Fallout 3
...was a well-spent 65 hours of my life. It neither succeeds nor attempts at being the continuation of Fallout 1 & 2, but it is definitely of high enough caliber to be a worthy entry to the Fallout series, and perhaps more worthy than several other games in the series. It is also definitely Bethesda's best game, and improves on almost every shortcoming in Oblivion.
If you were worried about Fallout 3 because you reject everything The Elder Scrolls stands for and wanted a game just like Fallout 1 & 2, you should not play Fallout 3. If you were worried about Fallout 3 because you had extreme frustrations with Oblivion's broken leveling dynamics, generic and repetitive game world, uninspired characters and story, and all-around lack of soul, then you will probably find Fallout 3 to be a vast improvement in almost every way.
Which is not to say that it's perfect, but it's good enough that I came home from work every day wanting to play it and I never stopped out of boredom of frustration. It was pretty much consistently entertaining.
Some people won't accept it, but Bethesda's vision for the series is the future of Fallout, and it's here to stay. Considering that five years ago, virtually everybody acknowledged that the series had no future at all, I have no complaints, and am eagerly awaiting Fallout 4.
Overall score: A-
If you were worried about Fallout 3 because you reject everything The Elder Scrolls stands for and wanted a game just like Fallout 1 & 2, you should not play Fallout 3. If you were worried about Fallout 3 because you had extreme frustrations with Oblivion's broken leveling dynamics, generic and repetitive game world, uninspired characters and story, and all-around lack of soul, then you will probably find Fallout 3 to be a vast improvement in almost every way.
Which is not to say that it's perfect, but it's good enough that I came home from work every day wanting to play it and I never stopped out of boredom of frustration. It was pretty much consistently entertaining.
Some people won't accept it, but Bethesda's vision for the series is the future of Fallout, and it's here to stay. Considering that five years ago, virtually everybody acknowledged that the series had no future at all, I have no complaints, and am eagerly awaiting Fallout 4.
Overall score: A-