User Score
7.9

Generally favorable reviews- based on 5318 Ratings

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  1. Dec 18, 2021
    6
    ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
  2. Mar 15, 2021
    6
    El juego me ha gustado y lo recomiendo, la temática en general de la saga Fallout me parece super interesante, la historia principal esta bien, pero los DLCs me parecen bastante mejores ya que te dan mas tiempo de juego y algunos son muy buenos. El sistema de dialogo me parece brillante en comparación con la basura que hicieron en el 4.
    Tambien cosas malas claramente, como la durabilidad
    El juego me ha gustado y lo recomiendo, la temática en general de la saga Fallout me parece super interesante, la historia principal esta bien, pero los DLCs me parecen bastante mejores ya que te dan mas tiempo de juego y algunos son muy buenos. El sistema de dialogo me parece brillante en comparación con la basura que hicieron en el 4.
    Tambien cosas malas claramente, como la durabilidad de las armas o atuendos o los problemas de compatibilidad con algunas versiones de Windows. Suelen ponerlo bastante barato en rebajas y por el precio que suele tener me parece un pepino.
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  3. Mar 11, 2022
    6
    Fallout New Vegas is 100 times better!
    Its not a bad game but it dose not have that fallout Oh Yea thing.
  4. Jun 28, 2021
    6
    Fallout 3 is okay, the series hasn't been totally flandarized by this point but you can totally feel that it is on its way.

    I would not recommend Fallout 3.
  5. Jun 12, 2023
    6
    For re-inventing the franchise it is a huge step. Looking apart from that it's kind of a mess. And the magic it gave in '08 sadly can't be felt as much.
  6. Jun 26, 2023
    6
    When released, this game was truly impressive. It built upon the masterpiece Oblivion, and it brought some impressive new elements of gameplay. Immensely fun to explore, and great atmosphere. It has been overshadowed by more modern games, but it was easily a 9.5/10 when it was released.
  7. [ANONYMOUS]
    Nov 4, 2009
    5
    As someone who loves the main quest more than any side quest, this game was a huge disappointment. I had the game (not counting downloadable content) done in 13 hours; I never felt compelled to explore the world outside the main quest. Maybe I'm the only one who feels this way, but I really, really wish I'd saved my money for Dragon Age.
  8. VoodoojedizinZ.
    Jan 5, 2009
    5
    My opinion, it's a ok game that has some severe technical problems a very lame plot but that's OK. The Ai are no smarter than the ones used in oblivion. There are some path finding issues for npc's. The dialog is very childlike but tries to be adult. Obviously there trying to appeal to all ages. Story is not very well presented. Low on believability. They overdo the go My opinion, it's a ok game that has some severe technical problems a very lame plot but that's OK. The Ai are no smarter than the ones used in oblivion. There are some path finding issues for npc's. The dialog is very childlike but tries to be adult. Obviously there trying to appeal to all ages. Story is not very well presented. Low on believability. They overdo the go fetch that item as usual. Some of the quest were very lame. The entire time line there trying to present seemed a bit off 200 years my eye! There's nothing to make me believe that. Graphics are good but not that good, low resolution textures. Typical Bethesda they don't give a damn about the PC. This game was made for Xbox. Sadly Bethesda seems to offer no technical support or any kind of contact at all. Once again everyone is left wondering when is the patch coming out and what will be in it. Expand
  9. JanJ.
    Nov 4, 2008
    5
    Unfortunately, a big disappointment to many. This game is a GOOD example of BAD design. Graphics and sounds are poor, which doesn't help much. Everything is dumbed-down. This game has more common with Bethesda's other game - TES: Oblivion, than with previous Fallout games. Story is nice. Some of the quest ideas and some of the dialogue humor is OK. An average game with a lot of Unfortunately, a big disappointment to many. This game is a GOOD example of BAD design. Graphics and sounds are poor, which doesn't help much. Everything is dumbed-down. This game has more common with Bethesda's other game - TES: Oblivion, than with previous Fallout games. Story is nice. Some of the quest ideas and some of the dialogue humor is OK. An average game with a lot of hype. It's not worth the money, believe me. Expand
  10. PeterBaltzerH.
    Feb 22, 2009
    5
    Poor RPG poor FPS pretty damm horrible story and writing fun for 5 secs super overexagerated gore and violence which is gratified in the extreme thoughout this game horrible pc conversion, huge fonts makes reading text pretty damm annoying and generally the game suffers from the conversion is so many ways to frustate the player with the UI being my biggest annoyance. a game aimed at the Poor RPG poor FPS pretty damm horrible story and writing fun for 5 secs super overexagerated gore and violence which is gratified in the extreme thoughout this game horrible pc conversion, huge fonts makes reading text pretty damm annoying and generally the game suffers from the conversion is so many ways to frustate the player with the UI being my biggest annoyance. a game aimed at the teen market with a mature rating. Expand
  11. alex
    Nov 3, 2008
    5
    I don't really understand , why people rate it 10 , but i guess they just didnt play fallout 1 & 2 , tactics. Didn't understand world and team play. For me Fallout 3 is just some game with this name that was made for only one reason - money , due that players will see Fallout 3 on xbox and ps3. But still only world looks abit same as real Fallout , but engine and all models look I don't really understand , why people rate it 10 , but i guess they just didnt play fallout 1 & 2 , tactics. Didn't understand world and team play. For me Fallout 3 is just some game with this name that was made for only one reason - money , due that players will see Fallout 3 on xbox and ps3. But still only world looks abit same as real Fallout , but engine and all models look just same as oblivion's , they even hold weapons same.They should name it Elder scroll 5 : Lazers PEW PEW or something like that. So question is why Bethesda made game , where got no real experience and failed by copy paste of oblivion ? Game not so bad , you can choose who to kill or not , help someone or ignore his problem, but definitely it should have other name, my opinion Bethesda realy failed on this project, and stoped future of great classic fallout story. Expand
  12. DrWatson
    Dec 12, 2008
    5
    what this game did right: exploring the downtown DC area is great, and the overall atmosphere is fantastic. (especially if you've been there) what this game did poorly: the main plot is terrible and short the RPG elements of the game are numb at best - character stats are largely meaningless - character specialization is discouraged to the point of being almost not possible bottom what this game did right: exploring the downtown DC area is great, and the overall atmosphere is fantastic. (especially if you've been there) what this game did poorly: the main plot is terrible and short the RPG elements of the game are numb at best - character stats are largely meaningless - character specialization is discouraged to the point of being almost not possible bottom line: while this game is not bad, it's not good either. therefore it gets an average score of 5. Expand
  13. kylebg
    Jan 11, 2009
    5
    I wonder how many of these glowing reviews were written after less than 5 hours of playing the game. I would've given it a 10 too at that point since the world you're presented with is initially overwhelming and beautiful. But it's the quests that suck. So mundane and uninspiring. They could've done such cooler stuff without even more effort--just better ideas. And I wonder how many of these glowing reviews were written after less than 5 hours of playing the game. I would've given it a 10 too at that point since the world you're presented with is initially overwhelming and beautiful. But it's the quests that suck. So mundane and uninspiring. They could've done such cooler stuff without even more effort--just better ideas. And there are HUGE areas of fighting with no payoff at the end and no option but to backtrack all the way back through the area to get out. And where is the sense of horror at billions of people having died? The fact that this game needs an auto-walk feature because it knows you'll be trudging in a straight line for 5 minute stints while meeting nothing of interest is telling. Fallout 3 is a gorgeous landscape looking for a game. Expand
  14. MarcoS
    Nov 13, 2008
    5
    I give the 5 for effort and because it's a game that appeals to some people. But it is NOT a RPG in the sense of Fallout 1 and 2; it is more like that shallow fantasy theme park that was Oblivion.
  15. WinstonC.
    Nov 15, 2008
    5
    Fallout 3 seems to be a very solid, old-school PC RPG tailored for the X-Box, then ported 1:1 over to PC without any attempts to make it an actual PC game. 1) Installation and Setup: The game doesn't even create shortcuts, instead expects the player to insert the DVD to auto-play the launcher program. Graphic settings can only be changed before starting the game using that launcher Fallout 3 seems to be a very solid, old-school PC RPG tailored for the X-Box, then ported 1:1 over to PC without any attempts to make it an actual PC game. 1) Installation and Setup: The game doesn't even create shortcuts, instead expects the player to insert the DVD to auto-play the launcher program. Graphic settings can only be changed before starting the game using that launcher on the DVD in a windows-98-style box. The options also wouldn't recognize the native 1920x1200 resolution of a 24" monitor until installing the first patch. 2) Everything concerning the graphics and interface in-game is a 100% console port. The mouse has some kind of brake before it starts moving at proper speed, which makes the mousepointer feel like using a clumsy joypad - this makes aiming and navigating through menus an annoying experience. All fonts and most items in-game are vastly oversized (dialogue texts probably 120 pixels high, models for small objects like cigarette boxes as large as DVD boxes, etc). Simple actions like opening the map, browsing the inventory, or even switching weapons require endless clickfests through the only in-game interface tool (pipboy) that has EVERYTHING clumped into it and requires you to click through the categories over and over again. Basically the interface lacks any kind of ergonomical features to make a PC gamer feel comfortable during play. An example is the need to pause every single fight several times to open the "pipboy" menu, select "items", select "weapons", scroll up and down to find grenades / sidearm / rifle, equip it, leave the menu, fire it, then repeat the whole procedure to switch back to the previous weapon. I just can't believe that the game doesn't even have basic weapon slots like STALKER has them, not even to speak of essential shortcuts to the various elements of the pipboy screen. 3) AI doesn't seem to exist on 3/4 difficuilty level. Once enemies spot the player, they just keep running towards him in a straight line most of the time. Sometimes they just disappear to show up again later in a random place. Also NPCs always seem to blow themselves up with grenades, example they throw grenades while charging at you. Fighting in a group with a friendly NPC is a horrible experience from the beginning to the end. Generally the fighting feels the same or even worse than Morrowind back in the days. 4) Dialoges and resulting story are often a mess. Example you kill the evil barkeeper, then his hooker takes over the bar and also recognizes his death in dialogue with you, but in the next sentence she is still afraid to help you because the (dead) barkeeper might not like that. Noone else in town recognizes his death anyway, not even after killing everyone else in there. 5) Karma system: Basically a copy of D&D alignment, but doesn't seem to work for me. I'm killing a camp of bloodthirsty vampires and murderes, and my Karma goes down? WTF? 6) Skill system / character creation: Seems really outdated in 2008. Players can only guess what might be useful and will often end up with a crappy skilled character after some time. Unless they read through guides which tell them where to put their points into etc. 7) Realism vs. Gameplay - I think from a 2008 point of view, the developers have tried to put realism into things where it's not necessary or even hinders gameplay, but didn't put any realism where it would have been essential. Example gunfights in this game are even worse than 1992's Wolfenstein 3D. You're always short on ammo (which feels realistic and makes the game interesting), but all weapons have a huge, random spray radius which make carefully aimed shots useless. Self-healing in-combat seems to be very limited and there's even a complex damage system with crippling etc. in place , but out of combat you just need to take a few sips from a nearby toilet or sleep for 1 hour which will magically heal any kind of damage. 