Fallout 3

Fallout 3 is a video game that consists of 38 releases
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Reviewed on Oct. 27, 2008
Fallout 3 has a few snags, but the quality of the overall adventure makes looking past its flaws worthwhile.
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Fallout 3 is an open world action RPG developed by Bethesda Softworks. The player steps into the shoes of a resident of Vault 101, who trades the safety of their vault for the post-apocalyptic wasteland surrounding Washington D.C., in an attempt to find their father.

Overview

Fallout 3 is the third game in the Fallout series. Released in October of 2008 on the PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 platforms, the game takes place approximately thirty years after the events in Fallout 2. Although set in the same universe Fallout 3 takes place in the wasteland in and around the Washington D.C. area instead of in California, and has very few direct connections to the previous games. Fallout 3 blends design philosophies from both the Fallout and Elder Scrolls franchises resulting in fan debate about Fallout 3's legitimacy as a sequel in its respective series.

I want that hat!
I want that hat!
Like Oblivion enemies and items spawn relative to the player's current level keeping the difficulty of the game consistent.  This is not in direct keeping with Fallout traditions, however, as the earlier Fallout games featured zones that, if visited too early by the player, posed a huge risk to a low-level character.  However, once an area is discovered the environment is locked down to the level at which the player found it preventing unrealistic jumps in enemy levels over the course of the game.

Much like Oblivion, Bethesda supported the game post-release with a number of downloadable content packs. While less varied than those in Oblivion, the five pieces were relatively substantial, with most of the pieces taking place outside of the Wasteland.  The downloadable content was initially exclusive to the Xbox 360 and PC versions of the game, but the downloadable content will finally be coming to the PlayStation 3 in October as well before the end of September starting with Broken Steel. 
 
The following have already been released for both PC and Xbox 360:
  • Operation Anchorage
  • The Pitt
  • Broken Steel
  • Point Lookout
  • Mothership Zeta
 

Story


  Fallout 3 follows an unnamed resident of vault 101 as he leaves his vault in order to follow his father, who has left the vault without warning. After leaving the fault, he ventures out into an utterly ruined Washington DC, though the wasteland is far from lifeless.  

The world of Fallout 3.
The world of Fallout 3.
The first place the vault dweller runs across is the town of Megaton, a gated community built in a crater around an unexploded warhead. It is here that he first learns that his father ventured into the ruins of the capital looking for a radio station located within. He meets the man that runs the station, Three Dog, as well as a large contingent of the Brotherhood of Steel. His father had come asking about Rivet City, a settlement built in an old aircraft carrier, and after completing a task for Three Dog, the Vault Dweller followed in his footsteps.

One of the first people he met in Rivet City was an old acquaintance of his father, one Dr. Li, who revealed to him exactly what his fathers goals were. His father left the vault in order to complete a project from before the vault dweller was born, a water purifier that would supply clean water for all living things. 
 

 

Development

Bethesda first announced it had acquired the rights to the Fallout series from Interplay in 2004 although no information about Fallout 3 was released until 2007 when a teaser video and concept art were released. Bethesda
 Fallout 3 Dev Team
 Fallout 3 Dev Team
purchased the license from struggling Interplay for just over $1 million and considered an upfront payment on future royalties. Bethesda only got the rights to make single-player Fallout games while Interplay retained the rights to develop a Fallout MMO.  Reactions to the acquisition in the gaming community were generally positive. Bethesda, having achieved critical and financial success with Morrowind and nearing the final stretch of development for the much hyped Oblivion, had become a well-respected developer in the RPG space garnering a considerable pedigree. Controversy within the Fallout community abounded, however, when it became apparent that Fallout 3 was going to move away from its traditional top-down, isometric view from the original games. Fan reaction seemed lukewarm; some were disappointed that the long-awaited sequel would deviate completely from its predecessors whilst others had faith that Bethesda would handle the license respectfully and appropriately.

