I’ve had a good bit of time to get my teeth into Fallout 3 now, and I’m loving it.
Having spent a bit of time in Megaton wandering round (and acquiring a house. Very handy 
) I’m now starting to head more into the Washington DC part of the game. At the moment I’ve been sticking to the main quest to guide me through the game, and not really exploring much, but I’ve had a few random quests come up (investigated The Family attacking a town in the Wastelands, and another town under seige from giant Fire Ants).
Moving into Washington has shifted the landscape though. Kicking around Megaton etc, felt very much like the Wastelands they’ve called. There wasn’t much to see outside of the odd town. When you get to Washington though, they’ve captured the ruined city feeling well, as you constantly find yourself working your way around debris and surrounded by ruined buildings, as opposed to the more open terrain of the wastelands.
Its nice that it doesn’t take too long before you start picking up a variety of weapons as well. The very initial stages of the game were pretty dangerous, as I was very underarmed compared to most threats in the Wastelands. However after my first run-in with a group of raiders I picked up an assault rifle and a hunting rifle, and from there things started to get a bit easier.
The V.A.T.S. targetting system is a nice concession to those players who miss the turn-based style of combat, versus the FPS stylings of combat in this game. As long as you’ve got action points stored up (they regenerate reasonably quickly over time), you can engage the system, which lets you target specific areas of your opponent’s body, and then get a cinematic of you taking those shots. Its very handy for quickly disarming or crippling enemies.
Its also given me a good look at how gory the game can be. Raiders don’t tend to last long when I’m targetting their head with my combat shotgun, as their heads explode with a satisfying (if “urgh”-inducing) squelch. However, there’s also plenty of severed limbs and the like on display should you happen to step on a landmine or the like. Unlike Oblivion, which wasn’t bad (if at all) on the gore factor, this game doesn’t pull its punches. I’m slightly surprised there’s no option to turn it down or off. The game is 18 rated though so people can’t say they aren’t warned.
I’m now looking forward to exploring the ruins of Washington DC properly tonight. The only real problem I’ve got with this game so far is the sleep I’m losing playing it…
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