8) Sound and Graphic Art: First of all, the graphics in general are average at best and probably wouldn't have been anything special about 4-5 years ago. All animations and models are very poorly done, things look exactly like in Morrowind too many times. Sounds vary from realistic sounds while pushing around garbage, to explosions that sound like a bag of flour dropped from a skyscraper. Weapon sounds are horrible and make the stiff gunfights even worse. Voice acting in the german version is below-average amateur level - All characters have been dubbed by probably 4 different people and none of them has an interesting voice. Generally i think they should have used one of those cartoon filters on the graphics to make it at least somehow special to look at, but right now it's just cheap mass ware without any kind of style or soul about it. 9) Sprinting - Why the hell can't you sprint in this game? No matter wether you carry 200 kilos of equipment or walk around naked, you can never sprint under any circumstances. Tactics are pretty much useless, all you can do is either frontal assault or place some landmines before doing that frontal assault. 10) Censorship in the german version: I don't know if there is any blood & violence in the original version, but in german, despite an 18+ rating, there's no blood of any kind which makes the game feel even more sterile. 11) I could go on but let's sum it up. I gave this game a 5 because there still seems to be a solid, old-school, Elder Scrolls RPG behind it where you'll spend endless hours with exploring, searching for items, doing quests - but art, interface, storytelling are so bad that you can't even call it outdated, it's just low quality. How this game can get scores of over 90 is a mystery to me. Actually i might have given this a 7 or 8 if it was some kind of isometric top-down view RPG like Fallout / Jagged Alliance, but trying to crossbreed Morrowind with hardcore shooter elements on an X-Box platform has totally failed. My advice is to wait until this game becomes low-budget in the stores, because right now the game is not worth the full price under any circumstances. Expand
  16. AlexD.
    Nov 2, 2008
    5
    Only played this one for about 6 hours and all I can say is that it's more than enough. The fighting system is at least ineffective, the bullet times showing how you've missed are boring and unnecessary; also, I can't understand why they've chosen this game mechanic - for example, there are times I score headshots (from outside VATS) and the actual hit is a miss (lol) Only played this one for about 6 hours and all I can say is that it's more than enough. The fighting system is at least ineffective, the bullet times showing how you've missed are boring and unnecessary; also, I can't understand why they've chosen this game mechanic - for example, there are times I score headshots (from outside VATS) and the actual hit is a miss (lol) due to chance modifiers, despite the bullet being clearly traced through the opponent's eye for example. The dialogue is dull, and the NPCs lack any AI in regard to speech (with AI I'm referring to the logic behind the NPCs from Vampire Bloodlines for example), while the minimap is plain stupid (clue: here, on PC's, we have enough keys in order to put as many markers we'd want onto a minimap; we could also give them names, since we have keyboards, or write whole journal entries about them). The atmosphere is very good, and the Oblivion engine looks quite nice even in 2008, in this second installment of TES: Oblivion. Expand
  17. MrMan
    Nov 2, 2008
    5
    This game should NOT be called fallout 3. It does not play like a fallout game, it plays more like Oblivion which is a watered down RPG aimed towards the mentally challenged, a game which only redeems itself because of its vast mod community and potential. It literally seems like Bethesda has taken oblivion and slapped on new skins and models so it looks something like what you'd This game should NOT be called fallout 3. It does not play like a fallout game, it plays more like Oblivion which is a watered down RPG aimed towards the mentally challenged, a game which only redeems itself because of its vast mod community and potential. It literally seems like Bethesda has taken oblivion and slapped on new skins and models so it looks something like what you'd expect of a post apocalyptic wasteland. There is a constant battle in this game between the two genres of FPS and RPG; they are fighting each other like two scrawny women which results in the clumsy combat mechanics and seemingly meaningless character skill progression. Bethesda have made slight modifications to oblivion and called it fallout 3 resulting in another ruined franchise which appeals only to the undying console gaming idiots which unfortunately make up most of today's gaming market. Now if this game did not proclaim itself as the definite sequel to Fallout 2 and instead was more of a spin-off then my review would be more lenient, the game does have good points but ultimately does not deserve the title of Fallout 3. If you want oblivion with a futuristic setting then this is the game for you. If you want a sequel to Fallout then tough luck, you probably won't ever get one. Expand
  18. RogerS
    Nov 8, 2008
    5
    Be aware this game is unplayable for some people. Not a true review of the game, it may be great, but if you are planning on purchasing I suggest you read the Fallout 3 message boards. There is no fix at this time and the game will crash when you start the game. It is not related to system requirements. I love Bethesda and their games, but sadly I suggest you hold on to your $50 till a Be aware this game is unplayable for some people. Not a true review of the game, it may be great, but if you are planning on purchasing I suggest you read the Fallout 3 message boards. There is no fix at this time and the game will crash when you start the game. It is not related to system requirements. I love Bethesda and their games, but sadly I suggest you hold on to your $50 till a patch is released to address this. Expand
  19. RobS
    Nov 28, 2008
    5
    I think most of the positive reviews here have been written after one or two plays of the game. I too was at first blown away by the seemingly endless, and incredibly beautiful landscapes, and the freedom of choice. There is also some great exploring moments and some incredible voice acting on offer. Also mention must be made of the lightning fast load times. On those impressions alone I think most of the positive reviews here have been written after one or two plays of the game. I too was at first blown away by the seemingly endless, and incredibly beautiful landscapes, and the freedom of choice. There is also some great exploring moments and some incredible voice acting on offer. Also mention must be made of the lightning fast load times. On those impressions alone this game is a 9star without doubt, however it is with continued play that the many frustrations in this game begin to show. First combat - even with my gun skills ramped up, and many perks to aid it, I find myself completely reliant on the v.a.t.s getting some lucky heashot kills, as the enemy scale up faster and have better weapons. Plus there guns are far more accurate than yours, they can shotgun you halfway across the map, you will have difficulty hitting them right in front of you. You will need every health boost and also use quick load. Combat usually ends up with you trying to lure 1 enemy at a time, into a prepared minefield, and then jumping in and out of cover using vats/powerfists, then repeating the process with enemy number 2. Then comes the complete repetitiveness of both the missions, and the dialog options. You never have more than about 3 talk options, two of which usually get the same response. As to the missions? Go to building A, kill everything that moves, then either talk/kill the object character. Rinse repeat ad infinitum. And reviewer Lou S? Take the cock out of your own mouth m8, and reread your review - you slate it worse than I do. Idiot. Expand
  20. Malithion
    Nov 29, 2008
    5
    Oh man. Talk about overrated. Reviewers see amazing graphics and suddenly its the "game of the year." There's a huge number of problems with this game, and that's not because of bugs. First of all, the main quest is horribly written, and, unlike Oblivion, you can't continue playing after it (although PC Gamer's editor still seems to think you can). The main quest is Oh man. Talk about overrated. Reviewers see amazing graphics and suddenly its the "game of the year." There's a huge number of problems with this game, and that's not because of bugs. First of all, the main quest is horribly written, and, unlike Oblivion, you can't continue playing after it (although PC Gamer's editor still seems to think you can). The main quest is essentially a drawn-out version of a "fix this thing by getting this item" quest. You're not saving your people, you're not fighting bad guys, but rather repairing a water pump. Some favorite bits: 1) when one major character dies from being in a room filled with huge amounts of radiation, while characters in the same room live without any further explanation. 2) PC Gamer review: "But most egregious is the late-game introduction of a character that refuses to use the special abilities that are his raiso d'etre, injecting a farcical interlude into an otherwise poignant moment." This "poignant moment" is nothing short of one of the most ridiculous endings I've seen in a video game, period. I won't spoil it for you, but I definitely won't say its worth the trouble. Most of the story is a re-tread of old ideas from the previous games. Yes, it is supposed to be in the same vein as the previous Fallout games, but FO3 does not achieve that. Whereas decisions in previous games would affect the entire world, blowing up a whole town will only make a couple of main-quest NPC's take real notice. The dialogue sticks out as the some of the most horrible I've seen in a long time. Having a high intelligence will allow you to state things that are obvious, rather than insightful. Such as when speaking to Three Dog during the GNR quest, the player can say: "[Intelligence] So you fight the Good Fight with you voice on Galaxy News Radio." Another good example is during the first part of the Wasteland Survival Guide quest given by Moira (Bethesda's poor attempt at 'dark humor'): "[Intelligence] The Raiders were using the pharmacy as a place to store their best gear." As Bethesda's Pete Hines said: "Dialogue wasn't a battle we wanted to pick ... we just don't have unlimited monkeys and typewriters." The gameplay itself does not make up for FO3's other flaws. Combat is ridiculous: you can take a direct hit from a missile launcher and keep going (while wearing leather armor, no less), Raiders and other enemies can take 20 rounds of 10mm hollow-points to the face without dying, and a number of the "long-range" weapons (such as the Sniper Rifle) are useless due to the fact they have poor accuracy even if you have mastered the small arms skill. Even at maximum difficulty, the game doesn't provide much of a challenge to either RPG or FPS fans, and a number of the Oblivion's flaws are in Fallout 3. Most notably, just as in Bethesda's previous endeavor, the game quickly devolves into an endless cycle of dungeon-crawl, fetch an object, trade loot, complete quest, and repeat. Very quickly into the game, playing becomes dull and monotonous. Especially when you reach the level cap of 20. At this point, only the promise of interesting quests will keep you playing, and as I have stated, well-developed ones are few and far between. Amazingly, the side quests aren't even as good as Oblivion's. Fallout 3 fails in that it accomplishes neither the goal of an RPG, namely, a deep, believable world with interesting characters and a good story, nor does it accomplish the goal of an FPS; to provide an exciting combat experience and intense gameplay while you pursued an objective. It is at no point immersive, as you feel detached from the world of the game. Few of the characters have any depth or logic behind their actions. It fails to be a sandbox-type game, as you are limited to doing the same things Oblivion allows you to do. In the original Fallout series, you could play most of the game in a way that focused on dialogue, or focus on stealth rather than confrontation. Perhaps Bethesda dumbed down the combat so that characters with weak fighting skills could more easily survive the battles they are constantly forced into. Additionally, the game world is tiny, even smaller than Oblivion. While this does mean that there is less walking distance, it also served as a convenient excuse to put less into the game. There are few unique areas, and even they follow the tired dungeon formula of Oblivion (in fact, the majority of 'dungeons' in the game actually are underground). All in all, Oblivion has some strengths: graphics, a solid engine, and good performance. However, it lacks either a solid RPG or FPS element. Characters aren't interesting, and combat is almost as dull and repetitive. It may have nice looks, but there's not a lot of meat on the bones here. There's just no challenge to this game. Expand
  21. Nov 16, 2011
    5
    I enjoy the premise and design for this game, but that's about where it ends. The game crashes on almost ANY pc close to several times an hour. Tried on 3 different PCs, all high end nvidia or ati beasts, vista/7/xp doesn't matter. Clicking an NPC twice shouldn't freeze ANY game.

