An Impressive Start

I just started Fallout 3 last night, for the first time. I had high expectations, but despite that, the game still impressed.

Even from the opening video, you know its going to be a sweet game. The camera pans out from a destroyed bus, the music wailing "I don't wanna set the world on fire" as we see the nuked ruins of Washington DC. Then we see one of the ironclad Brotherhood of Steel, looking ominously out at the wreckage. And then, after a brief background delivery, we hear those chilling-but-awesome words: "War. War never changes." Fallout 3 has begun.Then I entered the introduction section of the game, which was a clever chain of events that enabled me to design my character, set his stats and abilities and choose some of my items, all without breaking the immersion of the game. Which isn't easy to do in such a stat & option filled adventure. But soon my rustic vault-dweller was ready, and events in Vault-101 started to spiral out of control. I won't spoil it here, but the plot is engaging and complex already, and I'm only 2 hours into the game.

The games charms & multiple-decisions are also starting to impress me. The dialogue tree system lets me choose between a number of things I would actually say in real life, instead of stiff, manufactured responses. Should I be understanding about the person's problem, be sarcastic, or just end the conversation and get on with the game? There's no right or wrong choice, but yet your choices seem to matter. And the dialogue and reactions of the characters themselves are quite funny at times, or quite saddening or enraging when applicable. The game does a great job pulling you in.

And then it sets you loose. Through a couple of surprise events, you end up leaving Vault-101, and as your cave-dweller eyes adjust to the real sunlight, you're met with a fantastic vista of destruction. It's here that Fallout 3 shows one of its best cards: phenomenal graphics and a world more detailed than our own.

But now you're on your own, exploring the Capitol Wasteland, trying to search for clues to understand the events that just happened. You'll encounter your first raiders, and learn how important it is to let the VATs targeting system help you at close range. And you'll walk through water, learning that you better watch your radiation levels out here. And as you don some new armor and weapons, you'll see that everything has its cost here, whether that be the weight of the items you're picking up, or the used-condition of the revolver you just stole from a corpse.

But the game will give you some hints, and sooner or later you'll end up at a town called Megaton, searching for answers. I'd seen the town in screenshots before, but they don't do it justice. The town is a beauty, even in its decay, and the level design is top-notch, creating an interesting mess of a town that pulls you to explore its hidden nooks and crannies.

But after running around the city for a while, marvelling at the still-active nuke in its center, I had to save & head to bed. But that sure was enough to wet my appetite.

- Scott