Fallout 3

"It took a little while for me to "get into" Fallout 3, as at the start of each free roaming Role Playing Game you are presented with quiet a few options for the development of your character. It always takes ages for me to set each and every perk for my chosen character correctly. Oh, and once they are all set I'm also always impatient for things to get going. I just want to dive in the action right away and get started.

But lucky it always pays off! Fallout 3 has so much to offer once you get past the needed introduction sequences. Once you leave Vault 101 there is a immensely wide post-apocalyptic world waiting for you to get explored.

Just like in Oblivion there are plenty of characters that need aid in one way or the other, plenty of interesting settlements to visit and explore, and even more gruesome enemies to battle. These enemies come in many sizes and - depending on your skill points - aren't disposed of that easily. Be warned though that the enemy A.I. automatically gets better as you progress during game play.

Although Fallout 3 plays like a Role Playing Game, it really is a thinking mans First Person Shooter. Once you're in a firefight the V.A.T.S. system let's you carefully select which body parts you want to hit and the impact and precision of your shots depend on the skill points you allocated. Although the outcome of this feature is presented in slow-motion it doesn't take the pace out of the game. Excellent stuff and very satisfactory to see enemy heads being blown to pieces!

This works the same for just about everything else you do in the game. If the skill points for the action you're about to do are high enough, you are bound to get a satisfactory result out of it. Whether you perform good, or bad deeds.

I'm very excited about this game. The setting is perfect - I always had a thing for movies set in a post-apocalyptic setting, like Mad Max, 28 Days Later, The Omega Man and The Postman to name but a few - and Fallout 3 just hits the spot with its desert-like landscapes and its near-destroyed and desolate city streets. Great atmosphere!

Fallout 3 looks great with very detailed visuals and an endless draw distance once you're on the open wastes. I particularly think the music is great; it really suits the atmosphere. On the other hand I think it's a bit strange that there isn't much variation to be found in the voice acting department. Many characters in the game share the same voice and that tends to get a bit annoying every now and then.

But hey, all in all, give Fallout 3 a go if you're a FPS and/or RPG fanatic. You won't be disappointed!"