    That being said I really wanted to enjoy this game, bought the GOTY including all DLC and haven't been able
    I enjoy the premise and design for this game, but that's about where it ends. The game crashes on almost ANY pc close to several times an hour. Tried on 3 different PCs, all high end nvidia or ati beasts, vista/7/xp doesn't matter. Clicking an NPC twice shouldn't freeze ANY game.

    That being said I really wanted to enjoy this game, bought the GOTY including all DLC and haven't been able to get more than an hour out of the story. It simply crashes too much in the open world. Play this game on a console, sad to say, but it looks amazing when it works.
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  22. May 29, 2014
    5
    The worst Fallout in the series. While it has things like a vault, and Enclave, everything else about it is a pure watered down Bethesda hack job. As a romp around a nuclear wasteland, it's fine, but as far as feeling like your character has any choice in anything, it's far from what came before. No matter what character you build, you can do anything, so role playing is pretty muchThe worst Fallout in the series. While it has things like a vault, and Enclave, everything else about it is a pure watered down Bethesda hack job. As a romp around a nuclear wasteland, it's fine, but as far as feeling like your character has any choice in anything, it's far from what came before. No matter what character you build, you can do anything, so role playing is pretty much gutted. Though there are some interesting side areas, the main quest is terribly bland with little choice involved. Combat is dull, requiring little tactics since VATS is god mode, and so long as you're smart enough to click Target> Head, you'll win every time and never take damage. It's a cheap knock off of the series. Get New Vegas, if you want a better next gen Fallout experience. Or better yet, play the old games, to understand just how far off the mark Bethesda was when they tried to make an actual RPG. Terrible game. Expand
  23. Dec 26, 2011
    5
    The game is ok, graphics are pretty good. The detail and story line is so and so and can be messy. However, the game is very strung out, not much to do, characters have little to no facial expression or show of emotion and the game can be very melancholy. Its not the worst game I've played, it does have its good moments, but its not the best and can be a little depressing. But that's justThe game is ok, graphics are pretty good. The detail and story line is so and so and can be messy. However, the game is very strung out, not much to do, characters have little to no facial expression or show of emotion and the game can be very melancholy. Its not the worst game I've played, it does have its good moments, but its not the best and can be a little depressing. But that's just my opinion. Expand
  24. Apr 6, 2012
    5
    I really wanted to like this game, and for the first 15-20 hours I did. I ignored the numerous bugs I encountered, from getting stuck over and over until I had to restart (until I got the mod), to being shot randomly by a monster far far out of the range of his shotgun, to falling through walls that just were not there. After a while I just became to powerful and the game was little toI really wanted to like this game, and for the first 15-20 hours I did. I ignored the numerous bugs I encountered, from getting stuck over and over until I had to restart (until I got the mod), to being shot randomly by a monster far far out of the range of his shotgun, to falling through walls that just were not there. After a while I just became to powerful and the game was little to easy. But the game itself was fun, the post apocalyptic DC was executed well and I was immersed into the story. I deliberately didn't do main story line trying to complete all the sidequests first, but constantly sidequests would lead me to people who would just assume I am on a certain step of another quest and basically allow me to keep that going/complete the quests I didn't even know existed. When finally a side quest took me to a place where the game only gave me options for a conversation that referred to me wanting to talk to a person I never heard of, and that caused the a jump that turned out to be 6 steps in the main story line, I quit, uninstalled and walked away. Expand
  25. Jun 18, 2012
    5
    While Fallout 3 isn't a bad game overall, as a sequel to Fallout 2 it just fails tragically. It's inconsistent with lore, primitive and illogical in many places. Overall, for a long time Fallout veteran such as myself, this game was a huge disappointment. If you haven't played the previous installments or are just looking for some cheap entertainment, you can go ahead and give it a spin.While Fallout 3 isn't a bad game overall, as a sequel to Fallout 2 it just fails tragically. It's inconsistent with lore, primitive and illogical in many places. Overall, for a long time Fallout veteran such as myself, this game was a huge disappointment. If you haven't played the previous installments or are just looking for some cheap entertainment, you can go ahead and give it a spin. Otherwise, you'll be better off with New Vegas. Actually, scratch that. You'll be better off with New Vegas either way. Expand
  26. Oct 12, 2012
    5
    I had high hopes for this game as I played on, but the further I got into the game as my XP, Perks earned and more weapons became available the easier it got until the competition seemed like child's play. Storyline was fair I suppose, but if you accept a certain quest too soon the game is over way before it's time. I even added 'Point Lookout' and killed the game so soon b my choice ofI had high hopes for this game as I played on, but the further I got into the game as my XP, Perks earned and more weapons became available the easier it got until the competition seemed like child's play. Storyline was fair I suppose, but if you accept a certain quest too soon the game is over way before it's time. I even added 'Point Lookout' and killed the game so soon b my choice of Quests I never experienced the Add On. No point In going on at this point as I know how the game ends no matter what choices or changes I make. The end sucks me very much. Expand
  27. Mar 13, 2013
    5
    Fallout 3 dutifully follows the Bethesda motto of quantity over quality. The game tries to make up for its shortcomings by overwhelming you with the sheer volume of content. And the faults be plenty. The world, albeit huge, feels empty and generally artificial. The UI is a disaster. Weapon selection is rather lame. Guns have no recoil and seemingly random bullet spread. Enemy AI isFallout 3 dutifully follows the Bethesda motto of quantity over quality. The game tries to make up for its shortcomings by overwhelming you with the sheer volume of content. And the faults be plenty. The world, albeit huge, feels empty and generally artificial. The UI is a disaster. Weapon selection is rather lame. Guns have no recoil and seemingly random bullet spread. Enemy AI is retarded. Side quests are extremely repetitive. Even the graphics, supposedly one of the game's strong points, look quite dated for a 2008 game. The game does have a decent storyline and a great soundtrack, but that's simply not enough to make up for it's numerous shortcomings. Expand
  28. Feb 8, 2014
    5
    I haven’t played the original fallout series (although I intend in the future). So, my review of fallout 3 (GOTY edition), is not contaminated by any feelings of nostalgia.

    ~Visuals (Grade 4 ) (Yes, I know this is a 2008 game, but compared with other AAA games from that time, fallout 3 doesn’t look very good in the visual department) - The Good: (Good modeling, especially the outdoor
    I haven’t played the original fallout series (although I intend in the future). So, my review of fallout 3 (GOTY edition), is not contaminated by any feelings of nostalgia.

    ~Visuals (Grade 4 ) (Yes, I know this is a 2008 game, but compared with other AAA games from that time, fallout 3 doesn’t look very good in the visual department)
    - The Good: (Good modeling, especially the outdoor environments; Vast and varied outdoor map; Game world feels realistic)
    - The Bad: (Ugly textures; Poor indoor lighting; Limited color scheme (Only 3 prevalent colors: Brown, grey and black); Awful shadow effects (for AAA game at least); Repetitive Indoor maps (Buildings, underground structures, etc..); No dynamic weather; Clunky animations; Some graphic glitches (but not many); Still a bit buggy (Didn’t experience any crashes though))

    ~Sound (Grade 7)
    - The Good: (Realistic sound effects (especially the gun effects))
    - The Bad: (Uninspired voice acting; Generic and painfully repetitive soundtrack)

    ~Story (Grade 5)
    - The Good: (Mother ship Zeta DLC (Very nice story, it’s 7/10 compared with the rest of the game))
    - The Bad: (Generic story; Lack of focus; Uninspired writing; Uninteresting and boring characters)

    ~Gameplay – (Grade 6)
    -The Good: (Decent character creation options; Decent FPS mechanics; Satisfying kills; Fun (at least for the first 8 hours); Decent assortment of weapons and armors; Tons of places to see and explore; 100 hours worth of gameplay)
    -The Bad: (Unbalanced leveling up mechanics that make the game too easy (I have only died 5 or 6 times in 70 hours of playing this game, and that’s because I am not very good at FPS games); Over focus on action (shot first ask questions later mentality)/ few pacifist choices; Action with few tense moments or substance (that’s what happens when you have too much amo and med pack); Boring side quests; Choices didn’t felt that important in the overall scheme of thing; Unexciting loot (most of it is just useless junk); Useless stealth options (it’s always more efficient to just run and gun through a level); Stupid A.I. (The companions I.A. in particular, because they always get in the way).)

    ~Everything else – (Grade 10)
    -The Good: (Decent menu options; Tons of mods to experiment; DLC with good value)

    In conclusion: Despite its multiple faults, Fallout 3 can be fun at times, especially when exploring the cities, but the fun moments are few and far between.
    After 70 Hours of gameplay it left me with a “bad after taste”. It had potential to be great, and at times you can see glimpses of greatness, but unfortunately Bethesda has decided to give us quantity over quality, and the end result is not that great.
    If you like sand box games with tons of places to explore, and are willing to excuse the game’s bad story, awful visuals, zero challenge and repetitive fights. Than this might be a good distraction for you, at least for a few hours, but I recommend installing a few mods first, for the best experience.
    However, if you are looking for an exciting Sci-fi adventure, with interesting characters and story, skip this one and go buy Mass effect or Deus Ex.
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  29. Dec 6, 2013
    5
    For those that have a PS3 or a Xbox 360, I recommend that you should buy this game for those platforms. The game is not bad, its just the crashing of the game for windows. For the first 1 minute of the game, crash! But, if you manage to get past the crashes, the game is good.
  30. May 17, 2014
    5
    This game focus a lot on the side missions and the size of the map rather than providing a good gameplay and storytelling experience. The concept is interesting, but overall the game is clearly overrated.
  31. Oct 7, 2017
    5
    Прежде всего хочу сказать, что нью вегасу я поставил 10 и это моя одна из самых любмиых игр. А вот фоллаут 3 я просто не переношу. Сколько раз я брался его пройти и никогда не могу осилить его до конца. Скучнейшая, примитивная история, скучные квесты убей/принеси, скудный игровой мир, нпц с этой дурацкой системой автолевелинга. мочишь всех супермутантов на изи уже на первых уровнях. НетПрежде всего хочу сказать, что нью вегасу я поставил 10 и это моя одна из самых любмиых игр. А вот фоллаут 3 я просто не переношу. Сколько раз я брался его пройти и никогда не могу осилить его до конца. Скучнейшая, примитивная история, скучные квесты убей/принеси, скудный игровой мир, нпц с этой дурацкой системой автолевелинга. мочишь всех супермутантов на изи уже на первых уровнях. Нет интересных второстепенных персонажей, ужасные локации, которые выглядят как мод к какому-нибудь сталкеру. Expand
  32. Oct 22, 2018
    5
    With this game the restart of a series and simultaneous decrease in a level of quality of a series for a possibility of emergence of a game of service begins
  33. Nov 20, 2018
    5
    Fallout 3 welcomes the Fallout franchise to the world of 3D.
    Here we had not yet seen the revival of interest in the isometric model.
    An awkward conversion, but with the promise of greatness. The classic Fallout RPG mechanics has been adjusted to suit the first person view and action model of a shooter. The step away from turn based, tactical combat too is seen clearly in this new
    Fallout 3 welcomes the Fallout franchise to the world of 3D.
    Here we had not yet seen the revival of interest in the isometric model.

    An awkward conversion, but with the promise of greatness.
    The classic Fallout RPG mechanics has been adjusted to suit the first person view and action model of a shooter. The step away from turn based, tactical combat too is seen clearly in this new iteration.

    We see a shift in storytelling, where the scope of choice is narrowed down though still present. And the general atmosphere of the game is lighter, with jolly music to keep you company as you run or jump across the wasteland to save the world.