Gameplay

Fallout 3 in Third Person
Fallout 3 in Third Person
Deviating drastically from Fallout and Fallout 2 (and following closely in the style of the aforementioned Elder Scrolls series), Fallout 3 primarily uses a first-person perspective. Although a third-person, over-the-shoulder view is also available. Bethesda themselves claimed the game was designed to be played from the first-person perspective; a statement reinforced by the poor critical reception of the third-person viewpoint. When Fallout 3 was demoed at PAX (Penny Arcade eXpo) and other gaming conventions in 2008, onlookers described it as very "Oblivion-like" with similar gameplay and structure. The game retains much of the dark humor and extreme violence from the first two games evidenced by weapons such as the incinerating Laser Rifle and highly damaging Fat-Man mini-nuke launcher, as well as returning classics like the Sawed-Off Shotgun. The jokes and violence are the two main elements that fans wished to see preserved, and even though Fallout 3 is rife with both fans debate the faithfulness with which Bethesda pays homage to the original Fallout games.   Fallout 3 retains some elements of past titles in the franchise including a skill and feat system, but the level cap has been lowered.  Fallout 2's level cap peaked at Level 99 whereas Fallout 3 caps at a mere Level 20. Moreover, The Vault-Tec Vault Boy mascot also makes an appearance as a visual shorthand to describe the game's various perks and stats, often presented in a humorous manner akin to Bioshock.

V.A.T.S

V.A.T.S system in action.
V.A.T.S system in action.
In addition to the real-time first person action, Fallout 3 introduced a feature called V.A.T.S (Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System) which pauses the game and allows the character to queue attacks on specific enemy body parts while calculating the odds of each shot hitting the target. The percentage chance of a hit and the damage done by each queued attack depend on several factors including player level, distance from target, perks obtained and skills, and weapon used. Each shot queued in V.A.T.S. requires a certain number of action points (AP) depending on weapon power; expending slightly less than a quarter with a single shot with some pistols while expending them all with weapons such as the Fat-Man. After use the AP must then regenerate in real-time. However, continued combat in real-time while they are regenerating will cause them to fill up slower. Players can also take Jet, a Chem that briefly increases the amount of AP available to their character. V.A.T.S was placed within the game in an effort to appease fans of the originals who wanted a more strategic experience that was dictated by RPG factors, however, it is almost impossible
 Once you use V.A.T.S it goes into a unskipable slow mo "cut scene".
 Once you use V.A.T.S it goes into a unskipable slow mo "cut scene".
to play the whole game using just this mechanic. V.A.T.S also leads to sloppy tactic choice with players deciding simply to rush the enemy, coming within touching distance in order to score some guaranteed and highly damaging hits. Some fans argue this feature 'breaks' the game, as it is possible get one or two hit kills with every single encounter. V.A.T.S can create some extremely gory moments: eyeballs and internal organs can be removed from mutilated bodies with well-placed shots. Because of the physics engine some enemies can even launch into the air and do flips regardless of what weapon you are using.
 

Interaction

Fallout 3 features an extensive dialogue system in which players can interact with almost every NPC in the game. Players are presented with multiple lines of speech to choose from, and the person they are talking to will react accordingly to the one they choose. Most dialogue options will have a "good" line and a "bad" line. Through interactions, players can pick up quests and gain information. They also have the potential to talk themselves out of certain situations. Occasionally, players are presented with a Speech challenge. A dialogue option can appear with the word "Speech" and a percentage next to it. The percentage represents the player's chances of succeeding, and it can increase if the player chooses to increase the Speech stat. If they succeed, the player can often gain information about whatever they are talking about. If they fail, they will get nothing from it. Passing a speech challenge also awards the player with experience points.

Karma

The Karma system implemented in Fallout 3 rates the player's actions throughout the game and portrays them as either a Good, Neutral, or Evil character depending on their choices. For instance, stealing, killing innocents and generally being horrible will earn you bad Karma resulting in an Evil character. Whereas good deeds, such as helping hobos and treating people well will result in positive Karma and a Good character. A balance of these
 Karma levels
 Karma levels
actions means the character will stay neutral. Many quests have different outcomes, and the player can usually choose which of these to pursue. The easiest way to do something often ends up with a lot of dead people and bad Karma, but the more skill based, reasonable or long winded methods usually have a reward of positive Karma. Being a Good character leads to helpful items and such from Neutral or Good NPCs, and vice versa for Evil characters. The flip side to this is that evil or good characters will also run into heavily-armed hit groups with a contract for their head. Also, the karma status of the player can determine what kind of followers they can aquire. For example, Evil characters get Jericho and Clover, Good characters get Fawkes and Star Paladin Cross, and Neutral characters get Butch and Sergeant RL-3. The player's Karma is points based and starts at zero. As the player performs Good and Evil actions they are evaluated and given the appropriate status:
 

Reasons for Karma lost or gained.

