'Fallout 3' doesn't live up to expectations

The previous 'Fallout' games had success, but this one is a dud.

By Chase Koeneke

Published Nov. 13, 2008

The "Fallout" franchise has an interesting history. "Fallout" and "Fallout 2" were two immensely popular PC games in the late '90s. Their developer, Black Isle Studios, planned for another sequel, but folded in 2003 when many members of the team left and the remainder couldn't justify themselves to parent company Interplay. "Fallout" was then sold off to Bethesda, makers of the "Elder Scrolls" series, its most recent release being 2006 mega-hit, "The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion." With Bethesda now at the helm of the "Fallout" franchise, many fans were concerned the next installment would just be "Oblivion" with a new paint job or, as you will no doubt read in every other review, "'Oblivion' with guns." To be honest, that's actually the best way to put "Fallout 3" into words, but that is not a great thing.

"Fallout 3" begins with a very ho-hum character creator. I tried for 20 minutes to make something that at all resembled me, but was so frustrated with the sparse options I just hit "randomize" a few times before happening on a Conan O'Brien look-a-like. Players are given some back-story through real-time cut scenes, then are finally given full control when they hear that their father pissed off the wrong people in the fallout shelter, dubbed "Vault 101," and has left. You are given the task of finding him, but not before being introduced to combat while trying to escape the Vault yourself.

There are two combat options that you can mix and match as you choose: a mediocre, real-time system or one of the hooks/gimmicks of "Fallout 3" - the Vault-tech Assisted Targeting System, V.A.T.S. for short. The V.A.T.S. system freezes combat, allowing players to see the odds of hitting different body parts of an enemy and then shoot them directly in a slow-motion cut scene. This is really neat the first few times you use it, but after a while, it'll just take you out of the game. You can see where this is going. Neither of these combat methods is very much fun, which makes for a very dull experience.

And boy, is it a confusing experience too. It's easy to get lost early in the game, and there are also way too many resources to keep track of. Health, condition of your equipment, radiation, action points, ammo, weight of items, karma and money make for constant micromanaging - not something many look for in an action RPG.

If this were a squad-based shooter, it might have fared better. The old-timey music you could pick up from your radio is also enjoyable, as well as the fun kitschy items like Nuka Cola, but the atmosphere of "Bioshock" blows this out of the water.

This sounds pretty harsh on "Fallout 3," but this isn't a "tough love" type of deal. If someone were to ask players what they like about "Fallout 3," it'd be hard to give them an answer. On the other hand, if players were asked what could've been done better in "Fallout 3," they probably wouldn't stop talking. Too few health items, floaty character animations, stiff and boring non-playable characters - these are all things that "Fallout 3," and "Oblivion," for that matter, do wrong. With the amount of hype this game got, it's a shame it came out so bland. In a year filled with amazing new releases, "Fallout 3" is definitely something to drop.