This review currently only covers the base game and not the complete game experience including DLC content.

🕗 Total time played (approx.): 63h
🏆 Completion: 100% Base Game without DLCs (51/73 Trophies)

REVIEW:

From the moment I delved into the vast wastelands of "Fallout 3", I was struck by the game's immersive atmosphere and the depth of its open-world RPG mechanics. The ability to shape the fate of my character and the world around them was truly captivating. Whether I was exploring the ruins of Washington, D.C. or forging alliances with various factions, every decision felt meaningful and contributed to the unique narrative that unfolded before me.

Completing the base game at 100 percent was no small feat, especially when considering the technical limitations of the PS3. The occasional stutters, frame rate drops, and other performance issues certainly tested my nerves and resolve. Despite these challenges, my determination to experience the full scope of "Fallout 3" pushed me to endure and persist. The sense of accomplishment I felt as I conquered these obstacles was immeasurable, and it added a layer of personal satisfaction to the overall gaming experience.

It's worth noting that the allure of the trophies and my desire to fully immerse myself in the game's world motivated me to push through even when the going got tough. The joy of earning each trophy, and ultimately attaining the Platinum trophy, became a driving force behind my dedication to completing the base game. Each challenge, no matter how daunting, became an opportunity to prove my resilience and demonstrate my commitment to fully experiencing what "Fallout 3" had to offer.

As of my current status, I have yet to embark on the downloadable content adventures that await in the "Game of the Year Edition." Despite this, my experience with the base game has been overwhelmingly positive, even if it was tempered by the technical limitations of the PS3. The fact that I pushed through these challenges to achieve a 100 percent completion rate, as well as acquire all the trophies, stands as a testament to the engrossing nature of "Fallout 3" and its ability to captivate players despite its technological shortcomings.

In closing, "Fallout 3: Game of the Year Edition" has provided me with a remarkable and memorable gaming journey. The depth of its storytelling, the allure of its trophies, and the satisfaction of overcoming technical obstacles all contribute to an experience that is both challenging and immensely rewarding. As I look forward to delving into the DLCs, I am reminded of the resilience and determination that defined my quest to conquer the base game. It is a testament to the enduring appeal of this post-apocalyptic masterpiece.

⭐ Rating: 4/5

Embarked on a journey to 100% complete this game again and get all the achievements on my current Xbox account (lost access to the account I originally did it on). The game is showing it's age but I still had fun! Nostalgia clouds my judgment but there's still something special about walking out of Vault 101 every time! Finding Megaton, traveling to Rivet City, exploring the ghoul-infested metros, and fighting Super Mutants in the ruins of Washington D.C. will forever be burned into my memory. No matter how many times I play, the Capitol Wasteland keeps surprising me with unmarked locations and subtle visual storytelling.

Glitches and crashes along with random bugs, broken quests, and horrible AI are tiresome and immediately break immersion. However, there is a theory brewing in my head, that if you let Stockholm syndrome set in, you will look past these problems and your mind will adapt to still pull enjoyment from playing. Bethesda really tanked the story in terms of respecting established lore, so that is frustrating. However, many threads of potentially fantastic stories are interwoven throughout the game. One can tell when the team had random, neat ideas they wanted to implement but the engine or time did not cooperate. And even though the main quest is the most vanilla, white-bread, cookie-cutter plot, there is enough to stay hooked through the world-building on its own.

Obviously, the soundtrack is phenomenal and this game sparked my interest in early to mid-20th-century music. And an interest in 50s Americana and culture also developed thanks to this game. So even if it has its issues - Fallout 3 stands as an early 2000s icon of gaming and is deserving of the praise despite the flaws!

okay. i understand why this game is so important. i see why it was so groundbreaking. but i really don't think this holds up as much as other games that share fallout 3's status. it's a beautiful game, i can give it that much. fallout 3 portrays a wasteland exactly how a wasteland should be. but god, the gameplay was the equivalent of pissing rocks. i wish i had my own personal liberty prime to walk around like a dog and have it kill off all of the hostiles that would have otherwise made me use up half of my ammo and all of my remaining stimpaks. i'm sure that fallout 3 is incredible to play if you were there at its release, but as a newcomer, i can't say it lives up to its name.