Killing an Evil character or creature: No gain or lose in Karma
Killing a very Evil character or creature: 100 Karma gain
Killing a good creature: -50 Karma
Killing a good person: -100 Karma
Stealing: -5/item
Good act during a quest: 50
Evil act during a quest: -50

  • Below -750 : Very Evil
  • -750 to -250: Evil
  • -250 to 250: Neutral
  • 250 to 750: Good
  • Above 750: Very Good

Furthermore you will be given a title based on your karma and current level, with Neutral, Evil and Good Karma titles unique for each level. There are 30 different Karma levels in Fallout 3. Four sets give you trophies or achievements. Protector(Good), Mercenary(Neutral) and Reaver(Evil) give you 10G and a bronze trophy. Next set is, Ambassador of Peace(Good), Pinnacle of Survival (Neutral), Harbinger of War(Evil), gives you a 20G and a bronze trophy. Last, Best Hope of Humanity(Good), Paradigm of Humanity(Neutral) and Scourge of Humanity(Evil) gives you 30G and a silver trophy. The final ones, Messiah(Good), True Mortal(Neural), and Devil(Evil) are all the highest you can go and also give you 20G and a bronze trophy.



S.P.E.C.I.A.L.

The SPECIAL system used in Fallout 3 is similar to that used in the previous games in the series. It is a set of seven attributes that govern each of the game's skills, as well as certain character stats. They are first encountered during early childhood when the player is handed a big picture book called "You're SPECIAL" which is subsequently used to assign points to the SPECIAL attributes. Each one starts at a level of 5 and at this moment the player is asked to split up a further 5 total points between the skills.  There is little use in leveling one attribute up to 10 because then it cannot be improved later in the game. SPECIAL can't exceed 10 or drop lower than 1, so if they reach these caps even if an item is equipped or a chem or foodstuff consumed that could add a point to one of them there will be no change.

SPECIAL stands for:

  • Strength
    Affects: Melee Weapons, Carry Weight, Melee damage bonus
  • Perception
    Affects: Explosives, Lockpick, Energy Weapons, minimum distance for red compass markers
  • Endurance
    Affects: Hit Points, Poison Resistance, Radiation Resistance, Big Guns, Unarmed, oxygen counter when diving
  • Charisma
    Affects: NPC disposition towards player, Barter, Speech
  • Intelligence
    Affects: Number of new skill points per level, Medicine, Repair, Science
  • Agility
    Affects: Action Points available for V.A.T.S., Small Guns, Sneak
  • Luck
    Affects: All skills, Critical chance, Accuracy
That's Right Sonny, You're Special!
That's Right Sonny, You're Special!


Skills

The player is asked to tag three skills at the beginning of the game adding a bonus of fifteen points to each. Fallout and Fallout 2 had 18 skills in total, but there were some alterations made in order to better streamline the game and get rid of superfluous or similar skills. Gambling and Outdoorsman skills were removed entirely. Skill levels can be increased by 10 by finding hidden Vault Boy bobbleheads scattered around the Wasteland, and can also be affected by perks, reading books, equipment or taking chems. Each skill can be raised to a maximum level of 100.

