Players of Oblivion will be on familiar ground here, but Fallout3 has more than a few delights in store for everyone.
Everything here is driven toward atmosphere; you're literally dropped into a post-apocalyptic playgound with ultimate freedom. After the game's prologue, and a superbly placed sun glare, you're exposed to your fist view of decimated DC. The shattered landscape is as beautiful as it is haunting, and the wide-open vista underlines the intense focus on freedom within this game. Immediately you have little to go on, a cracked and battered remnant of a small road to follow and the itch of exploration driving you on.
What strikes you immediately about Fallout 3 is it's streamlined nature. All information you could require is at your fingertips via your PipBoy, the HUD is discreetly placed and your focus is expertly kept on the game-world. Weapons/items are easily hotkeyed and your quests and destinations are readily available when you require them.
Post-apocalyptic Washington is a dangerous area, and sooner rather than later you're going to be killing things. Though your combat is essentially split into melee and ranged, both can take place in two main styles; the real-time (though clunkier) action of an FPS, and the tactical V.A.T.S. system. During my gameplay, VATS was easily the most useful system. Using VATS you're able to pause the action and zoom in on a target, identifying separate body parts and your percentage chance to hit dependent on your skills. From here you can target their legs, arms, head, torso or weapon specifically, resulting in a cinematic and massively satisfying slow-mo segment showing your attack decimating (or missing) your enemy. Fans of free-flowing FPS can still get their kicks without using VATS, but this method is slower and more error-prone than most other FPS games. However you can't shake the impression that the game was made for VATS.
Early on in the game keeping yourself stocked with ammo and stimpaks will become a prime concern. You will not have the cash to make larg purchases, and so exploration is your mission. As time goes on you begin to access more and varied weapon types, and you're able to begin tailoring your play to save items. Here is where the realism really kicks in, the nature of the game makes you seriously think what you can and can't do. Need to take out a nest of raiders? Well you better have the ammo, and the cash to heal. Long distance trip? Better repair your gear and start out with good light. With little effort, the game places you in the role of a wasteland explorer, and you revel in it. Often you find yourself ambling along, fascinated by your surroundings so much that you don't notice the mutant creeping up on you with a minigun. It sucks you in, it keeps you there, and you're grateful for it.
Graphically, players of Oblivion will be at home here. Occasionally it can feel as though the entire Oblivion engine was simply appropriated for this game, and though this is true the worlds are so different from each other that this is easy to forgive. Your system will need to be fairly robust to compete with the high end settings of the game, but with a little patience and a little tweaking you can get that framerate to a more than acceptable standard even on moderately powerful PCs.
Sound effects are well done and atmospheric, and the chilling and sadness-tinged music is very in keeping with your surroundings. Voice acting is well done and believable, and the only criticism could lay in not making more radio stations available in the early hours of the game. Overall though the sound is seamlessly integrated with the world.
It's hard to imagine a gamer that wouldn't like Fallout 3. Certain games just seem to be destined to be great, and Fallout is certainly in this category. From the moment you start to the moment you finish, you'll find yourself revelling in the world when you're in it, and missing it when you're not. It should be on your "must buy" list, regardless of your gaming prefernces. There is something delightful here for everybody.
TKhan