With over a hundred real-time hours logged in the Bethesda’s post apocalyptic wasteland that is Fallout 3, I still can’t get enough. Having completed the main quest just shy of ninety seven hours I wanted to share my thoughts on the game. Not knowing how to write about a game of this magnitude I decided to break up my “review” of the game into parts, allowing me to focus in on each area I wanted to comment on. In this post I am focusing on the starting stage of the game, life in Vault 101. For anyone unfamiliar with the Fallout 3 universe, the story takes place in a post apocalyptic version of the Washington DC area. In the year 2077, a war broke out leaving the United States, and possibly the world, nothing more than a dark, desolate, radiated wasteland. The war did not completely destroy all of mankind and those left behind are struggling to survive in the ruins of what was once the great American nation. The story of Fallout 3 takes place roughly 200 years after the bombing occurred. The game starts with a dark screen and the sounds of a woman in labor. Seconds later a fuzzy image of an operating room appears on screen and you see the world for the first time as a baby born in a Vault-Tec Fallout Shelter that has been sealed since the bombs were dropped 200 years ago. The doctor hands you over to your father and the character creation process begins. While he holds you in his arms he checks to see if you are a boy or girl (players choice) and welcomes you into the family. Essentially, starting at your birth allows Bethesda to streamline the process of selecting your attributes, skills, and personality traits in a more interesting presentation. Their approach keeps you in the game rather than sifting through countless menus found in similar games that do not have a predefined character. After you have chosen what your name should be you get to choose what you will grow up to look like. One of the more interesting features built into the character creation process is that the look you choose for your character actually affects the appearance of your father. Building a father like son dynamic into game makes for interesting story bits down the line. Now that you have finished tweaking your appearance you return to the game world and find you are a 2 year old sitting in your playpen.
"You're S.P.E.C.I.A.L." Book
During this brief stint of experiencing infancy, you get a basic control tutorial and you are introduced to the second stage of the character creation process. This involves defining your core attributes. These include things like your Strength, Intelligence, Charisma, Endurance, etc. Each attribute is explained by reading your favorite childhood book titled, “You’re S.P.E.C.I.A.L.” Each page gives a poetic description of each attribute along with a cute little illustration to match. When you have completed flipping through the pages you get to assign points to the attributes you want for your character. These will not change much once the game begins so take a little time to consider what type of character you wish to play as. When you are finished choosing your attributes your father asks you to follow him down the hall and the scene fades out and you find yourself at your10th birthday party. During your birthday party you are given your Pip-Boy 3000 which is used to access inventories, maps, quests, radio stations, flash light, and stats during the game.The birthday party disguises a tutorial that has you becoming familiar with your new Pip-Boy as well as interacting with the environment and other characters around you. Talking with the guests at your party gives you an understanding of what life is like living inside Vault 101. It’s also planting the seeds needed to begin telling the story of the unnamed hero of the wastelands. The party finishes off with a brief weapons tutorial after your father presents you with a special birthday surprise. The two of you stop and pose for a photo together, the camera flashes, and now you are sitting in your fathers office as a teenager on the morning of your last day in school.
Pip-Boy 3000
A conversion with your father reveals that you are now 16 and today is the day you will be taking the G.O.A.T. (Generalized Occupational Aptitude Test ). More of a psychological profile than a test, the G.O.A.T. exam is a very tongue in cheek slide show consisting of a hypothetical question and answer session that helps determine what your personality is going to be like. When the test is completed the game provides recommendations as to which skills might be best suited as your three tag skills. They are only suggestions and if you want to focus on utilizing a different set of skills you have the option to make any changes you might want. There are 13 skills you can work on improving during the game. What sets the tag skills apart from the other 10 is that each tag skill gets a 15 point boost at the start of the game. One of the things that makes Fallout 3 unique in comparison to other titles is that at this point you have completed creating your character, and he (or she) is ready face the world, and you have not been pulled away from the game. Bethesda deserves a lot of credit for what they have accomplished in the starting stages of Fallout 3. The beginning of the game is wonderfully presented and keeping you in Vault 101 and out of endless menus makes for an excellent introduction to the world of Fallout 3.
Click to read Part 2 and Part 3 of Falllout 3 Review
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