    Still, it is Fallout. If a bit bland.
    Bethesda will take what they learned in this game, and make for us a better RPG in the next, surely.
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  34. Jan 8, 2022
    5
    A dissapointment imo. Coming from the old fallouts, I was actually amazed about how surface level the story, characters and themes of this game are. No really, one of the key aspects that made fallout 1 and 2 so amazing comapred to it's contemporaries was its reach story, soemthing this game lacks.
    Along with that, thee roleplaying mechanichs of this game are really underwhelming, it
    A dissapointment imo. Coming from the old fallouts, I was actually amazed about how surface level the story, characters and themes of this game are. No really, one of the key aspects that made fallout 1 and 2 so amazing comapred to it's contemporaries was its reach story, soemthing this game lacks.
    Along with that, thee roleplaying mechanichs of this game are really underwhelming, it doesn't offer mucho of a chance to have your own combat style or give your character some personality through dialogue.
    It's fine on its own I guess, but overall a step back in this franchise.
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  35. May 13, 2021
    5
    Благодаря этой игре я понял за что обожаю новый Вегас. Он понимает что его движок ну совсем не прельщяет стрельбой, и там могут пройти часы без единого выстрела. Здесь экшена так много, что на третий час от него тошнит, и я уверен что моя блевотина будет как раз в тон цветовой гаммы этой игры. Этот эпизод серии не самое худшее что было с фоллом, есть же 76. Нооо, есть первая, есть вторая иБлагодаря этой игре я понял за что обожаю новый Вегас. Он понимает что его движок ну совсем не прельщяет стрельбой, и там могут пройти часы без единого выстрела. Здесь экшена так много, что на третий час от него тошнит, и я уверен что моя блевотина будет как раз в тон цветовой гаммы этой игры. Этот эпизод серии не самое худшее что было с фоллом, есть же 76. Нооо, есть первая, есть вторая и есть Вегас, который во всех аспектах лучше, даже стрелять там не так отвратительно. А если рассматривать третью часть как шутан, то лучше уж в чётвертую пойти. Expand
  36. May 14, 2020
    5
    It's not all bad, I managed to get through the main story. But I was constantly thinking: man what a great game Mass Effect was. I didn't appreciate that one as highly as I should have. Turning Fallout into a shooter, major disappointment. Making it palatable to new players and giving franchise a new lease on life, major win. Rating is the middle ground between the two.
  37. Mar 18, 2023
    5
    Вспоминая третий фолыч, перед глазами предстаёт картина какого-то мутного, зелёного болота. То и дело мелькают образы глупейших квестов и ситуаций, типа города детей или разборок супергероев. Ещё какой то мужик ходит и заявляет что он мой батя, игра как будто рассчитывает что у меня должна быть с ним какая-то эмоциональная связь, но зачем мне цифровой батя я не знаю, возможно это продуктВспоминая третий фолыч, перед глазами предстаёт картина какого-то мутного, зелёного болота. То и дело мелькают образы глупейших квестов и ситуаций, типа города детей или разборок супергероев. Ещё какой то мужик ходит и заявляет что он мой батя, игра как будто рассчитывает что у меня должна быть с ним какая-то эмоциональная связь, но зачем мне цифровой батя я не знаю, возможно это продукт каких то комплексов сценариста. В общем, непонятно зачем этот обливион с пушками был нужен, хотя… На его основе обсидианы потом сделали обалденный Нью Вегас. Так что, какое никакое сомнительное право на жизнь трёшка имеет. Expand
  38. Jul 29, 2022
    5
    An interesting attempt to transfer the legendary world of Fallout into a fully 3D space. The game has its own interesting moments and some atmosphere. And also good additions that reveal more of the lore of the world. But for the most part, it is empty, boring, poor in content, very interesting to explore, and with a rather poor history. Locations are gray and empty. Most travel passesAn interesting attempt to transfer the legendary world of Fallout into a fully 3D space. The game has its own interesting moments and some atmosphere. And also good additions that reveal more of the lore of the world. But for the most part, it is empty, boring, poor in content, very interesting to explore, and with a rather poor history. Locations are gray and empty. Most travel passes through the same type of tunnels (Hi, Skyrim). Cities look corridor-like and limited. Bethesda's idiotic auto-leveling system makes gameplay annoying. The character creation system looks pointless and has almost no effect on anything. Locations are no longer so interesting to explore, there are no interesting descriptions of various items and the possibility of their use. Now it's just trash.
    For me, this is the weakest game in the Fallout series so far.
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  39. WombatO
    Jan 7, 2010
    4
    I expected a lot better from all the hype. The script and character dialog is horrendous. What an injustice for the argument that games are "art". I have fond memories of playing Bethesda's Skynet back in the 90s. Great game. But it must have been developed and written by different people, because this latest effort is poor.
  40. AnonymousMC
    Nov 20, 2008
    4
    This game is pretty and all but, buggy, buggy, buggy. It is completely infuriating. Load, take two steps, crash. Repeat over and over again. patching that they came out with makes it worse. everyone says wait for the real patch? They should have fixed it before they released it. Last game I buy from Bethesda.
  41. ChrisR
    Nov 29, 2008
    4
    Fun game, but I am not particularly happy with paying a lot of money for something that borders on a mod for oblivion, which in itself was a mediocre game with great graphics. Sadly, not much has changed. Rack this one with CounterStrike- Mods that should never have been made.
  42. WilsonT.
    Dec 6, 2008
    4
    Boring characters, quite slow, tiring quests that don't generate enthusiam. Fallout 3 really needed to be a lot better to deserve the high marks. After hours of playing, this had not grabbed me and I left feeling rather unsatisfied, but not disgusted.
  43. RickS
    Oct 30, 2008
    4
    Immature, perverted, silly and a mockery of the fallout series. I came into the game willing to enjoy it, but it seems as though the game scorns the roots from whence it came. Bethesda seems to be totally ignorant of the feel and spirit that went into the original fallout series, instead crafting a strange and unsatisfying view of 1920s-1940s American patriotism and often perverse Immature, perverted, silly and a mockery of the fallout series. I came into the game willing to enjoy it, but it seems as though the game scorns the roots from whence it came. Bethesda seems to be totally ignorant of the feel and spirit that went into the original fallout series, instead crafting a strange and unsatisfying view of 1920s-1940s American patriotism and often perverse dialogue. The people feel dead, and the environments are bland and uncoordinated, I can understand, but it feels clunky as do the menus and pip-boy system. There is an obvious negligence of the developers to make the pc version more than a port and it is aggravating when you consider how much they charge for it. Unbridled gore and slap-stick physics cause the game to loose any charm it may have had and give me a distaste for the combat system. It foregoes game play realism and progression for instant gratification and this is a recipe for disaster. Consider deciding to allow creatures to be tossed 10 feet into the air by a BB shot absurd because it shows an utter lack of tactile sense on the part of the developers in the realm of fallout. The story seems very haphazard for the first part of the game, the choices in dialogue as a 1 or 10 year old gave me a sense of disappointment for the purpose of role-playing and general interest. Thugs get leather jackets in the vault out of nowhere, (recall the only leather in fallout came from Brahmin). The story leaps to extremes without justification and doesn't allow itself to be grounded in fallout canon while posting as genuine. I'm dissapointed, I wasted my money, and I'm ashamed for the gaming community for often undervaluing genius and praising mediocrity. Expand
  44. AnonymousMC
    Jan 13, 2009
    4
    horrible buggy game. Does not work on Windows Vista 64bit at all. Constant crashes and no support from software developer. They told me to install it on Windows XP. I asked if it was suppored under Windows Vista and they said yes but then told me to install it on Windows XP.

    Now that that is out of the way, the story line, graphics and sound are outstanding. The game really
    horrible buggy game. Does not work on Windows Vista 64bit at all. Constant crashes and no support from software developer. They told me to install it on Windows XP. I asked if it was suppored under Windows Vista and they said yes but then told me to install it on Windows XP.

    Now that that is out of the way, the story line, graphics and sound are outstanding. The game really captures you attention and doesnt let go. Watching the nuke detonate in the story line was fantastic and a little scarry. As with all Bethesda games, the voice acting and NPC interaction is excellent. However the story was too short. I finished the game in just under 12 hours of total play time. I wish it could have been longer as I was totally immersed in the post war world.

