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Fallout 3

• By Sid Shuman
• April 14, 2008 17:04 PM PST
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BioShock fans, take note: Fallout 3 may be your next obsession. GamePro gets a look at the latest version of this post-apocalyptic RPG.

Misery loves company: In the harsh world of Fallout 3, Dogmeat is truly man's best friend. But if the flesh-eating locals have their way with him, you'll find yourself walking this road alone.

When last we checked in on the dreary, bomb-blasted landscape of Fallout 3, we knew this post-apocalyptic role-playing game was shaping up to be something special. Now that we've seen a new and improved version, we think Fallout 3 may be a surprise critical hit and top-seller...in other words, the BioShock of 2008. Here's why.

You've Come a Long Way, Baby

Developed by the same minds behind hit role-playing game The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Fallout 3 is an action-RPG that pits players against the mutant denizens of a post-nuke world. Your character is literally born into this apocalypse, having spent his entire life cooped up an underground bomb shelter called a "Vault." Upon starting the game, you'll experience the live birth of your character from the eyes of a newborn. You'll learn to walk, look around, and pick up small objects all from the perspective of a toddler. Other sequences teach you to interact with playmates and pick your skill specialties, which will become important when you grow up and venture outside of the safety of the Vault. This birth-to-adulthood segment is a clever, intuitive way to introduce the control system -- it's much more immersive and interesting than a simple no-frills tutorial mode, and helps ground you in the unique universe of Fallout 3.

Ghouls come in three varieties: harmless, "Feral" ghouls who consume human flesh, and "Glowing Ones" who absorb radiation and heal other zombies.

Once you sprout into adulthood, it's time to begin your adventuring phase. Much like real life, the mysteries quickly begin to stack up. Where did your father disappear to? What's happening outside the Vault? What's the secret behind the Vault's enigmatic Overseer? You'll learn the answers to those questions and more as you take your first tentative steps into the nuke-shattered streets of Washington, D.C.

Learning to Love the Bomb

As in Oblivion, the world of Fallout 3 is an open book: you can theoretically travel almost anywhere, at any time, without waiting for new areas to be "unlocked." In a similar touch, many of the battles and events are unscripted and random. For instance, you'll meet a friendly companion called "Dogmeat" sometime early in the game, but the time and place of that meeting depends on chance. Dogmeat is a garden-variety canine, but he's got some extraordinary abilities. In addition to helping distract and damage enemies, Dogmeat will sniff out and fetch hidden weapons, food, or items if you're ever in a pinch. Dogmeat isn't invincible, though, and if he screws the pooch by dying in combat, you'll face a long, lonely road to the end of the game because there's no way to resurrect him.

We can't help but notice that Fallout 3 looks better and better each time we see it. The latest version boasts improved graphics, which were so detailed you could practically smell the ash in the air as you walked through the decaying streets of D.C. The attention to detail is superb: while prowling through mutant-infested ruins, we trotted past lookalikes of famous structures such as the Washington Monument and the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. The meat-and-potatoes combat looks impressive, too, with miniguns and rocket launchers that will make shooter veterans sit up and take notice. Yet despite the slick first-person combat, Fallout 3 is first and foremost a role-playing game. Upgrading your equipment and choosing the best skills are as important as having a speedy trigger finger. Judging by the success of Oblivion, we wouldn't have it any other way.

Boosting your Strength and Heavy Weapons abilities opens up options such as this nigh-impenetrable armor and wicked minigun.

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