

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This is the game that keeps on giving. Im usually not a person who plays through a game more than once, but this one is definitely worthy. If you at all liked the retroness of bioshock or you enjoy watching peoples heads exploding in slow motion or obsessively like to modify and collect loot, this game is for you.

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The great things about Fallout so far into the game are as follows.

- A huge world to explore with adventure and excitement

- Great graphics, dialogue and a strong story plot

- Easy conversion from the Elder Scroll's series

- Hours of gameplay

I am sure with more hours of gameplay i will find other great things about the game. But so far the story goes as follows (do not read if you do not want any spoilers. Review will continue futher down).

You are born and from there you start creating your character from gender to the look of the character. You are in Vault 101 from which you believe you were born in. During delivery your mother passed away and your dad is a doc that brought you into your new world. You go through scenes of the years growing up in the vault which allows you to get use to the game and also allows you to work on your skills before the story starts to kick into gear. When you are 19 years old you are forced to wake up by your friend that is the overseers daughters (think of it as the president's daughter). She tells you that your father has escaped the vault and the guards have killed his best friend. Now they are searching for you and she helps you escape. once outside the vault the story goes where you direct it.

(now it's fine to continue reading the review) The great thing about Fallout 3 is that it feels like a future Elder Scroll's, which is a warning to the ones that did not like the series you may not like this game. But the shorten version of the game left huge gaps in the open world. Plus the experience points only come with leveling up, that means no more running around and earning stamina experience. Or no more sneaking and earning experience for that either, but Bethseda attempts to make up for this by finding items that lift up experience and perks that give experience boost as you level up. Now due to the lack of places to search and experience to gain in the open world it leaves me using the fast travel more and more. There are a few glitches in the game I have found by mistake but that is the beauty of the Xbox360 updates.

I will have to say that there were nice updates to the Fallout game as well. Like the VATS system can really help when surrounded by enemies. Also the way to disable limbs can really help out when dealing with enemies that have huge weapons. You can now become over cumbered and still move around, but you cannot run or jump. Being able to adjust the third person point of view to either give you the Gears of War/Resident Evil 4 feel or the Assassign's Creed/Oblivion feel.

I can say that Fallout 3 totally lived up to the hype in my eyes and I just cannot get enough of this game. i strongly recommend this game and can see it as a strong contender for Game of the Year...

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First of all, I ABSOLUTLEY HATED OBLIVION! I was kinda interested in the whole knights and magic type stuff, but when I actually played it, it totally frustrated me.

So naturally I was apprehensive about buying another Bethesda game, especially with people saying it was Oblivion with guns. Let me say this...Fallout 3 is awesome! It is NOT Oblivion with guns. This game has a totally different feel, especially with the V.A.T.S. system implemented. It is one of the most well crafted games I've seen in a long time, very immersive. I do not regret even buying the Collector's Edition (as I normally do with other games).

If you love Sci-fi/Mad Max type of apocalyptic wasteland settings, you'll love Fallout 3. You have to search and scavenge and make every bullet count. You'll lose hours...scratch that...weeks playing this game...it's that good! Highly recommended to any sci-fi/action/RPG fan.

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Ditto to all the good reviews. But I would like to counter the statement that game saves are slow. If you take the time to copy the XBox 360 Game to your XBox 360 hard drive, then startup, save, and load times are incredible!

Copying the game to the drive takes time, but it makes sense for any game that you plan to play for any length of time, especially RPG's. The only caveat is that you must still have the game disk in your XBox to play the game.

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Pong, Pac Man, Mario, Doom, Quake, Half Life, GTA... Fallout 3? Absolutely. A milestone in gaming. I agree with some of the reviews about it needing more details here-or-there but overall the most expansive and effortlessly cinematic game I've ever played. Took me longer to complete than Mass Effect (that's a good thing) and more-so tham ME I could not wait to play it again.

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I don't buy many new games. When deciding whether or not I should buy a high priced new offering, I carefully read the reviews to see if it's my cup of tea. For me, Fallout 3 has been well worth the money because it provides many hours of entertainment for the price.

I've never been crazy about the graphics engine Bethesda uses for it's graphic adventures, but they've been doing some tweaking and I find it acceptable in Fallout 3. It's still not nearly as beautiful or fluid as the engine used in HalfLife 2, but it's been improved since Oblivion. This is the closest any game I've played has come to the general feel of HalfLife 2, but unlike HL2's guided path, FO3 is a completely open world where you go and do what interests you. That alone gives it great replayability.