The skills you can choose between:

  • Barter
    Affects: Prices when trading with merchants.
  • Big Guns
    Affects: Damage done with Big Guns (Fat Man, Flamer, Minigun, etc.)
  • Energy Weapons
    Affects: Damage done with Energy Weapons (Laser Pistol, Laster Rifle, Plasma Rifle, etc.)
  • Explosives
    Affects: Explosives damage, ability of handling explosive traps
  • Lockpick
    Affects: Which level of locks you can pick, Chance for a successful "force lock" attempt
  • Medicine
    Affects: Hit points restored by Stimpaks, Effectiveness of Rad-X and RadAway
  • Melee Weapon
    Affects: Damage done with Melee Weapons (Knife, Tire Iron, Sledgehammer, etc.)
  • Repair
    Affects: Ability to repair items
  • Science
    Affects: Which level of terminals you can hack, various dialogue options
  • Small Guns
    Affects: Damage done with Small Guns (10mm Pistol, Hunting Rifle, Assault Rifle, etc.
  • Sneak
    Affects: How difficult it is for an enemy to detect you.
  • Speech
    Affects: Percentage to succeed in a speech challenge
  • Unarmed
    Affects: Damage done while unarmed

Perks

Fallout 3 Perk screen.
Fallout 3 Perk screen.
Fallout 3's perks are gained every level rather than every three like the old games (hence the original Fallout's level cap of 21 the nearest multiple of three to 20). Since the Traits system has been removed which gave both positive and negative effects to the player, some of them were incorporated in to the available perks.
 
 

Weapons

 The weapons in Fallout 3 can vary quite wildly in their similarity to weapons that exist in the real world.  The main character will begin by finding a standard array of first-person shooter weapons, like pistols, knives, and assault rifles.  As the game progresses, however, players will find many unique weapons like the Alien Blaster, Lincoln's Repeater, and Mesmertron. These exotic weapons keep in tone with the 1950's sci-fi theme present in the Fallout universe. 
 
A comprehensive list of all the weapons can be found here in the form of a guide.



Soundtrack Pre-Order Bonus
Soundtrack Pre-Order Bonus

Soundtrack


01 - "I Don't Want To Set The World On Fire" - The Ink Spots
02 - "Way Back Home" - Bob Crosby
03 - "Butcher Pete (Part 1)" - Roy Brown
04 - "Fallout 3 Soundtrack - Main Title"
05 - "Fallout 3 Soundtrack - Megaton"
06 - "Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall" - Ella Fitzgerald with the Ink Spots
07 -  "Anything Goes" - Cole Porter
08 -  "Fox Boogie" - Gerhard Trede
                                                   09 -  "I'm Tickled Pink" - Jack Shaindlin
                                                   10 -  "Jazzy Interlude" - Billy Munn

Full In Game Soundtrack



1.         "I Don't Want To Set The World On Fire" -   The Ink Spots
2.         "Way Back Home" - Bob & the Bobcats
3.         "Butcher Pete (Part 1)"-   Roy Brown
4.         "Happy Times" (From the Danny Kaye film The Inspector General) - Bob Crosby & the Bobcats
5.         "Civilization" - Danny Kaye with The Andrews Sisters
6.         "Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall" -  Ella Fitzgerald with The Ink Spots         
7.         "Anything Goes" - Cole Porter
8.         "Fox Boogie" -   Gerhard Trede
9.         "I'm Tickled Pink" - Jack Shaindlin  
10.       "Jazzy Interlude"   - Billy Munn       
11.       "Jolly Days" - Gerhard Trede
12.       "Let's Go Sunning" - Jack Shaindlin  
13.       "A Wonderful Guy" - Beneke     
14.       "Rhythm for You" - Eddy Christiani & Frans Poptie            
15.       "Swing Doors" - Allan Gray       
16.       "Maybe" (Intro song from the original Fallout)  -  The Ink Spots  
17.       "Mighty Mighty Man" -  Roy Brown      
18.       "Crazy He Calls Me" -  Billie Holiday   
19.       "Easy Living" -Billie Holiday   
20.       "Boogie Man"   - Sid Phillips


Voice Actors

  •     Liam Neeson as James (Dad)
  •     Malcolm McDowell as President John Henry Eden
  •     Ron Perlman as Narrator
  •     Odette Yustman as Amata
  •     Wes Johnson as Mr Burke / Fawkes / Protectrons / Sentry Bots
  •     Erik Dellums as Three Dog
  •     Heather Marie Marsden as Sarah Lyons
  •     Elliker as Beatrice / Reilly / Star Paladin Cross
  •     Craig Sechler as Butch / Harkness
  •     Stephen Russell as Andy /Mister Buckingham / The Great One / Seargent RL-3 / Cerberus / All Mr. Gutsy/ Handy Robots found throughout the game
  •     James Lewis as Mr. Brotch / Eulogy Jones / Jericho / Captain Ishmael Ashur


