So I picked up Fallout 3 on the PC shortly after it came out. I stuck it in, installed it and started the game. Firstly, how come whatever you do to the character creater you pretty much look the same. Oh well it's irrelevant because you rarely see your character. I enjoyed the bit about an hour after I left the vault but then I just got.. bored, How come it tops my list for best games I played in 2009 then? 

http://www.giantbomb.com/profile/edenspresence/best-games-i-played-in-2009/46-18716/     
 
Basically, I have no idea what happened. I played it and wasn't enjoying it. I told my friends this and went on and on about how I found Fallout 3 boring. Well I take this all back... utterly. 
 
So about 2 months ago, after installing Windows 7, I decided I felt like playing a PC game. So as to not let a highly heralded game go to waste I reinstalled Fallout 3 on a whim. Should I continue my old character I thought? No, there was no love with that character, also I will look at an achievement guide and make sure I haven't missed any. So I started a new character. Again I went through the kind of "set piece" leading up to exiting the vault. After this is where things changed. 
 
I started focusing my efforts for a start. By going to a place and staying there until things were done (well nearly). Megaton is the obvious first stop and there is quite a bit to do. Getting the house in Megaton really brought the game together for me. Just having that place to go back to and heal and store things helped so much. Once I had this done it allowed me to get on with the game and a many of you will know... the real game lies in the side quests. The main quest is fun, but the amusing and bizarre side quests are where the fun really lies. My special favourites are "Oasis" and "Stealing Independence". One involves a talking tree and the other involves a robot who thinks he is attending the US Declaration of Independence. Without having played the other Fallout games, these crazy, fun characters were quite unexpected! 
  
 Well I finished the game recently and in conclusion I loved it... except for the crashing.. and my experience in the weird alternate reality I played it first time. 
 
Did anyone else share my experience?