This is a RPG with FPS elements. I prefer PC's for most games, but the firefights are lots of fun even on my xbox 360 console thanks to VATS, which is a bit like bullet-time but with a very nice targeting system. The user interface is very simple and easy to learn. Moving smoothly while targeting, which I find difficult to do in many games, came very naturally after a few hours of playing.

I'm very enthusiastic about FO3. My first ten hours in the Wastelands were immensely enjoyable and I'm looking forward to weeks of gaming goodness. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys a immersion in a life-like fantasy world with rich graphics and plenty to do.

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By far one of the best games I have ever played. There is so much to do that this game could easily be 80 plus hours. It takes some time to get it started as in you might not know what to do right away. But once you get going, the fun never stops. Not only is the game great, the add ons that they have been making make the game even better. Its worth getting the add ons cause it helps to increase the length and also the new weapons, armor, and perks make it worth the buy. If you want to get a game that is actually worth $60 I would recommend this one by far

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through my many years of gaming ive never liked first person shooter (with very few exceptions) and ive only been a so-so fan of RPG's. This game combines both elements flawlessly. The only thing i could say bad about it is that it is very addictive. You will say you will only play for an hour before you go to sleep, and then you will look at the clock and see its 4 in the morning. This game has a pretty compelling story, which keeps you playing. One of the only other games that combines these aspects as well is half-life. So if you want to go on a uniqe and exciting experiance i reccomend you buy this game.

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I am rating this game by scores in areas that I look at:

Graphics (10 out of 10): Smooth textures and beautiful surroundings make the graphics outstanding. Shooting a mini nuclear bomb from a rocket launcher is an awesome site to see.

Gameplay (9.5 out of 10): I loved the gameplay of this game. The VAT system was very cool in many ways including that you can watch as someone's head explodes with a sniper shot or when a leg is blow off slowly with a grenade. When in regular mode it is very hard to aim as there is pretty much no auto aim in the game. Even that it is fun play.

AI Interaction (10 out of 10): There are so many ways of talking to people for influencing or changing what people think of you. It is great to know you can change (a little) the character attributes you are playing when you say something mean or nice to someone. In other words to can be nice or just plain evil.

This is a great game that everyone needs to try.

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I got this game a week ago and have already played over 40 hours on it. I found the story and game environment very engrossing. Bethesda did a very good job creating a detailed futuristic world. It's not only the graphics that are amazing, it's the back story. Bethesda spent a lot of effort on the game content. For example, you can go into a museum and read the history of the Fallout world. It's very detailed.

The game world is also HUGE. I still haven't done half the quests and there are probably about a hundred locations I still haven't discovered. This game is massive and well worth the cost.

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I played and replayed Fallout 1 and 2, and much loved those games, both for their gameplay and for their macabre humor and appreciation for pulp comic science fiction. I am also a big fan of Bethesda's Elder Scrolls series, with their beautiful graphics, deep backstories, and moral complexity. There had been past attempts to continue the Fallout series, which were sad failures. If anyone could do it right, I thought, it would be Bethesda. And so they did.

I had wondered how they would handle the turn-based combat system of Fallout 1 and 2 in a first-person, 3D environment on the model of Oblivion. The VATS system, in which one has the option of pausing the gameplay, and attacking a specific part of an enemy's body, followed by a slow-motion animation of the attack, works pretty well. It means you have a choice between using your character's skill, and your own -- the character's being the better choice, under most circumstances.

Narratively, the story is pretty much modelled on 1 and 2 -- no big surprises, and a similar sort of framework, with many plot points having clear analogies in the first two games. There is a richness in the details and in the sidequests, however.

Fallout fans will enjoy this game.

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For a while, Fallout 3 was fantastic, ranking not only among the best games on the 360, but one of the best for this console generation.

Then I hit the level cap, and everything changed.

I'd played for 60 hours when I reached level 20. I'd barely touched the main quest, spending my time exploring and doing side quests. By that time I reached the cap, my character could kill just about any enemy in one go of VATS, so there was really no combat challenge. And with no combat challenge, there's no longer any reason to collect ammo or weapons. I could attempt to change my character's strengths, but without further level progression, I'd never get any better.

