"War - war never changes..."
I picked up Fallout 3 for £5 when I was in the Midlands. Well worth it.
It's a good game in many ways - a big sandbox to play in, and I liked the V.A.T.S. system a lot - introduces a turn-based element into a fps by means of cinematic bullet-time action. The lockpicking and terminal hacking mini-games were fun in the way that as your skill level increases to let you try harder puzzles your experience of playing the game makes you better at solving them too.
I liked the world a lot - the retro 1950s US design clashing in a good way with the post-apocalyptic SF setting. Galaxy News Radio's a stroke of genius - the idealistic DJ broadcasting from the wasteland only has a stack of cheesy 1940s and 50s records to play, so as you fight to the death in shockingly gory battles with radscorpions and Mad Max-style raiders you can have Danny Kaye singing Bongo Bongo Bongo or Way Back Home by Bob Crosby ringing in your ears.
I liked the sidequests more than the later part of the main story, and thought a lot of the NPCs were interesting and well-drawn. I found the return to Vault 101 worked really well. I have the same issues with the ending that a lot of people did. It's anticlimactic, forced, and badly flawed if you have certain followers with you. It also brings your story to a stop just when you have a really effective character with a shedload of good kit you won't be able to use any more.
It's a good game in many ways - a big sandbox to play in, and I liked the V.A.T.S. system a lot - introduces a turn-based element into a fps by means of cinematic bullet-time action. The lockpicking and terminal hacking mini-games were fun in the way that as your skill level increases to let you try harder puzzles your experience of playing the game makes you better at solving them too.
I liked the world a lot - the retro 1950s US design clashing in a good way with the post-apocalyptic SF setting. Galaxy News Radio's a stroke of genius - the idealistic DJ broadcasting from the wasteland only has a stack of cheesy 1940s and 50s records to play, so as you fight to the death in shockingly gory battles with radscorpions and Mad Max-style raiders you can have Danny Kaye singing Bongo Bongo Bongo or Way Back Home by Bob Crosby ringing in your ears.
I liked the sidequests more than the later part of the main story, and thought a lot of the NPCs were interesting and well-drawn. I found the return to Vault 101 worked really well. I have the same issues with the ending that a lot of people did. It's anticlimactic, forced, and badly flawed if you have certain followers with you. It also brings your story to a stop just when you have a really effective character with a shedload of good kit you won't be able to use any more.