Versions

Collectors Edition

Collectors Edition of Fallout 3
Collectors Edition of Fallout 3
  • Fallout 3 Game
  • Metal Vault-Tec Lunchbox
  • 5" Vault Boy Bobblehead Figurine
  • The Art of Fallout 3 Hardcover Concept Art and Commentary Book
  • The Making of Fallout 3 DVD

Survival Edition

Another special edition SKU for Fallout 3 is the Survival Edition sold exclusively through Amazon. Contents of Fallout 3 Survival Edition:
  • Fallout 3 Game
    Pip-Boy 3000 Replica Alarm Clock
    Pip-Boy 3000 Replica Alarm Clock
  • Pip-Boy 3000 Replica Alarm Clock (picture on right)
  • Metal Vault-Tec Lunchbox
  • 5" Vault Boy Bobblehead Figurine
  • The Making of Fallout 3 DVD
  • The Art of Fallout 3 Hardcover Concept Art and Commentary Book


Game of the Year Edition

Bethesda has  announced that a new retail version of the game titled Fallout 3 Game of the Year edition will be available on Tuesday, October 13, 2009. This version will include the original game and all five downloadable content packs,it will be released simultaniously on the Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and PC. It will retail for 59.99 USD for the home consoles and 49.99 USD for the PC.
  • Fallout 3 Game
  • Operation Anchorage
  • The Pitt
  • Broken Steel
  • Point Lookout
  • Mothership Zeta


Downloadable Content


Bethesda has currently announced 5 downloadable content packs for PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3.  Each are said to be roughly the same size as the Knights of the Nine pack that was made available for The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. Originally these content packs were available exclusively for PC and Xbox 360 but on May 19, 2009, Bethesda announced that all of the downloadable content will be made available for the PlayStation 3 during the Summer of 2009.  Bethesda has also announced that the downloadable content will be available at retail stores on disc for the Xbox 360 and PC, but not for the Playstation 3. Bethesda has explained that this is due to a technical limitation of the Playstation 3.

Operation: Anchorage










An add-on featuring a virtual simulation of the liberation of Anchorage, Alaska from the Chinese Communist invaders. The simulation is a "what if" scenario, created by the United States Government in order to test different counter-offensives against the Chinese.  In the virtual simulation the player will first have to secure a mountainside and then fight his/her way into a Chinese base.

Chinese Base in Alaska.
Chinese Base in Alaska.
The add-on mainly focuses on the combat/stealth paths and gives the player new tools to use. The new tools include interactive Strike Teams that are placed under the player's command. The mission takes about four to five hours for the player to complete.  The add-on also contains new weapons, armor and achievements and a new perk called "Covert Ops." The new weapons and armor include top-secret technology used by both sides during the war, some of which the player can then use throughout the main game.  The player is able to access the simulation via a new quest and map marker.  It is accessible at any level, as soon as the player has left Vault 101.

Operation: Anchorage was released on January 26, 2009 at a cost of 800 Points ($9.99) on the Xbox marketplace.  It has been confirmed Operation: Anchorage will be released on the PSN soon.


The Pitt







Welcome to the Pitt
Welcome to the Pitt
 
 
 
The add-on allows the player to journey to the ruins of Pittsburgh, raider-infested city known as The Pitt. Pittsburgh, like Washington D.C., has been bombed and has been a victim to years of decay and neglect. It does still harbor a working steel mill and a "fighting area". The add-on contains new quests (several repeatable), enemies, items, perks and achievements. It was released on March 24th for 800 MS Points ($9.99).

The player will gain access to the Pitt when he/she encounters an escaped slave. The player will first have to take on the role of a Slave (and give up all items) to gain access, but once the quest is completed the player can return at any time.

New items in the Pitt include several new Raider Armors, a new stylized Power Armor, a new melee weapon called the AutoAxe, and a new silenced/scoped automatic rifle named "The Infiltrator".

