Fallout 3. Many of you reading this have been waiting quite some time to hear those words, and now – finally – it has arrived. There have been plenty of reviews out there that have sung nothing but praise for this game, praise that has just been proven to be backed up by monumental sales as I recently posted in our news section here on Gaming Verdict. So, there are just three words that need to be said to truly begin this review: believe the hype.

Where to begin then? Don’t think that this review is just another one of the many with blinding praise for the game whilst willing to forgive all its faults, because there are some issues that need to be highlighted. However, we’ll get to the problems that I have with it later on. For now, let’s get the necessary introduction out of the way quickly. Also, take note that this review is almost completely spoiler free – no mention of major plots points and twists will be made to ensure the great experience of the game can remain intact.

Fallout 3, for those of you who have been living in a vault for the past year, is a sci-fi RPG from the makers of Oblivion. Bethesda Softworks haven’t just rested on their laurels though, and have chosen to reconfigure the engine that lay behind Oblivion in some key areas that make Fallout 3 feel like a whole different experience gameplay wise. Set 200 years after nuclear war has devastated the environment (and 30 years after the events in Fallout 2 for those who pay attention to such things), Fallout 3 presents the player with a wide open wasteland of daunting proportions. Emerging from the shelter of one of the many Vaults that litter the landscape, the player embarks on a journey to discover both the whereabouts of their father and the true impact that the nuclear winter brought to the city and surroundings of Washington D.C.