Picking up where Part 1 (check it out here) of my Fallout 3 review left off, you are rising out of the vault and into the wastelands. After your fathers unexpected exit from Vault 101, you forge into the unknown in hopes of reuniting with him on the outside. As you escape the fallout shelter with the assistance of your childhood friend Amata, the overseers daughter, you gaze across the ruined landscape of the D.C. Area for the first time. Looking over the horizon for the first time, its obvious the world has been destroyed. There are no signs of life, no color, nothing but ruins. As drab and depressing as that sounds the game is ascetically beautiful. The remains of buildings and technology scattered throughout the world looks reminiscent of a 1950’s era Sci-Fi movie. The game does a great job of making you feel alone, to the point that wandering the landscape creates an eery feeling. Solitude sets in quickly and it feels like you have entered into Rod Serling’s Twilight Zone. One of the first signs life exists on the outside comes from two new radio signals that are picked up by your Pip-boy. The first station is Enclave Radio. It consists of patriotic themed music and the voice of President John Henry Eden spouting rah rah propaganda to the people of the wasteland. If you listen long enough, it sounds as though the message is being played on a continuous loop. The second signal, Galaxy News Radio, features a collection of 1950’s music and a disk jockey who calls himself Three Dog.

The Wastes

Three Dog delivers the “real” news to the people of the Wastelands and if you listen closely, he gives tips about areas that may be interesting to explore. During the game Three Dog will comment on your emergence from Vault 101 and document the actions you have taken during your travels. Listening to Galaxy News Radio the game quickly points you towards Megaton, a settlement not far from Vault 101. Megaton is an iron shanty town built into a crater that was created by a bomb that never detonated during the war. Megaton is full of shady looking people, dressed in rags, with weathered faces establishing that life outside the fallout shelter is hard. As you wander through the town people make it clear strangers are not welcome. These people live in fear of raiders, slavers, and mutants attacking their town. The only thing keeping them safe are the giant metal walls built around the city for protection. When talking with people you question them about the town, what they do, if they have seen your father, and what they know about the wasteland outside the walls. Through these passing conversations the game begins to open up and from this point on, you start to have an affect the world around you.

Megaton

Entering Megaton, Fallout 3’s gameplay evolves from being a linear experience into an open world setting. Stealing items from peoples houses, picking locks, conversation responses, and the way you approach resolutions to quest lines begins affecting your Karma level. The Karma gauge is broken down into three parts, good, neutral, or bad. Essentially, its determining whether your character is good or evil based on your decisions. Speaking with people in Megaton will have you crossing paths with two characters who will offer you caps (bottle caps are the new currency.) in return for dealing with the undetonated bomb in the center of town. The first character you will meet is the self-proclaimed sheriff of Megaton., Lucas Simms. When you question him about the bomb you are given the option to disarm it. Of course, compensation is offered if you are able to safely deactivate it permanently. Wandering through a saloon in town you are confronted by a character named Mr. Burke. He works for a man who would like to see Megaton wiped off the map. He offers you a larger sum of caps for assisting him in setting off the bomb. Accept the offer and he provides you with a detonator to attach to it. Once you talk with the two characters, a third option becomes available allowing you to tell Lucas Simms that Mr. Burke has asked you for your help detonating the bomb.

Lucas Simms

Mr. Burke

Do you disarm the bomb giving the people of Megaton a safer place to live? Do you attach the detonator and help Mr. Burk appease his boss or do you report him to Lucas Simms? The option of deciding how your story will play out is one of characteristics that makes Fallout 3 an incredible experience. Choosing how to respond while talking with people affects dialog options later in the conversation. Quest lines can be resolved in several different ways, ending in different results. Each of these decisions adds or detracts from your Karma. The game uses your Karma level to determine whether people will share information with you or if children will even talk to you. Playing as good or evil offers different opportunities depending on which side of the Karma meter your character falls on. The “every action has a reaction” approach Bethesda used designing Fallout 3 makes the story engrossing and keeps the game play feeling fresh as you travel through the wasteland. Empowering players by allowing them to create their own destiny and offering consequences for their actions is just one of the many reasons Fallout 3 is a must-play RPG of this generation.

Megaton Bomb Detonated

Click to read Part 1 and Part 3 of Fallout 3 review

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