I can understand why Bethesda put a cap in the game, but the problem is it comes far too early for a game with this scope. I was having a blast exploring new locations, but in sixty hours, I'd searched only half the map. Sure, there are still locations to discover, but I don't feel the same motivation - most of them look the same, anyway. After all, levelling up and gaining new abilities is the focus of RPGs, and the remainder of Fallout's gameplay isn't quite good enough to make up for the loss of character development.

Can I still follow the main quest? Sure, but the game's narrative isn't top quality either; not enough to keep me going, anyway. During my sixty hours, the joy came from gaining experience and increasing my stats. With this removed, I no longer have the push to see things through.

That's not to say I didn't love what I played. The open-ended structure is phenomenal. During the first 20-odd hours, I was ready to christen Fallout 3 as the best game I'd ever played. Unfortunately, now that I'm unable to continue developing my character, the magic is gone. I'm probably done playing, despite not being close to finishing. Yes, there's the morality system, but the impact on the overall picture is negligible, and yes, there are skill books to collect, but they also won't make a major difference now either. In addition, the world isn't quite versatile enough to support statless wandering.

I do certainly recommend Fallout 3. I paid full price and got my money's worth (about $1 an hour - better than most games these days!). However, I think it's important to realize that the experience may peak before you've finished.

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To make this clear I'm not going to compare this game to the other Bethesda titles, since this is the only one I have played.

This Game is my new addiction. I haven't sat on my butt and played games so intently since hi school when I played the original fallouts. I guess you can say I've been waiting for this game since then because me and my friends used to talk about how awesome it would be to play fallout as a FPS. For any of you fallout fans out there that have been worried about them bringing the vibe of the originals to this new title, fear not my friends because they did a great job. The humor still here along with that vintage world of tomorrow look all the other games are based off of.

Gameplay- If you have ever played a FPS then the controls will be no problem. the only real difference is that there is a new option to go into a targeting system called V.A.T.S. mode. It allows you to target the limbs on one or multiple enemies at once. The chances of you hitting th limbs are based on your weapons skills and perception. You can only select a certain number of targets in V.ATS mode and that is controlled by your action points, which recharge slowly upon leaving VATS mode. This tends to give the combat an RPG feel, and the mode becomes less gimmicky and more useful as the game goes on.

Huge map- when I first heard this game was just going to be in Washington D.C. I was a little hesitant to see how big the map was, because the older games took place in several cities. Man was I wrong. The map in the game is Huge and full of surprises. There is so much to discover from national monuments to old neighborhoods just lying in ruin in the waste. There are random encounters that can lead to some of the funnest parts of the games. (I once ran into the Brotherhood, enclave, and a squad of super mutants fighting each other at the same time!)

Graphics- Wow,they are amazing. When i am walking through the wilderness I love watching the sun rise and set, The character models look great and smooth. Combat animations are top notch. A lot of people have been complaining about the colors being bland, which is true (Except when you find Harold) but your IN A WASTELAND. this isn't viva pinata.

Replay Value- You can probably play this game forever with all the different ways you can play the game. You can be a big guns guys, be a diplomat and talk your way through the game using NPCs to protect you, sniper/close range, melee, even unarmed (witch to be honest gave me the best results so far.) Any kind of character you can come up with can play and do well in this game, thanks to all the different ways you can complete quest and task. I've never played a game when on kind of character never did better or worse than others if created.

Side notes- If you are using this review to decide whether to get the game you need to keep in mind why some people might not like this game.

There is a lot of walking in this game, i mean ALOT. Some people might not like that, even though to me its an enjoyable part of the game because thats when you discover new places and get those random encounters that make your game unique. Theres tons of talking in the game whether its trading equipment, or finding info. if you played the older games its about the same amount. The last thing i can see people not liking is how freakishly open ended the game is. You really have to find your own quest and play the game at your own pace. If you like playing games that point you in a direction and you just kill everything along the way you may not be a big fan of this one.

Bottom line- This game is everything I've imagined it would be. It will remain one of the best. This also is the best bang for the buck you will get all year. I have close to 100hours on it and I'm still not bored. If your on the line still, rent the game, you'll know after an hour or two if you'll want to buy it or not. If your an action fan who loves in depth games, of love the originals, don't hesitate and buy this game.

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I had so much fun with oblivion and this is even better, I have put it so many hours and I'm still having fun with it. I've beaten the game and am going back for another play through. The game play is awesome, I like how you can have combat like a role playing game or you can play it like a fps its up to you. I would recommend this game to anyone.

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