 The vicious Auto-Axe
 The vicious Auto-Axe
New perks include one that adds to the killing efficacy of the AutoAxe, one that is related to all of the high-dose radiation the player will encounter in the Pitt, and one that will be rewarded after completing a "Pitt fight".

The pack includes four new achievements related to The Pitt. Three are awarded after completing different stages of the main quest and a fourth one is awarded after the player finds all of the ‘Steel Ingots’ found throughout the area. It has been confirmed that The Pitt will soon be available for download over the Playstation Network,



Broken Steel










Liberty Prime
Liberty Prime
Broken Steel starts off with the player replaying the ending and surviving the incident whichever way they chose to end it. The player then starts working for the Brotherhood of Steel in various missions to remove the Enclave's presence from the Capital Wasteland.

The add-on raised the level cap to 30, added story related locations, added more weapons and armor, such as a Tesla Cannon, a Tri-Beam Laser Rifle, and Hellfire armor, and more challenging enemies, such as the Super Mutant Overlord, a super mutant that is supposed to be the gap between the Super Mutant Master, and Super Mutant Behemoth. These challenging enemies carry gattling lasers and Tri-Beam Laser Rifles. Other encounters have been added such as random raider attacks on the newly formed water caravans.


This add-on was released on May 5, 2009, and is 800 Microsoft Points, or $10.
It has been confirmed that Broken Steel will be released over PSN soon.


Point Lookout

                     
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Be prepared to kill some hillbilly mutants
 Be prepared to kill some hillbilly mutants
Explore a massive new swampland area filled with new quests and content.  Point Lookout was released on June 23, 2009 on the Xbox 360 and PC for 800 Microsoft Points, or $10.  The content begins with taking a ferry from the the Capital Wasteland, across the Chesapeake Bay, and over to Maryland where Point Lookout is located. Maryland was not hit directly by the nuclear attack like Washington DC, but was affected nonetheless. The most noticeable affect the attacks had on Point Lookout were on its citizens, who are best described as fairly mutated hillbillies. The majority of the combat in Point Lookout involves taking out its more than mildly mutated citizens with a variety of shotguns. Bethesda has reported that the content is more difficult than the previous DLC packages and recommends that players be at least level 17 before entering Point Lookout. 

Point Lookout has been confirmed for release on the PlayStation Network soon.



Mothership Zeta









ALIENS!
ALIENS!
The aliens have returned, and they're pissed. Experience an alien abduction first hand and find out if you're tough enough to survive.  The entire DLC will take place aboard the abducting alien ship, taking a major departure from the Capital Wasteland setting.  The DLC was released on August 3rd, 2009, for Xbox 360 and PC. The PSN will receive a later date as well as get all of the downloadable content via the Game of the Year Edition. Upon receiving a strange signal, you investigate and come upon a crashed alien ship (which was original an easter egg in the Wasteland, but Bethesda fleshed this out to a full on expansion) and are abducted.



The Garden of Eden Creation Kit (GECK)


Named after a mythical device used to restore life to the wasteland that players are tasked with finding in Fallout 2, the GECK is actually the official editor kit for the PC. The program allows users to edit and create content for use within the game. It was released on December 11, 2008 as a free download from the Fallout 3 website. As each month the DLC has come out, there has been a version of the G.E.C.K. to update to. It is currently version 1.5 as of the release of Mothership Zeta DLC.



Critical Reception

Fallout 3 was nominated for the Game Critics Awards: Best of E3 2008. It was nominated in the Best Of Show, Best RPG and Best Console Game. It succeeded in taking home Best Of Show and Best RPG, beating the likes of  Gears Of War 2, Mirrors Edge and Dragon Age. It lost Best Console Game to the PS3's LittleBigPlanet. At Spike TV VGA 2008 Fallout 3 was nominated for Game of the Year, Best RPG, Best Graphics, Best Xbox 360 Game and Best Original Score. It was awarded Best RPG fending off Fable ii, Warhammer Online: The Age of Reckoning and The World Ends With You.
 
The Xbox 360 version of the game has a score of 93/100 on Metacritic, the PC version a 91/100, and the Playstation 3 version a 90/100. Critics praised the open-ended gameplay and depth while criticizing the amount of bugs found in the game and crashes.

