Oblivion with guns. In a good way.
GAMEPLAY
The gameplay is fantastic. What can I say? I used VATS (Vault-Tec Assisted Targetting System) almost exclusively and this didn't kill the immersion for me - if anything it added to it. FO3 also gives the player the ability to do almost anything they want... from being a slaver working for the grunts at the slaving complex ironically named Paradise Falls or disarming an atomic bomb in the middle of a town, earning yourself a little shack to sleep in. The Karma system also appears to be somewhat present whenever you engage in dialogue with someone - allowing for your character to effectively role-play the mercenary/town-savior that you love to play as. The quick travel system is helpful but does kill the sense of how big the game world actually is, and the graphic walls inside Downtown DC areas do restrict the player to linear gaming - however if you're doing the 100+ hours of sidequests before the main quest, then you won't be in DC for much anyway...
VERDICT: 9.5/10
STORY
The story is short and the ending is shorter. I was happily playing away after about 6 hours of gameplay and suddenly saw credits. If there ever was a "WTF" moment this would be it. There are numerous twists abound which can be seen a mile away and the fact that you're shouting out for your "Dad" every two minutes makes you feel like a lonely teenager capable of going on hunger strikes just to get his attention.
VERDICT: 7/10
GRAPHICS
The modelling in the game looks like it's done in an archaic version of Maya. The textures are very bland... even for a post-apocalyptic game, and the actual performance of the game runs quite poorly (when I say poorly I mean good... but the microstutter that was also present in Oblivion has made a come back, much to the dismay of PC gamers world wide) on most PC's. In fact, every PC user is experiencing a micro-stutter due to the game's coding - depending on what card the user has and what drivers, the stutter may/may not be as noticeable (but it is still there). However with all settings on, my computer runs at a steady 60FPS where Far Cry 2 run at a measly 48FPS on average... but that is taking into account that half of Fallout 3 is underground, meaning less things to load. Differences aside, if the front cover didn't say "Fallout 3" you'd read "Oblivion With Guns" as it looks just like it ingame.
VERDICT: 8.5/10
SOUND
Fantastic soundtrack to Galaxy News Radio, incorporating old tunes from the 40's (even though the actual war that plunges the Fallout world into an apocalyptic setting took place more than a few decades after the 40's...) and when not in reception, the engine seamlessly switches over to an ambient orhestra. However the wind noises do seem almost TOO similar to Morrowind's ambient tracks and the voice acting is terribly limited (although everyone has a voce in the game, there are only about five voice actors)... I remember talking to a shop assistant who happened to be african-american then turning to talk to the pale white shopkeeper... who had the same accent.
VERDICT: 7.5/10
MULTIPLAYER
None.
VERDICT: -/-