One of Bethesda's successful attempts to resurrected an old series and one of their finest games.
The gameplay is hard to explained but essentially it's a first/third person roleplaying shooter game that plays similar to, at the time, Bethesda's previous game Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion. The easy to describe Fallout 3 calling it Oblivion with guns but I'm not calling since this is so much more than that. With a Fallout game your constant main goal is to survive and completed different quest, that means collecting and using items such medkits (Stimpaks) to replenish your health and finding weapons to defend yourself whilst collecting ammo for said weapons. Along with all of these new toy's is the return of a feature from the Fallout series known as VATS (Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System) which is exactly what is says a "targeting system". With it you can target different body parts of your enemy depending on what percentage of a chance of hitting them e.g.your more likely to hit an enemy's head at 83% then hitting it at 41%. Also each shot you fire takes up something called "AP" (Action Points) which can also be replenished from use of items (Jet...just go with it).
The design is very grim and bleak and yet so beautiful at the same time. The best of the design in Fallout 3 is the inclusion to explore the best parts of Washington DC like the capital building, the museums, the White House and so much more. This is a fantastic achievement in game design. In fact the developers decided to put in Bethesda Softworks' home town to explore: http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Bethesda_ruins. Now THAT's dedication.
Another good thing about Fallout 3 are the weapons. I love the weapons in Fallout 3 especially the "unique" which are upgraded versions of the weapons you find but with added bonuses e.g. my personal favorite is the A3-21 plasma rifle which is a plasma rifle with added statistics such as:
It does 5 more damage at max energy weapons and condition.
This weapon has a critical % multiplier of 2.5, compared to the standard version's 2.
It can be repaired with normal plasma rifles, although it is very durable and will not need to be repaired often.
It has a 33% higher max condition value
A fan favorite is the Alien Blaster, if you want to know how awesome this gun is and where to find it go to here: http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Alien_blaster_%28Fallout_3%29
Now before I wrap this review up I have to say this is one the best games I've played in my life. I know there are a few glitchs and the grinding you have to do but that's standard to any RPG you play. And recently I've just completed Fallout New Vegas and whilst it has everything I love about Fallout 3 gameplay wise the story in New Vegas isn't really that compelling as well as the whole gambling, desert, gunslinger aspect of the design in it. But at least New Vegas with all of it's faults still gets an 8/10. Fallout 3 was just made with the right people and was handled with the right amount of care and planning that Bethesda can offer. And with that Fallout 3 gets a perfect score of 10/10. Consider this a two in one review (God I'm good). I'm Big Daddy and see you next time. *Dons Brotherhood of Steel mask*