    My recommendation would be NOT to buy this game, at least until they manage to work out the bugs.
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  45. GordonF
    Apr 19, 2009
    4
    I was eagerly waiting for this game, in fact it was one of the main reasons that I bought a new PC. I love fallout 1 and 2 because of the at(o)mosphere of the game. F3 has got great graphics, but it contains only a small part of the prevoius games' goosebump effect. Combats are quite boring, and in my opinion there is way too much grinding in it. If you know F1 and F2, you know that I was eagerly waiting for this game, in fact it was one of the main reasons that I bought a new PC. I love fallout 1 and 2 because of the at(o)mosphere of the game. F3 has got great graphics, but it contains only a small part of the prevoius games' goosebump effect. Combats are quite boring, and in my opinion there is way too much grinding in it. If you know F1 and F2, you know that you could complete it with talking. I miss this now. So F3 is the perfect example that graphics are not the main importance. I give this game a 4 because it has ruined the original and incomparable fallout-feeling. Sad. Expand
  46. PaulC.
    Nov 1, 2008
    4
    It's a shoddy XBOX port. I hope they tone down the MASSIVE interface fonts (We play on monitors with much better resolution Bethesda - didn't you know that ??) The control system is clunky, the graphics are slightly worse than Oblivion (which is over 2 and a half years old) The RPG elements have been ripped to the bare bones. progression, authenticity ( to the original games) It's a shoddy XBOX port. I hope they tone down the MASSIVE interface fonts (We play on monitors with much better resolution Bethesda - didn't you know that ??) The control system is clunky, the graphics are slightly worse than Oblivion (which is over 2 and a half years old) The RPG elements have been ripped to the bare bones. progression, authenticity ( to the original games) drama, detail, tactics, strategy, RPG.. If you are looking for any of the above go elsewhere, this is a point and click shooter with the tiniest bit of customization and progression added to appease the RPG fans. IMO it fails, 2 days after buying this I'm playing Fallout 2 again, and feeliong really cheesed off that Bethesda cocked this up so massively. Expand
  47. AnonymousMC
    Nov 2, 2008
    4
    Hmmm that game is probably The Fallout 3 but i look into that game and cant find enything who show me that Fallout in this product - Bethezda one more time show to game comunity how to destroy a good game that is not a Fallout that is a Oblivion with guns
  48. CrazyHobo
    Jan 20, 2009
    4
    If you want to witness the very definition of a mediocre game (as in "not bad and not good at the same time", not "the perfect representative of the usuall crap"), then play this. If not, don't bother. But seriously, it has it all - mediocre combat (and lots of it), mediocre speech sections, mediocre setting, mediocre landscapes and landmarks to visit (most of them are pretty good on If you want to witness the very definition of a mediocre game (as in "not bad and not good at the same time", not "the perfect representative of the usuall crap"), then play this. If not, don't bother. But seriously, it has it all - mediocre combat (and lots of it), mediocre speech sections, mediocre setting, mediocre landscapes and landmarks to visit (most of them are pretty good on their own, but they are so similar that you quickly stop caring after the nth metro station / ruined home / vault / ...), mediocre enemies to fight (again, the complaint is similar as with the locations), mediocre quests (well, a few are good, but those are balanced out by the bad ones quite nicely) and mediocre and uninspired writing. Still, it's much better than Oblivion, which was the previous RPG in this style from this developer, even though it feels like a conversion of it at times. Then again, the only way to go from it was up, so... Oh, and don't mistake this game for a part of the Fallout series. I know, I know, it's called "Fallout 3", but about the only thing that connects it to its supposed predecessors is the butchered setting and forced references. Honestly, those feel so out of place for someone who has played FO1 and FO2 that the game would probably have been better without them. I'd give this game a 5/10, but it can't NOT lose a point for it's ending. It's not mediocre, it's bad. And so it gets a 4. It has so much content outside of the progressively more dumb main quest that this may not even be an issue for some. In summary, if you have time for video games and no good games on which to spend it then it can be a viable substitute. Otherwise don't waste your time. Expand
  49. pffftFTW
    Dec 2, 2009
    4
    I really tried to like this game. I installed it and played for 30 mins and gave up than i returned to it and played for a couple of hours. I couldn't stand it more. +great 1st cut scene (when the radio starts playing that old song I was like omg this is gonna be great) +from what I've played I understood that you really impact the outcome of the story -graphics (i know I really tried to like this game. I installed it and played for 30 mins and gave up than i returned to it and played for a couple of hours. I couldn't stand it more. +great 1st cut scene (when the radio starts playing that old song I was like omg this is gonna be great) +from what I've played I understood that you really impact the outcome of the story -graphics (i know it's post nuclear war but that grey just puts me off) -animation (i hate the way the characters move, they seem to float over the ground when walking, people talk to me while i face their backs, etc) -too much dialog, i know its a rpg but wtf? tons of dialog -vats system is awkward for me, the fps is somehow retarded (i shoot people in the head from like 1m and they are ok) +the radio, cool tunes Overall I just didn't get into the atmosphere. I played stalker: clear sky and its just so much better. Expand
  50. DavidB
    May 14, 2009
    4
    This game was talked about and talked about and talked about. And everyone was saying it was going to be the greatest game ever, that it was going to blow our faces off. For the first month that I played it, it did, but then I realized that they had pulled the wool over my eyes. There's literally nothing in this game! There's like ten quest and like three towns and only like 8 This game was talked about and talked about and talked about. And everyone was saying it was going to be the greatest game ever, that it was going to blow our faces off. For the first month that I played it, it did, but then I realized that they had pulled the wool over my eyes. There's literally nothing in this game! There's like ten quest and like three towns and only like 8 different kinds of enemies. There are whole places of the game where they completely forgot to put anything in. It's just empty space. One of the worst parts is theres a lot of references to things that could be quests but theres no quest attached to them. That means that the game developers weren't even close to finished with making the game. The worst part of all is that the main quest last like 5 mins and incredibly boring. However unlike most people who hated the game I thought the first person shooting was absolutely amazing. If they quadruple the content of the game it would be amazing but there is almost nothing in it and there will always be nothing in it. Expand
  51. SM
    May 16, 2009
    4
    You either love it or hate it. Frankly, it's a disappointment to the fans of the original Fallout. It doesn't have what was special about the Fallout series. The other Fallout games had a small world, unbalanced, buggy gameplay, but what you did mattered. It was a roleplaying game in spirit. Fallout 3 is a wonderful game, with a large world, plenty of things to explore, a fun You either love it or hate it. Frankly, it's a disappointment to the fans of the original Fallout. It doesn't have what was special about the Fallout series. The other Fallout games had a small world, unbalanced, buggy gameplay, but what you did mattered. It was a roleplaying game in spirit. Fallout 3 is a wonderful game, with a large world, plenty of things to explore, a fun combat system. It has more of an exploration feel, where you wander in dungeons, killing things, finding interesting hidden stuff, but doesn't have much detail in interactions and has the worst ending of every Fallout game. It's unworthy as a sequel. It has the art style, but not the spirit. It would be good if they just called it Fallout: D.C, and I dock 1 point from the rating for the disappointment. You'll either love it, be disappointed, or hate it. Explorers and casual gamers will love it. Roleplayers will hate it. Expand
  52. AnonymousMC
    Jun 20, 2009
    4
    Okay i played this game the first time and i loved it. But therre were a few problems. Like how hard it is to navigate the whole place on foot. Plus it's very hard to find ammo. People are also to hard to kill. At least bethesda making a new game that actually looks good!
  53. DaveJ
    Sep 17, 2009
    4
    Glitchy, uninspiriny remake of Daggerfall with guns, again. Might have been passable a decade ago but quite honestly, story telling and gameplay have moved on a lot since then. Even farcry for all it's nonsensical plot, half finished feel, had some excitement during missions, here there's none. You have an indicator at the top of the screen to show when someone's seen you Glitchy, uninspiriny remake of Daggerfall with guns, again. Might have been passable a decade ago but quite honestly, story telling and gameplay have moved on a lot since then. Even farcry for all it's nonsensical plot, half finished feel, had some excitement during missions, here there's none. You have an indicator at the top of the screen to show when someone's seen you and one at the bottom showing the direction towards both enemies and mission goals, combat largely consists of calling up the VATS and clicking the target's head a few times, then pressing the E key ... all the player involvement of Progress quest, at least progress is honest about what it's doing. Graphics are similarly dated, probably about as good as Oblivion. The CTDs bugged me too. I have played GTA IV (another notorious program) for hours at once, with only the occasional problem, this CTDs regularly. Similarly Mass Effect, Deadspace, ME2TW and a host of other games have never given me a problem. Aparently it MAY be a problem with Creative sound cards, but should that really be my problem bethesda? All the other developers seem to be able to work them out. I'd suspect the problems more likely arise from the root kit protection system they use or, perhaps, the beta version of dot net it installs on your system that cause the problems. Storytelling is weak, acting, whilst not terrible is variable, the only mystery revealed, after many hours of play is "Why is this game so highly rated?". Time freezes whenever you have a conversation, and in some circumstances it's perfectly possible to have a lengthy chat, mid combat. I give it a charitable 4. Expand
  54. AnonymousMC
    Sep 22, 2009
    4
    ok this game has a lot of hype for a not so flashy game. the graphics were a peice of shit. it was only interesting through one play through. its really not that great i am going to get the expansion packs to see if that will make it more interesting
    8 first play through 4 after that
  55. RobertB
    Dec 21, 2008
    4
    Fallout 3 is absolutely not a part of the original Fallout Franchise. It's more a Feature and a bad ripoff of the original Games. All you can do is run around and shoot Stuff thats acting quite stupid. Not many Quests, and they tend to become boring after a while. This Game is advertising with great replayablility, but in fact it's just another Facette which gives the same Fallout 3 is absolutely not a part of the original Fallout Franchise. It's more a Feature and a bad ripoff of the original Games. All you can do is run around and shoot Stuff thats acting quite stupid. Not many Quests, and they tend to become boring after a while. This Game is advertising with great replayablility, but in fact it's just another Facette which gives the same results. Even the Karmasystem influencing NPC behavious towards you is totally messed up when you compare it to the old games, not to mention the Script of the Mainquest. Go to the Mutievault where the Geck is and *boom* you are abducted without even knowing what's going on or what that secret Project is on what your Father worked. You still can give the Answers as if you would know. Also... the Ending. 90% Rad Resistance and yet you die. WTF. And you can't send in the Supermutant who has retrieved the Geck from a Deathzone for you. Bullocks. PS The Bloody Mess Trait isn't what you expect from the Game when you played the prior Installments (on the old Engine, there where two kinds of Deathanimation: Normal and cruel Splatter on Critical Hits): Killing People with Bloody Mess malms everything of their Body as if they'd explode from the Inside out. Believe me, it sounds better than it plays. Expand
  56. KeithB.
    Nov 11, 2008
    4
    This game is a highlight of the derivative - meaning it is exceedingly derivative given its visibility. Sure, there are tons of generic copy-paste DS brain-age games, PC FPSes, etc, but they generally are forgotten within weeks of release. But this game is a big deal, and it's getting nothing but great reviews(just like what happened with Oblivion), meaning it will have lasting This game is a highlight of the derivative - meaning it is exceedingly derivative given its visibility. Sure, there are tons of generic copy-paste DS brain-age games, PC FPSes, etc, but they generally are forgotten within weeks of release. But this game is a big deal, and it's getting nothing but great reviews(just like what happened with Oblivion), meaning it will have lasting visibility. Is it too much to ask for an RPG to "capture my imagination"? What ever happened to that concept? I know it's still possible. Portal captured my imagination. Katamari Damacy did it. So why has it been so long since an RPG has done it? RPGs are the games that need to do this MOST! Expand
  57. ColbyA.
    Nov 29, 2008
    4
    Oblivion FPS Mod. Poor storyline, poor execution. Not what I had hoped. The V.A.T.S. system takes most of the skill out of the game, and I still don't get how I can miss 5 shots with a 95% chance to hit, but get 3 shots with a 5% chance to hit. No sense at all. And the AI left much to be desired. Much like FarCry 2, this game falls short of its promises. Also, the storyline is Oblivion FPS Mod. Poor storyline, poor execution. Not what I had hoped. The V.A.T.S. system takes most of the skill out of the game, and I still don't get how I can miss 5 shots with a 95% chance to hit, but get 3 shots with a 5% chance to hit. No sense at all. And the AI left much to be desired. Much like FarCry 2, this game falls short of its promises. Also, the storyline is incredibly short and the game ends - it's not open-ended roaming, you can complete and end the game. Even after I did ALL of the sidequests in the game and then completed the main quest, it was still very short. I'd recommend another game over this. Expand
  58. Nov 26, 2010
    4
    When I heard that Bethesda(somebody, please! Help me about pronunciation) was going to make a new Fallout game, I felt tight little bit. Just because this is a company that makes games which are both massive, and at the same time superb boring. Take Oblivion for example: At first massiveness of the game embraces you thanks to all the details like story, music, etc... but all these stuffWhen I heard that Bethesda(somebody, please! Help me about pronunciation) was going to make a new Fallout game, I felt tight little bit. Just because this is a company that makes games which are both massive, and at the same time superb boring. Take Oblivion for example: At first massiveness of the game embraces you thanks to all the details like story, music, etc... but all these stuff has only 3 or 4 hours lifetime. We have same thing for Fallout 3 here. Post Apocalyptic world with 3d graphics, some different quest, weapons bla bla.. but beyond all of these, this game has no soul. All characters in the game are so mechanic and dull. They speak as if if they were forth or fifth class actors. All the environmental is lack of persuasiveness. so on ans so forth. From that point, this game looks like a more fan-base 3d Fallout clone(and I would give 8 if it was) rather than spiritual incomer for original Fallout. Expand
  59. Mar 5, 2011
    4
    The people in charge of handing out Game Of The Year awards should be ashamed of themselves for giving this bug ridden game the award. Bethesda show complete lack of care for their customers by churning out such a blatantly unfinished product. The gameplay is also repetative to the point of being boring. There are some saving graces but whats the point when the coding is this bad.
  60. May 9, 2011
    4
    This game loves to crash, interesting my fix is not running the game with quad-cores good start. But thats fixed and when you go past it? Well it starts well the atmosphere is good though I can't say I ever felt any engagement with the plot, but none the less the atmosphere is pretty dam good. BUT, that doesnt last once the wasteland starts to feel more familiar , it feel safe, youThis game loves to crash, interesting my fix is not running the game with quad-cores good start. But thats fixed and when you go past it? Well it starts well the atmosphere is good though I can't say I ever felt any engagement with the plot, but none the less the atmosphere is pretty dam good. BUT, that doesnt last once the wasteland starts to feel more familiar , it feel safe, you reach a point of financial comfort and then it's kind of over. The rpg/shooter gameplay is far from a stong point and simply doesnt carry the game when the feel fades. Had the game kept the player from feeling comfy and maintained the feel of the wastes no doubt I would be giving this 8+ despite its poor gameplay but sadly this isnt the case and the game just falls short of the mark. Expand
  61. Aug 26, 2011
    4
    This might not be completely fair as i never finished the game but the game just did not resonate with me. The story was decent but not as entertaining as i wanted, i found the gameplay to be incredibly boring for the first two hours and once you finally escape the vault, the wastelands are depressing and unappealing. The graphics were good but because of the setting it just felt tooThis might not be completely fair as i never finished the game but the game just did not resonate with me. The story was decent but not as entertaining as i wanted, i found the gameplay to be incredibly boring for the first two hours and once you finally escape the vault, the wastelands are depressing and unappealing. The graphics were good but because of the setting it just felt too heavily textured and bland. The guns were okay but i didnt progress far enough to discover anything all that interesting. On top of that the game felt confusing with too many things going on at once. In the end i just found the game to be unattractive and boring. Expand
  62. Jan 20, 2012
    4
    As a game, Fallout 3 is mediocre at best. As a Fallout game, it falls flat on it's face. It seems as though Bethesda really couldn't grasp what the feel of Fallout was supposed to be.

    Most of the environments were uninteresting, the characters really had no depth, the main quest line was a joke, RPG elements were incredibly weak (You could easily "break" the game becoming too powerful),
    As a game, Fallout 3 is mediocre at best. As a Fallout game, it falls flat on it's face. It seems as though Bethesda really couldn't grasp what the feel of Fallout was supposed to be.

    Most of the environments were uninteresting, the characters really had no depth, the main quest line was a joke, RPG elements were incredibly weak (You could easily "break" the game becoming too powerful), the animation is just awful, and the writing and voice acting is cringe-worthy.

