Fallout 3 - plot question

Hey guys just looking for a bit of advice about Fallout 3.

I had been happily playing the game, taking my time and doing side missions, when i got to the 'Follow in hiw footsteps' quest. I decided to explore a bit before doing it, and discovered rivet city. I eventually found Dr. Li, just by wandering about, and this ,ean't i had 'completed' the 'Follow in his footsteps' quest by exssentilly skipping it by mistake and was fast tracked onto 'Scientific pursuits'. As a results i'm still only level 6 at this point. Do you think it's worth loading up an earlier save and going thru the 'footsteps....' mission for XP and plot lines? Or should i just keep going as i am? I feel like i missed a big chunk of the game by accidentally skipping this mission!

Thanks

Its really up to you. I did just what you did and made a brand new character and did it over again and found that I didn't regret doing it at all. But like I said, up to you. Its interesting to get the story of how you meet up with your father and how he interacts with the doctor.

dont bother with it, keep on going. and there are much better quests out there than the main storyline, you should do every one you can before resuming it.

I agree, the main quest is fun and all, but there are SO MANY other things to do in this game, enjoying playing it I am.

personally if I were playing a game for the first time and I accidentally skipped part of the game due to exploration, I'de probably delete my save; take a break from the game for a few days; then start over.. but that's just me.. I'm sure others would advise you otherwise..

Thanks for the replies, just wanted to get a feel for how important it was to the plot. I think i'll have a look tonight and start from a save before i went to rivet city if i can find one.