This is my first attempt at writing a review, critique is more than welcome 
The ominous chirping of the Pip-Boy 3000 sounds as the Lone Wanderer steps in yet another puddle, no doubt causing a mutation or at the very least a bad case of Athlete's Foot. The harsh, grey tones of the rocky environment surround him... all the time. All the bloody time. Fallout 3 will always be easy on the eyes but for all the wrong reasons; the plethora of greys and browns serve only to create an environment more monotonous than the latest Friends rerun on E4 and sadly, dullness seems to be a prevailing theme in the game with a failing storyline and confused combat, lightened only slightly by the violent eye candy that is V.A.T.S.
The game begins as you emerge fresh faced from your Mother's uterus, somehow able to choose your name, gender, ethnicity and future appearance. Perhaps it's the shock of having a telepathic wonder child that kills your Mother causing the first jump forward in the jumbled orgy of flashbacks that the 'tutorial' section is heartily laden with but you are soon planted firmly in shoes of infancy. It is at this moment, taking your first steps to the hushed tones of Liam Neeson ushering you onward, that the game shows its first real spark of personality, creating a genuine connection between you and your father. One can't help but smile gleefully at being awarded so enthusiastically for doing nothing more than holding the 'w' key for a few seconds, a feeling that somewhat emulates achieving your first steps.
The flashbacks continue like a television recap, lacking only an enthusiastic narrator telling us what happened “Previously in Vault 101....” Taking you through the various moments in your childhood such as receiving your Pip-Boy go some way in building a genuine sense of character and growing up. Such empathy for your character is short lived however when you are charged with the task of escaping Vault 101 and subsequently traversing the barren landscape. The character takes on a new role as a vehicle for playing the game rather than truly experiencing it. Moral choices throughout the game attempt to once again establish personality but sadly they all fall short and the character becomes yet another generic hero or villain in gaming history. Perhaps the freedom allowed through open world mechanics prevent any real character being built up but the player is always left with a sense of detachment, reminiscing of their time in the vault, a time when they felt they were the character. The story continues as you attempt to find your father but there's no emotion compelling the player to do so and it becomes a failed epic utilised only to gain experience.
Although often interesting, side missions also fail to create any attachment or even excitement. There's always a sense that they are there simply as a way to convey an interesting idea or character when in essence the game play amounts to endless travelling and the same mindless killing of copy-pasted creatures before an often awkward conversation with a throwaway character. The interesting story behind the quest however has a way of shining through and intrigue wins you over leaving you playing for hours on end, trying to discover the origins of an unknown android and being pleasantly surprised by how good the story is. There's certainly no shortage of missions either and even the worst of them always seem to leave you with a slight sense of adventure at some point.
Despite the lack of character what the game has in abundance is atmosphere, the nostalgic posters, old fashioned jazz and vintage clothing succeed fantastically in recreating an era with confidence and flair. In such times of cookie cutter games and one sided games it's refreshing to find a game that flourishes most in setting the scene. Developers would do well to take note of this as without a well developed, fully realised setting the story, character and even to a lesser extent game play are left hanging with little chance of achieving anything deep or worthwhile.
Now, reluctantly, I come to the elephant in the room. The combat. Without V.A.T.S combat is poor and confusing. Gun flailing about rarely hitting the target, and when the creature is eventually felled you're left feeling as if you rushed the fight, not being able to savour the awesome destruction of the magnum on a raider's head. Some would argue that it's a moot point, very rarely are you out of action points for long and in that time firing off a few shots isn't too taxing, but ultimately Fallout 3 is an FPS. All other elements aside, the game play is shooting in a first person perspective. So surely, it's not too much to ask that the game has passable game play. Long range weapons, particularly the hunting rifle fair better, with sniping becoming quite a challenge, often providing more entertainment than V.A.T.S.
For the uninitiated out there who up to know have been quizzically scratching their heads at the mention of the illusive V.A.T.S I shall reveal all. The system turns combat into a patchwork of bullet time and turn based attacks. Using action points the player can bring up a HUD presenting them with the various limbs of the enemy, the player can then aim at each individually building up a list of shots until they eventually run out of points. Upon this happening the player simply hits enter and watches as the action unfurls in slow motion glory, each shot is taken at a different angle and there's a surprising amount of variation. Perhaps the greatest achievement of such a system is the fact that it never feels dull or repetitive and each head shot or lost limb is as refreshing as the first. The slow motion does break the pace significantly however and often when paired with the franticness of sans-V.A.T.S combat it creates a schizophrenic effect, leaving the player not exactly sure what just happened and more importantly, what is happening.
Ultimately, Fallout 3 is a game for explorers, those who play for no other reason that discover every single destination or complete every single mission. And good for them, for those who are willing to persevere I have no doubt that they will enjoy it thoroughly but a lack of intimacy with the character and a mediocre main plot will leave some with no motivation to touch the game after only a few hours of play which is sad, I'm sure they're missing out. Thanks for listening, chiiillddreeen!