Van Buren

Van Buren was the codename for Black Isle’s version of Fallout 3. It was canceled in 2003 when Black Isle went out of business, although the game itself was nearing completion. It would have had a multiplayer mode and a combat system where the player could wield two weapons. A tech demo was created, but Bethesda will not be releasing it to the general public. 

 
Inventory in the Van Buren Tech Demo
Inventory in the Van Buren Tech Demo
The story took place around the year 2250 and unfolded across Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and Nevada. The player was going to find him or herself in prison for crimes that they were either innocent or guilty of. One day they’d wake up in a different cell than they had gone to sleep in. Then an attack on the prison would rupture the walls and give the player (and many others) a chance to escape into the Wasteland. Once free, the player would be besieged by robots and questions.

The villain was a man called Presper. He was a mad scientist who planned on using remaining nuclear weapons to totally obliterate all the life on the planet, as he deemed it unworthy. The attack on the prison was one step in that plan. The prisoners were all marked as contaminated with a virus similar to FEV called Limit 115. When a large majority of prisoners were returned to the Quarantine Zone (otherwise known as the prison) a Super AI called Ulysses that controlled it would scan and purge the world's contaminated zones to prevent further contagion. The problem was that so much of the world was tainted it would result in a new and more devastating nuclear strike than what had come before. Presper was counting on this and those he deemed Pure would survive on in his Boulder Dome until a time he decided the Earth was safe for resettlement. At that point they’d ascend to the surface and start again. The player's mission was to uncover his plot and stop it. Ultimately, though, the player would at least partially fail. In the critical moments some nukes would launch and it was up to the player to decide exactly what got hit and what didn't.

In the Fallout continuity, all the events of Van Buren are considered non-canon.

Rating Controversy

On July 4, 2008, Fallout 3 was refused classification by the OFLC in Australia, thus making the game illegal for sale in the country. In order for the game to be reclassified, the offending content in the Australian version of the game would have to be removed by Bethesda Softworks and the game resubmitted to the OFLC. According the OFLC board report, the game was refused classification due to the "realistic visual representations of drugs and their delivery method (bringing) the 'science-fiction' drugs in line with  'real-world' drugs. However, just a month later, Australian retailer Gamechip started taking pre-orders for a drug-free version of the game. It now looks like the
And with all the head exploding, you can see why.
And with all the head exploding, you can see why.
game has been modified for release instead of outright banned though nothing is official. Australia is no stranger to banning games, in 2008 Dark Sector, Shellshock 2: Blood Trials and Fallout 3 were banned. In August of 2008, however, the Australian Office of Film and Literature Classification (OFLC) granted a rating of MA15 after changes were made to in-game drug references, particularly the renaming of morphine to " Med-X." In their report on the revised edition of the game, the OFLC found that "The drug references within this revised version are justified by context and lend a strong playing impact to the game." The report also notes that drugs in the game are now "depicted as stylized icons on a menu with the drug use itself not depicted." 
 

Original ruling

The original ruling by the OFLC's stated that  "the game contains the option to take a variety of drugs known as "chems" using a device which is connected to the character's arm. These "chems" have positive and some negative effects (lowering of intelligence, or the character may become addicted to the chem). The positive effects include increase in strength, stamina, resistance to damage, agility, and hit points. Corresponding with the list of various "chems" are small visual representations of the drugs; these include syringes, tablets, pill bottles, a crack-type pipe, and blister packs. In the Board's view, these realistic visual representation of drugs and their delivery method bring the 'science-fiction' drugs in line with 'real-world' drugs. The player can also select and use Morphine (a proscribed drug) which has the positive effect of enabling the character to ignore limb pain when the character's extremities are targeted by the enemy."

Further Controversy


Japan

Some changes to the Japanese version of Fallout 3. The biggest change involves the elimination of the "Power of the Atom" side-quest, about a nuclear bomb in the middle of a town, with players having the option to detonate the device or not. Also removed is Mr. Burke, an NPC who invites the player to detonate the town. Another change relates to the name of a weapon. Although not mentioned in the announcement, it refers to the "Fat Man" mini-nuke launcher. Lesser changes involve the renaming of creatures, as well as a reduction in the amount of blood and corpses found in the game. 
Another mini-controversy caused by the game appeared at Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, where the game's developer Emil Pagliarulo asked the audience what landmarks in Japan could be destroyed for the game. 


