Fallout 3 is the Best Game of The Year 2008. No doubt about it.
Gameplay:
This whole FPV/TPV thingy is really just a bunch of crap. You can't play the game in 3rd Person View. Of course you can try but for me it is a pain in the ass to try and shoot someone from that view. The First Person View on the other hand is wonderful. Of course you won't spend much time shooting but using V.A.T.S. instead. This VATS is an auto-aim system that freezes time and lets you choose parts of the body you want to hit and then hit them. There is a catch though. You have Action Points that determine how many times you can shoot with the preferred weapon at any given time. They replenish pretty fast but at times you will have to shoot manually at the target. The world in Fallout really feels HUGE and you never will manage to uncover every mystery there is and every funny and exciting thing. That's why this game has an unlimited replay value. Seriously. For a month I've finished the game 2 times and I'm thinking of starting a 3rd one. The real-time gunfights are not very good and exciting but the melee compensates for it. It reminds me so much of Oblivion. I found a Chinese sword in the beginning and all the combos are just like in TES IV. I kept this sword until the very end in my inventory and I cut to pieces every mutant I had the chance to. Of course here I must note the huge crash problems this game has but hopefully Bethesda will release a patch soon to fix them up. Finally the atmosphere in this game is enchanting and fascinating and really makes you believe that you actually ARE a resident of Vault 101 going out in the wastes searching for adventures.
Graphics:
For an RPG game of that magnitude the graphics are more than satisfying. This time around Bethesda did a great job with the facial design and that way the people in the world feel more realistic than before. The guns… oh the guns. You can't get enough of them. There are so many of them and everyone has its own traits. I really liked the Rocket Launcher and the Atomic Bomb Launcher (hell yeah!), also called Fat Man. Nothing more to say here. Buy this game to see for yourself.
Story:
Great Story, Great Characters, and Great Good-Evil balance. You can be whatever you want at any given time. I started the game as the good Samaritan then I decided to blow up the atomic bomb, did some more bad deeds and I became the super-villain. Then again at the end I wanted to be good and save humanity so I became a saint and everyone lived happily ever after :D. Also there are great rewards for being good or evil so don't hesitate to try 'em out both. The side quests in this game are reeeeeeeeeeeeeealy long. Well not all of them but most are. For example I started a quest at the very beginning of the game and I finished it a little before completing the main quest. That's about 30 hours mates. Well I was doing different stuff, but still this quest was holding up pretty well. Finally all I can say is that the Quests in this game are the best part so be sure to complete as many as possible :).
Overall I'll say again, this game is worth every penny you spend for it and even more. Buy it, you won't regret it.
Gameplay: 9
Graphics: 10
Story: 10
Final Score: 9,7
I hope you liked this review (my English is not the best I know) and check my profile for more of this year's top games.