    The game can be enjoyable at times, but for the most part it's not a great follow-up to Fallout 2 or 1.
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  63. Aug 6, 2012
    4
    A horrible, flawed title with bugs, a poor storyline and little roleplaying options - an undeserving attempt at one of the greatest RPGs of all time - Fallout. You manage to defeat Vault security despite being a Level 1 wimp, then proceed to destroy supermutants and the Enclave with no particular hardship. On your journey, you meet boring, shallow and two-dimensional characters with poorA horrible, flawed title with bugs, a poor storyline and little roleplaying options - an undeserving attempt at one of the greatest RPGs of all time - Fallout. You manage to defeat Vault security despite being a Level 1 wimp, then proceed to destroy supermutants and the Enclave with no particular hardship. On your journey, you meet boring, shallow and two-dimensional characters with poor voice acting who give you just as boring and shallow quests. The UI can be a chore to use. The game has countless bugs and the animations do *not* resemble human beings. That's not to say, it contradicts the already established Fallout lore. It can be a fun game, but only for a little while. Expand
  64. Nov 22, 2015
    4
    I decided to play this game once more, so I did. And what a surprise, I found out how stupid I was. How can I ever like that kind of crap. No I'm no longer an idiot.
  65. Sep 11, 2015
    4
    Meh.

    I loved F1 and F2, and was really looking forward to F3. I played for about 10 hours, but ended up uninstalling it. I couldn't put my finger on it. It just wasn't compelling enough to continue. It felt very slow paced and uninteresting. Borderlands filled the void *really* well. :)
  66. Oct 29, 2015
    4
    Personally for me this game is a bit of a flop and i cant really fathom why it has such great scores. It isnt bad, but it certainly isnt great. It is horrendously buggy as well, even for a bethesda game. There is little in the way of narrative which means there is a lack of story to it. Its basically a big sandbox, but there are better sand boxes out there if you ask me. It is also aPersonally for me this game is a bit of a flop and i cant really fathom why it has such great scores. It isnt bad, but it certainly isnt great. It is horrendously buggy as well, even for a bethesda game. There is little in the way of narrative which means there is a lack of story to it. Its basically a big sandbox, but there are better sand boxes out there if you ask me. It is also a big problem in not being able to drive around the wasteland. A bike would have gone a long way to making this game better. It really is a bit like GTA without cars. The UI is pretty horrible and the dialogue screen is also pretty ugly. And I dont think the character models are particularly good either. The combat is ok, but again, could be better. All in all i actually enjoyed playing RAGE more than this, becaus ethe combat was better and there was a better storyline running through it. I think this is an average game. Get it on a big sale, but otherwise dont bother. There are better games out there if you ask me. Expand
  67. Sep 9, 2012
    4
    When Bethesda announced new Fallout game i was really excited. In the end fallout 3 was one of the biggest disappointments. Game play is inferior to both Oblivion and original fallout. The main story line is short and boring. I expected much more from Bethesda.
  68. Mar 13, 2013
    4
    Oh, dear, oh, dear... I tried to love this game so hard... I'm just going to say sorry for the guys that love this game. You have the right to love it, it's fair, but it seems that you either got spoiled by modern game industry or didn't know the beauty of TRUE Fallout universe. Bethesda needs to understand, that not every game that it does needs to be done in the same manner. In the endOh, dear, oh, dear... I tried to love this game so hard... I'm just going to say sorry for the guys that love this game. You have the right to love it, it's fair, but it seems that you either got spoiled by modern game industry or didn't know the beauty of TRUE Fallout universe. Bethesda needs to understand, that not every game that it does needs to be done in the same manner. In the end Fallout started to look like The Elder Scrolls after a while. Please, do not misunderstand me, I love TES, but it's design is unique and suitable only for itself. Bethesda seems to think otherwise. Fallout 3 turned out to be more of a shooter, than an RPG. And when I say that, I mean: 90% shooter, 10% RPG. And in the end: it's certainly isn't the best of both world, but a bad example of adapting a series. The game may be enjoyable for new gamers, but for the old school type of gamers this will be a huge disappointment. I'm still in shock trying to figure out why it's score is better than Fallout 2's... Expand
  69. Feb 28, 2014
    4
    This is definitely a game where the user reviews reflect the quality far better than the critic reviews. As an FPS the game is slow and clunky, the weapons lack iron sights, and the enemies are hp sponges.(Human enemies can survive point blank headshots.) Vats is what you'll be using, a boring slow mo action sequence that's buggy and unreliable. As an RPG there is decent c&c, but characterThis is definitely a game where the user reviews reflect the quality far better than the critic reviews. As an FPS the game is slow and clunky, the weapons lack iron sights, and the enemies are hp sponges.(Human enemies can survive point blank headshots.) Vats is what you'll be using, a boring slow mo action sequence that's buggy and unreliable. As an RPG there is decent c&c, but character building is uninspired and many of the perks and stats have little to no effect on how you play the game.

    It's bug riddled, even with the patches, the ending is shoddy, and it isn't much better with DLC. All in all fairly mediocre, it does have scale on it's side, it's one of the larger games I've played, and the atmosphere is rather nice, otherwise don't bother with this game, it certainly doesn't stand the test of time, and likely only garnered universal acclaim because of it's sheer scale at the time of it's release.
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  70. Jan 10, 2019
    4
    Я буду писать много текста, потому что я под эффектом, я буду много печатать по клавишам моей клавиатуры, буду пытаться не писать от балды и соблюдать грамматику и знаки препинания но не обещаю. Это потому что я всегда пишу от своего чистого сердца это как преобразовывать то что ты говоришь сразу же вот и у меня так же. У меня нет аппарата который стоит между ними и так сказать сортирует иЯ буду писать много текста, потому что я под эффектом, я буду много печатать по клавишам моей клавиатуры, буду пытаться не писать от балды и соблюдать грамматику и знаки препинания но не обещаю. Это потому что я всегда пишу от своего чистого сердца это как преобразовывать то что ты говоришь сразу же вот и у меня так же. У меня нет аппарата который стоит между ними и так сказать сортирует и фиксит это все. Впервые с фаллаутом 3 я познакомился еще в том году когда она скорее всего вышла, я не помню точно но вроде мне было 8 лет, я родился в 01 и скорее всего это был конец 9ого либо 10ый. Диск с игрой принес старший брат, мне он не разрешал в него играть, и я всегда мечтал поиграть в него самому в то время. Я боялся монстров, не знаю почему но икона пакета крови в пип бое меня вечно пугала и когда я смотрел на него у меня болела душа. И с этой игрой у меня связана фигня с тем что у меня в ушах начало звинеть и наверное из-за этого она мне запомнилась. И теперь наконец то в 19-ом году мои руки дошли в него нормально поиграть просто в других попытках игра вечно не хотела запускаться на современных виндувсах и я нашел решение, оказывается гоговцы перерелизнули игру с фиксами и игра работает как по маслу. И какое же мое удивление было когда я поел этого говна. Я просто не мог ожидать что игра может быть настолько плохой. Просто наверное может быть мое мнение не настолько объективное ведь я не играл в игру в 2008 или может быть я не могу сравнить её с играми того времени но блять она реально настолько плохая что пиздец! И какое же блять мое разочарование было когда я вижу оценку 91 на метакритике! Да и юзер скор блять 8 из 10! Сука! Почему люди такие говноеды? Почему сука? Почему я живу с такими долбоебами на одной ебучей планете? Из-за такой хуйни мне начинает казаться что я долбоеб а они все нормальные люди. Скорее всего этой хуйне даже есть научный термин или что-то в этом подобии. Тут даже описать не надо почему игра плоха, лор, квесты, анимации физика, стрельба, диалоги, баги. Иногда очень редко бывали интересные моменты но это очень редко. В игре нет выбора, ну он блять типа плохой или хороший, это не выбор это хуета. Смысл игры тоже хуевый найти отца который сдохнет (ОЙ БЛЯТЬ ПРОСТИТЕ ЗА СПОЙЛЕР) и вообще всем похуй и даже гг. Вообщем ну реально бля это полный калл даже для того времени.
    Ставлю хуевую оценку но не ниже как в Скайриме потому что более менее в эту залупу можно поиграть и получить "какое-то" удовольствие.
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  71. Nov 16, 2021
    4
    People said this was the worst thing to happen to Fallout when it was first released. Bethesda had to prove them wrong twice over.
  72. May 26, 2021
    4
    Стрельба в игре кривая что капец спасает только система VATS. Сюжет средний, чтобы надеть силовую броню нужно умение! Какое нафиг умение просто надень. Оружия много но все оно кривое, и мне очень интересно почему враги ни одной пули в меня не промазали. Радио «Новости Галактики» если просто ходит исследовать мир и не выполнять сюжет Тридогнайт повторяет одно и тоже про выходца из убежища.Стрельба в игре кривая что капец спасает только система VATS. Сюжет средний, чтобы надеть силовую броню нужно умение! Какое нафиг умение просто надень. Оружия много но все оно кривое, и мне очень интересно почему враги ни одной пули в меня не промазали. Радио «Новости Галактики» если просто ходит исследовать мир и не выполнять сюжет Тридогнайт повторяет одно и тоже про выходца из убежища. Управление на геймпаде кривое. И очень сильно раздражает что нельзя ходит по городам куда хочешь везде завалы и нужно пользоваться всякими подземельями чтобы их обойти, что так трудно убрать эти завалы? Expand
  73. Jan 5, 2021
    4
    Look I can completely respect anybody's opinions and stuff for liking this game, and I'm not saying you can't enjoy Fallout 3, but you have to admit that Fallout 3 is objectively the worst Fallout, as there is little to no emotional stakes and dilemmas for your character to come across in the world of Fallout 3. As in, there is no real choices to be made as you can only ever be either aLook I can completely respect anybody's opinions and stuff for liking this game, and I'm not saying you can't enjoy Fallout 3, but you have to admit that Fallout 3 is objectively the worst Fallout, as there is little to no emotional stakes and dilemmas for your character to come across in the world of Fallout 3. As in, there is no real choices to be made as you can only ever be either a goodie two shoes or Satan, there is no grey area where different opinions can lead to different choices that be both good or bad in different perspectives like in the previous games or even Fallout New Vegas. Also Todd Howard is an atrocious game designer, as he made the terrible mistake of generally leveling every enemy in the game to be beatable by a low level character as he thought that would be the easy solution to solving the problem of "if the player can go anywhere immediately how can we make sure they don't unfairly die against high level enemies?" As a result after a few level ups you are practically unstoppable and all sense of danger or tension from combat is erased. Another example Todd's lazy excuses for game design would be the quest marker, instead of using elements of the game's potential design or atmosphere to give the player a sense of direction he lazily put a marker in the bottom corner of our screen to help us. I ask you this, is it challenging or rewarding to discover a new area from walking in a straight line? No? I thought so. Now with all this negativity there is some positive things to be said about Fallout 3, like you said simply exploring the world can just be really fun in its own right and a good chunk of those side quests can be really engaging. However, what Bethesda and a lot of game reviewers say about this game, that it's a game about player choice and freedom, with a grand amount of good quality content when the evidence I provided with this comment clearly states the contrary, you should know that they are wrong, and that Fallout 3 is objectively the worst game in the series. Apart from Fallout 76. Expand
  74. Sep 11, 2023
    4
    It's just a sucky version of Fallout New Vegas, my advice is to just play that instead
  75. AnonymousMC
    Oct 28, 2008
    3
    i thought this was going to be a rpg. i was apparently mistaken. i am 2 hours after the intro, in the game. have still not met anyone i could talk to. just random shooting. gush the genre tag is a major lie. this does really not deserve to be part of the fallout franchise.
  76. GerardH
    Apr 19, 2009
    3
    The beginning of Fallout 3 is very promising, but from that point onward, it's downhill straight to gamers hell. The FPS mode isn't fulfilling comparing to shooters, the "oh so beautiful" landscape is just copy+paste, the main plot is too short and interactions with NPCs are dull. Not to mention uninteresting quests. And the bugs. Man, check out the list of bugs. That's the The beginning of Fallout 3 is very promising, but from that point onward, it's downhill straight to gamers hell. The FPS mode isn't fulfilling comparing to shooters, the "oh so beautiful" landscape is just copy+paste, the main plot is too short and interactions with NPCs are dull. Not to mention uninteresting quests. And the bugs. Man, check out the list of bugs. That's the best "review" of this game. Expand
  77. KMachine
    Dec 28, 2008
    3
    And here's why: 1) Poor AI. 2) No item shortcuts (ex: You need to open your Pip Boy everytime you need to switch weapons, which gets really annoying over time). 3) You can't sprint in this game. 4) Bugs , Crashes and sudden blackscreens (PC Version). 5) No destructable environment 6) No flashlights. 7) And the last of all, the cherry on the cake: You can't even CLIMB piles And here's why: 1) Poor AI. 2) No item shortcuts (ex: You need to open your Pip Boy everytime you need to switch weapons, which gets really annoying over time). 3) You can't sprint in this game. 4) Bugs , Crashes and sudden blackscreens (PC Version). 5) No destructable environment 6) No flashlights. 7) And the last of all, the cherry on the cake: You can't even CLIMB piles of ruins for shortcuts. Now THAT's stupid. Sandbox game? You got to be kidding me. On the other hand, Graphics do seem old but for people who doesn't have a high spec computer, It's ok. Due to poor AI, combat is easy if you have tactical talents. Easy to understand tutorial... That's all. Expand
  78. KentL
    Apr 27, 2009
    3
    This games tries to paint a barren wasteland in DC but it fails. It essentially gives the player too much freedom and it's unfair to Bethesdas customers to release such an unfinished game. If I'd have to option to pay what I think this game is worth I'd only pay 4 Euro at most. As a player you often stray away from the main quest and go to many places if only to explore but This games tries to paint a barren wasteland in DC but it fails. It essentially gives the player too much freedom and it's unfair to Bethesdas customers to release such an unfinished game. If I'd have to option to pay what I think this game is worth I'd only pay 4 Euro at most. As a player you often stray away from the main quest and go to many places if only to explore but the extremely populated wastes really ruins the player's experience and it doesn't feel much at all like a barren wasteland and you always feel safe in towns. You actually never feel insecure because the enemies you face have often the same level as you and when you get access to the more advanced weapons and armor you start to think that it's too easy and when it's not it's extremely unfair. Like dashing up certain enemies with loads of HP and damage capability. This is a game much like Oblivion is a pure flop and the mods available isn't much help because Bethesda screved this game up so much now that not even it's community could save it. Expand
  79. Jul 15, 2011
    3
    I don't even know where to start... Fallout 3 is most certainly an amusing game - when it works. Yes, when, not if. This game is moody like a pregnant woman, no two seemingly identical situations actually turn out exactly alike. And unfortunately, thats mostly not because of the - admittedly - inventive ways to solve quests, but rather the result of a failing script. So let's start withI don't even know where to start... Fallout 3 is most certainly an amusing game - when it works. Yes, when, not if. This game is moody like a pregnant woman, no two seemingly identical situations actually turn out exactly alike. And unfortunately, thats mostly not because of the - admittedly - inventive ways to solve quests, but rather the result of a failing script. So let's start with the positives and then work our way up.

