Fallout 3 is a shooter game mixed with RPG elements and an amazing leveling system. But before getting into the technical aspect, the story …

In a post-apocalyptic world set in 2277, 200 years after a nuclear holocaust left him in a wasteland, a young man is raised in a vault designed to preserve life after the war. One day, the young man’s father goes out into the outside world, causing the young man to finally leave the vault for the first time in search of his father. The journey sees the young man face the trials and horrors of the Capital Wasteland (the name given to the post-apocalyptic world) and, furthermore, grow and become more experienced as they search for his father …

The story is great and is paired with a great voice cast, including Liam Neeson as father, Macolm McDowell as president, and Ron Pearlman as narrator. It always got me and made me want to know what happens next. In a strange event, even my sister, who doesn’t like these kinds of games at all, found the story so interesting that she didn’t mind just watching me play. That was an indicator to me of how great the story was.

At first, you customize your character by choosing aspects such as gender, facial features, and name. Some of these can be changed later in the game. You follow life in the vault and then out of it. One of my favorite parts of this game is the ability to shape your character’s attitude. You will communicate a lot with other characters, giving you dialogue options that can portray you as an innocent good person, or a badass does not accept shit from any type of person. These will lead you down slightly different paths to achieve your main goals. But there is karma in the game. Do bad things, bad things happen to you. Do good, it happens to you. Of course, who could resist not doing a bit of evil?

A unique aspect of the game is VATS (Vault-Tec Assisted Guidance System) which creates a combination of real time and “bullet” time (things go in slow motion). When activated, hit areas are assigned to it where it will tell you the probability of hitting that area. When an area is selected, the shot will run in “bullet” time and may or may not hit. At first I thought this would be exhausting very quickly, but I always enjoyed the impact my bullet makes with someone in slow motion. Very entertaining.

The game has a really cool leveling system, where you can choose different skills (depending on your level) and add attributes to already established skills. There are many skills that I have not overcome even after finishing the game. They range from how well you can communicate with others to how well you can kick ass with guns. This alone is reason enough to replay the game.

The graphics are amazing. The game looks really good and solid and the landscape is beautiful (technically, since it is a wasteland). I find exploring the area entertaining, discovering areas that resemble their real-life counterparts, after they have been destroyed.

The atmosphere of the game is quite intense. I rarely get startled playing games and have played games like Resident Evil, Silent Hill, Dead Space, Left 4 Dead, and various other horror games. This game isn’t really part of that genre, but it should be in terms of intensity. I’ve never been as surprised by a game as I was by Fallout 3. Traveling at night in the wasteland gives off a horror movie feel, but this also makes it great for that reason. It’s pretty cinematic (well, it should be when you have actors like Liam Neeson playing voice roles) and you’ll find yourself deep in the story.

There are many good things to say about this game, but instead of writing it all down, you should go and see for yourself. This is truly an amazing game and certainly for designers and programmers. This has great replay value, and you will find yourself playing a ton of times to see what other directions the game can take. Truly unquestionably for everyone involved in the production of such a work of entertainment. Incredible gameplay, incredible story, incredible cast, everything incredible.