India

Microsoft India canceled its plans to release Fallout 3 for the Xbox 360 in India, which was earlier set to release in the country on October 28 2008. A press statement issued by Microsoft states that the game included certain content that could potentially hurt Indian sensibilities. Due to distribution issues in the region, Microsoft had taken up the role of distributor for Fallout 3 in India, while the PlayStation 3 and PC versions of the game were never scheduled for release in the country.



Pop Culture References

  • The quest titled "THOSE!" is reference to the 1950's Sci-Fi film THEM! about giant ants.
  • The quest "Replicated Man" is very similar to film Blade Runner in which Harrison Ford's character may or may not be Android hunting down other Androids.
  • The character Bryan Wilks during the quest "Those" utters the line "Now I know what a tv dinner feels like".  This is a line from Die Hard uttered by Bruce Willis.  They also share the same initials.
  • In the Town Little Lamplight the mayor's name is R.J. MacReady which is Kurt Russel's character from John Carpenter's The Thing.
  • The Children of the Atom in Megaton worship an unexploded nuclear bomb which is a reference to the cult in Beneath the Planet of the Apes.
  • The Robot Butler named Wadsworth in Megaton shares the same name as Tim Currie's butler character from the film Clue!, and both speak in the same way.
  • The mutant Fawkes is a reference to Guy Fawkes, one of the planners of the Gunpowder Plot to blow up the House of Parliament in London, in 1605 .  They also share the same cell number, 5 or V in Roman Numeral.
  • Billy Creel's safe combination contains part of the mysterious number sequence from the show Lost.
  • After fixing Three Dog's antenna he broadcasts saying "You can't stop the signal".  This is a reference to the film Serenity which had the same line, which in turn was a veiled jab at the Fox network for cancelling the show Firefly.
  • Three Dog is also quoted saying that "Raiders can't be bargained or reasoned with".  This is a line uttered by Kyle Reese about the Terminators in the film Terminator.
  • The character Uncle Leo shares the same name as Jerry Seinfeld's uncle from his show.
  • Mr. Gutsy robots say the line "There's nothing like the smell of plasma in the morning".  This is a reference to Robert Duvall's line "There nothing like the smell of napalm in the morning." from the film Apocolypse Now.
  • Sugar Bombs cereal is a reference to the cereal that Calvin eats in the Calvin and Hobbes comics called Chocolate Frosted Sugar Bombs.
  • The quest "Blood Ties" is started by Lucy West, a reference to a character from Bram Stoker's Dracula named Lucy Westenra.  The town Arefu also shares the name with the town outside of Dracula's Castle.
  • The Ninth Circle, a bar in the Ghoul city Underworld, is a reference to Dante Alighieri's The Divine Comedy, where the first canticle, Hell, contains nine circles.  The Ninth Circle is the most reserved for the most wicked of sinners, traitors.
  • Charon, who resides in The Ninth Circle, is also a reference to classical mythology.  Charon is the ferryman who guides the dead across the River Styx in Hades, the underworld of Greek mythology.  He is also the ferryman who guides Dante in The Divine Comedy.

PC System Requirements


Minimum System Requirements:

  • Windows XP/Vista
  • 1GB System RAM (XP)/ 2GB System RAM (Vista)
  • 2.0 GHz Intel Pentium 4 or AMD 3000 (1.8 GHz) or equivalent processor
  • Direct X 9.0c compliant video card with 256MB RAM (NVIDIA 6800 or better/ATI X850 or better)


Recommended System Requirements:

  • Intel Core 2 Duo processor
  • 2 GB System RAM
  • Direct X 9.0c compliant video card with 512MB RAM (NVIDIA 8800 series, ATI 3800 series)

Xbox 360 Game Installation

Fallout 3 requires 5.9GB (with the newest update it only requires 5.5GB) of space to install on an Xbox 360 HDD.  Installing has been reported to slightly lower load times, as well as lead to a decrease in the overall amount of freezing.
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