    - Atmosphere: The game has that. You step out into a vast, devastated wasteland, inhabited by mostly hostile creatures after your hide. The world is enormous, it takes weeks to see all the places, never mind solving the problems you are confronted with.

    - Variation: As said above, every little job has a good handful of solutions. Want the super powerful armor out of that deep pre-war bunker? Perhaps hacking through the security systems will do? No? Then perhaps you could pick the locks and trust in your weapons for the hostile robots and turrets in your way. Of course, if you are good enough, why not sneak past them? Or, of you are the Highway-man type, why not just tell someone else where to find what you seek and wait with your gun at your side once they fought through hordes of robots, turrets and traps so you won't have to?

    - Humor: Admittedly, not everyones cup of tea, but Fallout has and always had a pretty... unique type of humor. Fallout 3 dropped the ball a little compared to its predecessors, but it still does a fine job confronting you with dozens of scenarios that leave you standing there scratching your head.

    - Compelling Story: Yup, it has that. Definitely. Long, interesting and with a lot of twists and a very interesting ending - which I loved. Just that much: The solution stares you in the face since you learned to walk and yet it takes a couple of minutes to think of it. Brilliant!


    That leads us to the bad parts. I will not list them all. I will simply list the most glaring of them. - Bugs: Yes. Loads and loads and loads of them. Some are critical, some are not. The fact is, this game is the worst bit of software I have ever had the misfortune to lay my hands on. I bought the game twice - once at release and then a few years later via steam. Neither version could be compelled to work as intended, if at all. Most of the time, you sit there wandering how the heck you go around that particular bug again. Not fun. At all.

    - No customer support: Bethesda has kept themselves rather... covered concerning their shoddy piece of junk. No solutions are forthcoming unless you brave the community-forums - which are admittedly very open and helpful.

    - Combat: Not half as much fun as it is supposed to be... for a shooter, the aiming is to imprecise and the damage simply too low to be fun. For a tactic-shooter, the mobs are too stupid. Hide behind a corner with your trusty Combat-Shotgun and nothing will ever be able to stop you. So yeah, nice idea, bad execution. Try again, please!


    In conclusion: This game could be great, but it simply isn't because it isn't working. Don't do this to yourself until Bethesda fixed what they should have done right in the first place. Amusingly enough, a quote from the game itself: "It is easier to do things right than later explain why that hasn't been done." [I am unfortunately german, thus have the german version which is even worse due to horrid synchro. So the quote MAY be diffrent in english, I wouldn't know. The meaning is the same.]
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  80. Jul 17, 2011
    3
    As a stand alone its a great game, just by being plain fun to play. Boring main quest and, unkillable children (dont put them there if i cant shoot them in the face) and other idiotic flaws like that drags it down but overall its a good game.

    As a sequel it fails miserably, at least according to my personal definition of what a sequel is. This is a first person real time action/rpg with
    As a stand alone its a great game, just by being plain fun to play. Boring main quest and, unkillable children (dont put them there if i cant shoot them in the face) and other idiotic flaws like that drags it down but overall its a good game.

    As a sequel it fails miserably, at least according to my personal definition of what a sequel is.
    This is a first person real time action/rpg with pause bullet time. (NO GROIN SHOTS WTF)
    It fails to capture the spirit of its predecessor, not saying Fallout 2 is a better game, but fallout 3 is a horrible sequel.
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  81. Jul 29, 2013
    3
    Trash and disgrace to the name. It's a mediocre shooter game, except that you will miss even if your cursor is exactly on the target since your skill with guns isn't high enough. Nice graphics, sure, but the gameplay is way out of anything related to Fallout. I didn't play it past the starting location and I am sure there is nothing more to see in this game. The developers are just anotherTrash and disgrace to the name. It's a mediocre shooter game, except that you will miss even if your cursor is exactly on the target since your skill with guns isn't high enough. Nice graphics, sure, but the gameplay is way out of anything related to Fallout. I didn't play it past the starting location and I am sure there is nothing more to see in this game. The developers are just another league compared to the creators of the original Fallout 1 and 2 games. If you want to make a shooter game, name it different, why take "Fallout" and anger the fans? Expand
  82. May 22, 2019
    3
    I thought it was a good game when I played it as a kid back in 2009. However, it really isn't good. It's a bad game in most aspects. Compare it to New Vegas and it's just pathetic in every way.
  83. Sep 16, 2017
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This game should not be called fallout. Fallout is entirely different, than what this game is. This is just a shooter, "glorified" with a terrible story, awkward voice acting, AND you have to buy a dlc to continue playing after you finished the main story. Not to mention, the game is really easy due to the fact that the player could just rush the story. Also, in the last mission, you can't even really kill anybody, and you actively have to hunt enemies so maybe you can get the kill. The only reason it's even playable is the atmosphere of a post apocalyptic DC, and wandering in the totally unbalanced wastes. If you want to play a fallout game, just go play FNV, you won't regret it. Expand
  84. Nov 27, 2018
    3
    And even more than the lack of plot depth, the world just did not have the same permanence as Fallouts past. A few days (an hour or two, depending on what you were doing) and you were welcomed once again. And this applies to just flat out shooting someone in the face in town square. At noon. In Fallout past, that would have guaranteed death on sight. In Fallout 3, it is a temporaryAnd even more than the lack of plot depth, the world just did not have the same permanence as Fallouts past. A few days (an hour or two, depending on what you were doing) and you were welcomed once again. And this applies to just flat out shooting someone in the face in town square. At noon. In Fallout past, that would have guaranteed death on sight. In Fallout 3, it is a temporary annoyance.

    And also, in this new Fallout world, your freedom of action is greatly limited, plus your character variety is badly flawed. In Fallout previous, your attributed determined your skillsets, which determined your approach to the game, from brute force hulk with BIG guns, to the leader of a party through Charisma, Fallout allowed you ultimate freedom to solve your quests. Not Fallout 3. The few skills you have to work with now matter less than the three you actually need to finish the game.

    Yes, the world is huge compared to Fallout previous, but is so EMPTY compared to the previous offerings. It is a wasteland, devoid of the culture that made Fallout special. Plus the way you get sucked into the rushed ending, with no warning that you are in the endgame, left me frustrated that I really had no opportunity to explore the landscape fully.

    Overall, this feels like another game wearing Fallout clothes, and doing it badly. A below average FPS, and a bad RPG, but overall a slap in the face to RPG fans, and another stain on the franchise. Bethesda is absolute trash
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  85. Dec 2, 2018
    3
    Fallout 3 is a all-round glitchy and rather boring game, with a weak plot and characters. Compared to its squeals, Fallout 3 has characters and companions with no personality, only existing to hand out quests to the player. The story is rather uninteresting and can be completed in under a hour if you follow only the main plot. The game in itself is plagued with glitches and mistakes thatFallout 3 is a all-round glitchy and rather boring game, with a weak plot and characters. Compared to its squeals, Fallout 3 has characters and companions with no personality, only existing to hand out quests to the player. The story is rather uninteresting and can be completed in under a hour if you follow only the main plot. The game in itself is plagued with glitches and mistakes that could easily be fixed, but the developers never did. The game is also mistagged, as it is not a RPG seeing it comes up with your character’s backstory for you. However, the game does have some positives. The game controls well and VATS system is great way of adding the original elements from the previous games. Otherwise, Fallout 3 is not a Fallout game and no one should play this game. Expand
  86. Sep 4, 2023
    3
    this game is a disaster. after the beginning the game falls apart like a bad marriage. the game makes you fight high level enemy's at the very beginning [the first mission] not to mention how bland the gameplay and story is. disappointment after playing new vegas.
  87. RyderK-B
    Jan 7, 2010
    2
    Another example of a fanboy infested, overated game. I had high hopes for this game as its predecessors were so outstanding. I was extremely dissapointed. I was expecting a engaging and interactive atmosphere in a post apocolyptic setting but I was given instead an empty map with nothing going on in it. It was a chore for me to walk from point a to point b as I was expecting a STALKER Another example of a fanboy infested, overated game. I had high hopes for this game as its predecessors were so outstanding. I was extremely dissapointed. I was expecting a engaging and interactive atmosphere in a post apocolyptic setting but I was given instead an empty map with nothing going on in it. It was a chore for me to walk from point a to point b as I was expecting a STALKER like system in which there is constant fighting between different groups in the environment where I would be caught up in the crossfire and be able to take a side or take cover and wait out the battle or navigate around it, except I was greeted by a empty environment where the only fight you will get are single robots and mutants placed randomely throughtout the map and a small group of pathetic bandits which are easy to dispense of. I don't see why they made such a big map if there is no point of bothering to travel anywhere, it was a serious bore for me to travel anywhere because the map was empty. Then theres the guns. Oh dear. The guns all feel unfinished and poorly designed and there is a pathetic aresenal of weapons that you can obtain. The player crafted weapons I have all seen before, (a gun that shoots anything you put in it, yeh that hasn't been done before) and they didn't really make me want to seek out the blueprints for them as they were simply terrible weapons. The guns are all extremely underpowered and they all have terrible recoil and animations that had no real appeal. One quest near the start of them game has you gooing to a mutant infested city with only a hunting rifle (which is a total peice of shit) and a crrappy little pistol to fight mutants with miniguns and rocket launchers. But mind you, the AI is so dead beat retarded that you are able to walk up to them and melee them to death. Then theres VATs. This was were I lost a huge amount of interest in the game. All you do is select VATs, target their head and they're dead. If I were a retard or a mindless console fanboy drop kick I would be drooling at the prospect of having my aiming done for me, but thankfully I wasn't born with a brain the size or a pea and I can aim perfectly on my own. I dislike the fact that Bethesda regards it's buyers as idiots who can't do anything for themselves, mind you it is true though, as this game was swamped by mindless fanatical fanboys. Then there is the storyline and the quests... This is where the game is at its worst. The main quest would take you 3-4 hours to complete uninterupted by side quests or item hunting. It has you following your dad... Yes that's right, your dad, on a fairy tale quest to purify the water for all the people in the wastelands, who also happen to be trying to kill you, so I wasn't really that keen. Almost every single side quest was a go there get that then come back quest or go there kill that come back quest. Then there is the AI. I was so bored with dad's stupid mindless speech and boring responses that I blew off his head and proceeded to dismember his body parts, at the dismay to the characters involved in the quest regarding the dad and the water whom I also proceeded to dismember. I then happened to stumble across a fallen space ship with a alien ray gun that disintergrates anyone in one shot, so the difficulty level fell to about the same difficulty as breathing. I then ventured out into the wasteland hoping that I could get a battle that required more than selecting Vat's, going for a piss then coming back to every enemy dead, but once again, the only enemy I encountered was a single mutant or robot which proved highly boring. I was also told that there was endless customization. WRONG. The only customization there is are 2 different pairs of glasses, a hat and 3 different types of armour. Then I was also again told that there is great character interaction and hard choices to make and well written responses and speech. Once again, WRONG. It's jsut a typical, good response, neutral response, random question, witty response, the witty responses would only make a 12 year old kid laugh, then again that is most of the buying audience for this game. This game is is non deserving of it's score and is only so highly rated because of payed reviewers and hyped fanboys that know no better. Overall a medicore game that brings nothing new to the table. Just another post nuclear apocolypse RPG that is going to be gathering dust on the shelf. I will never play it again. I gave it 2 because the graphics where somewhat pleasing, other than that, a simply put, shit game. Expand
  88. DerekT.
    Nov 9, 2008
    2
    So, I just tried this game on the 360(too bad i couldn't get to try the pc version.) and at first, I was interested in the story, gameplay, graphics ect. but I must say, pretty much everything people say that is flawed about this game is true sadly. It would seem that Bestheda Studios really doesn't A) Care all that much about the franchise, or B) They can't make games So, I just tried this game on the 360(too bad i couldn't get to try the pc version.) and at first, I was interested in the story, gameplay, graphics ect. but I must say, pretty much everything people say that is flawed about this game is true sadly. It would seem that Bestheda Studios really doesn't A) Care all that much about the franchise, or B) They can't make games worth shit. I did play Oblivion(on the 360) and noticed that all this game really is, is a poorly made mod of the oblivion engine. Characters, boring and forgettable. Movements and animations, total shit. All around, this game resembles nothing of the Fallout franchise. And if the pc version is the same as the 360, i would never even pay $20 for it. Expand
  89. N.D
    Jan 19, 2010
    2
    I'll never understand the hype that's been brought upon this game. The dialogue of the characters seem very cheesy and simple. Also, I've played this game on three different powerful PC's, and the controls are horrid and delayed.
  90. NG
    Oct 24, 2009
    2
    I was a huge fan of Oblivion so I was pretty sure I was going to love Fallout 3. How wrong I was. The horribly clunky VATS combat system, uniformly boring landscapes, and a dull central plotline all conspired to make this game unrelentingly mudane. I plodded through the central quest and was glad when it was all over. Weirdly Fallout 3 takes some of the best things about Oblivion - the I was a huge fan of Oblivion so I was pretty sure I was going to love Fallout 3. How wrong I was. The horribly clunky VATS combat system, uniformly boring landscapes, and a dull central plotline all conspired to make this game unrelentingly mudane. I plodded through the central quest and was glad when it was all over. Weirdly Fallout 3 takes some of the best things about Oblivion - the ability to roam almost anywhere without obstacles getting in your way, side quests that were still accessible even after the central plot was done and dusted, and rich rewards for scavenging - and it dumped them all. I'll be selling my version on ebay shortly. Whatever you do, don't buy it! Expand
  91. [Anonymous]
    Nov 15, 2008
    2
    I don't usually review/rate games but the incongruity between the rave reviews and what I experienced with this game compel me to do so. Lame story, writing, and voice-acting. Simple, repetitive gameplay that requires no skill development (unless you count patience while enduring extreme boredom as a skill); laughable NPC AI. The only redeeming aspect of this game is the interesting scenery.
  92. Sep 10, 2010
    2
    This game sucks ass. If it weren't for the awesome user made mods I never would have bought the game. In no way is it anywhere near as great as the originals. **** writing, **** storytelling, **** graphics, **** fps integration. Just a horrible, horrible game.
  93. Nov 17, 2011
    2
    Fallout 3 is bland, lengthy, tedious, and repetitive. I often hear people say they like it because the world is so big. Honestly though, who cares if the world is "big"? It really is all just the same burning rubble copy-pasted all over a big map, so there isn't really a whole lot to explore because very little of it is new and you also can't interact with much of it anyway. The onlyFallout 3 is bland, lengthy, tedious, and repetitive. I often hear people say they like it because the world is so big. Honestly though, who cares if the world is "big"? It really is all just the same burning rubble copy-pasted all over a big map, so there isn't really a whole lot to explore because very little of it is new and you also can't interact with much of it anyway. The only things that break the repetition and boredom are the cities, but there aren't that many, and they are very few and far between in a HUGE wasteland. The world is definitely "big," but there also isn't much to do in it or interact with.

    The developer didn't provide any vehicles, so while "exploring," you get to have fun walking...everywhere... at a painfully slow pace. Imagine GTA, but without cars, with a lot of burning buildings that you can't really interact with the vast majority of the time, very few people, and it's populated by the same 5 kinds of bad guys all across 90% of the map. Despite the terrific art-style and interesting setting, the game does a terrible job of storytelling, and what little story-content there is is spread out throughout approximately 60 hours of mind-numbingly repetitive combat and "exploration." Soon, you realize that you are fighting the same bad-guys over and over, that the houses and assorted bits of rubble and trash you see lying all over the world all look more or less the same, and the whole experience is downhill from there.

    Repetitive combat + copy-pasted rubble + no significant story = boring waste of time.

    Don't buy into the hype about the game being "open-world." Open world games aren't that great when everything you come across in the game looks bland, lifeless, and identical to 80% or more of everything else you've already come across in the game.
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  94. Apr 16, 2011
    2
    I don't get it. What's all the hype about this game? Same thing over and over and over- just in different parts of the map/world.

    Seriously overhyped. This is boring.
  95. Jan 17, 2012
    2
    I purchased fallout 3 GOTY edition last summer (2011). After my initial (partial) playthru, i confess to being astounded that this particular game could b awarded GOTY for the yr it was issued, or, 4 any yr. Virtually everything about the game is steeped n mediocrity, including (but not limited to) graphics, plot, storyline, audio, continuity & interface. It's not that it's a bad game,I purchased fallout 3 GOTY edition last summer (2011). After my initial (partial) playthru, i confess to being astounded that this particular game could b awarded GOTY for the yr it was issued, or, 4 any yr. Virtually everything about the game is steeped n mediocrity, including (but not limited to) graphics, plot, storyline, audio, continuity & interface. It's not that it's a bad game, but there's nothing i could find that's outstanding n any way. But thats not the reason i gave it a 2.

    It gets a 2 b/c this is simply the buggiest game i hv ever purchased. U will probably find the remainder of this paragraph difficult 2 believe, but i hv no hidden agenda n writing this. There r sections of the game where i had to restart the game every 10 seconds or so for over 10 times n a row to continue playing it. There were instances when i've attempted to start playing the game & it took between 5 & 10 attempts just to get it to load, so i could start playing it. Ultimately, of course, u should check w a variety of sources of input b4 making a final decision on whether to purchase this, or any, pc game, but 4 me, i've promised myself to NEVER pruchae any product from bethesda again, since i believe there's no way they weren't aware of the bugs, but decided to release the game that way anyway. Thats a str8 punch n the face of the consumer & i feel they shld b punished. U've been warned.
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  96. May 13, 2014
    2
    When I've had Vista on my computer, I played this game, but it was so boring I wasn't able to finish it. It's some sort of pseudo-open world, it's repetitive, every location looks the same. Now I decided to play it again, but NOW I have Windows 7 on my computer and guess what? This piece of flip is crashing because of 2 two things - Windows 7 and Windows live. Windows live is lame as flipWhen I've had Vista on my computer, I played this game, but it was so boring I wasn't able to finish it. It's some sort of pseudo-open world, it's repetitive, every location looks the same. Now I decided to play it again, but NOW I have Windows 7 on my computer and guess what? This piece of flip is crashing because of 2 two things - Windows 7 and Windows live. Windows live is lame as flip and not workin', and Windows 7? This game has compatibility of hamster. 10 year old games are perfectly playable even now on modern systems, but game made in times of Windows Vista has issues on Windows 7! So, basically, this (s)flip is crashing, playing it is a pure deprival. I destroyed my DVD and buried that crap in a sewer. Expand
  97. Jun 27, 2015
    2
    I know this is an old game but boy was it terrible. Go here do this... go here get that... I hate fetch quests and this game seems like one big fetch quest... I bet the story is horrible... I gave up...
  98. Dec 16, 2016
    2
    Totally. Worst. Sequel. Ever. This game began to annoy me from the very beggining, and it's ending still annoying me: This damn green color everywhere, dolls - characters, stupid Washington city, which doesn't make any sence, because it have unbroken houses, no nobody lives there, copy-paste with G.E.C.K., Enclave, Supermutants, which not supposed to be here. And the most important thing -Totally. Worst. Sequel. Ever. This game began to annoy me from the very beggining, and it's ending still annoying me: This damn green color everywhere, dolls - characters, stupid Washington city, which doesn't make any sence, because it have unbroken houses, no nobody lives there, copy-paste with G.E.C.K., Enclave, Supermutants, which not supposed to be here. And the most important thing - it's stupid, uniformly and boring to play. This game totally dissapointed me, and i don't trust Bethesda anymore. Expand
  99. Dec 23, 2020
    2
    A good representation of what can go wrong when designing an open world. Game is boring, badly balanced, with an hilariously dumb morality set in poor dialogues, served by streamlined systems that didn't get a second thought. It is a mediocre FPS and an insult to all what original Fallout devs achieved with 1 and 2.
Metascore
91

Universal acclaim - based on 48 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 45 out of 48
  2. Negative: 0 out of 48
  1. PC PowerPlay
    90
    Minor niggles aside, Fallout 3 is almost entirely spectacular. Everything from the graphics, to the sound, to the plot is first-rate. The VATS system worlds like a charm, and it’s so easy to get the hang of, you’ll be cracking skulls like there’s no tomorrow. [Dec 2008, p.55]
  2. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    100
    A vast and open world of unimaginable possibilities opens in front of you in Fallout 3. Great story, flawless combat system, and the option to choose your own way makes it a hot candidate for game of the year. [Nov 2008]
  3. Fallout 3 is one of this year's best games. It's an unforgettable journey that lives up to the series. You are an ex-vault 101 inhabitant, and you discover a whole new world, full of zombies, mutants, raiders, aliens and all kinds of creatures. Welcome to this post-apocaliptic reality, where you are going to spend hundreds of hours.