(Difficulty: Very Hard)
A true work of art. If you have a propensity for open world rpgs at all, then this game will knock your socks off.
Fallout 3 is rewarding and amazing. So much depth and consequential decision making. Everything you do and say has a real effect on your relationships and environments.
Actual moral dilemmas, fun weapons, great voice acting. Funny as hell. The writing and delivery is strong, self-aware, and intelligent.
Value levels are off the charts with Fallout 3. Just under 40 hours for my first playthrough but I left SO MUCH undiscovered. This game could eat 100 hours easily from me.
DLC's are very fun and unique.
My only gripe is that the game will likely crash at an inopportune time and you might possibly get stuck in between two rocks which inevitably leads to a restart.

Fallout 3 to me will always be a odd game to rank or rate. Such being simply put down to the conflicting ideas I have on what this game is. Because on one end I can endlessly agree with all the aspects of Fallout 3 that others consider to be "Bad." The true ending being locked behind DLC, the story and quests feeling shallow, or iron sights. But on the other side I can also see the positives. Being the first game in 3D and all that they where able to introduce to the fallout formula from such, combined with the relatively good ability on the developers to port old fallout concepts and game play mechanics to a newer medium; and how, at the end of the day, Fallout 3 is still a fun experience, and a not bad game.

Um dos melhores RPGs que eu já joguei. Ter descoberto esse jogo na época foi uma loucura (no bom sentido), o que me fez amar esse estilo de jogo, que trago como favorito, até os dias de hoje. E eu agradeço ao meu primo por ter me apresentado essa obra de arte.

PS.: Tentei jogar no PC anos depois e estava injogável. É muito triste a performance dos jogos da Bethesda no PC, principalmente desses jogos mais antigos. Mesmo baixando vários MODs de correção, os problemas persistem. E é uma pena pensar na possível quantidade de pessoas que não experienciaram esse jogo por conta disso.

Its Oblivion with post apocalyptic skin. Not even worth to be nostalgic about. Theres nothing in this game thats revolutionary. I played until my character escaped the vault. After 30 minutes of intriguing storyline intro and tutorial, its like the story itself just disappeared.

Im on my own dont know what to do, dont know where to go. Its as what the description said, open world RPG. Its the player that dictate what the story is. It sounds good in paper but almost all of us here arent storytellers. RPGs in traditional form is good with friends and on pen and paper, the gamemaster overseer the progress. But its not good in video games.

Its the reason why since the 90s until the end of 00s JRPGS are dominating the RPG genre. JRPG in literal definition, japanese role playing games. Its obvious its in 2011 with the release of Skyrim why western RPGs dominating over JRPGs. Because pre-Skyrim western RPGs are unplayable to average gamers

__This is a review of all of the Fallout 3 DLC__
I liked the DLC overall, with some that missed and some that hit for me. While I don't think it was to the quality to Fallout NVs, it was still good. I also really liked how some parts of it were foreshadowed in the base game, like the Pitt and the Anchorage Simulation. Very solid package overall, my individual thoughts are below.

(Ranked from least favorite to most favorite)
5. [Mothership Zeta]: It was a close call between the bottom two add ons, but ultimately I think Mothership Zeta was my least favorite; it's a lot of long boring hallways and while it does have some cool moments, items, and ideas. I think it ruins them in execution with too many high health enemies and tight spaces. I do like the family dynamic of the crew though.

4. [Point Lookout]: I have a similar problem with Point Lookout that I do with Zeta. The tribals should not have the health of a dump truck, and neither should the swamp hicks. I went into all of the DLC (expect broken steel) without any of my base game gear, since I think a DLC should give you all the tools to beat it without outside help; point lookouts weapons were not up to snuff most of the time. I was putting magazines into the Swampfolk and Tribals and they were not going down. The combat really ruined my opinions on the DLC because I really liked the area, how some of the content carried over to the base game, and the fun B-movie esc story (the big punga is highlight). Still though, the stupid combat tarnished the otherwise good story.

3. [The Pitt]: I think the pit struck a good balance of difficulty and interesting story. The Pitt intrigued me with the concept of 'Troglidation' and all the encounters in the DLC felt fair and balanced. The final quest also really made me question if what I was doing was right, and I think it's resolution was a very good choice to make. Just a good DLC.

2. [Operation Anchorage]: I don't typically play Fallout for the combat, but for some odd reason I really like this combat focused adventure. Maybe it's the ability to see my home remade in fallout (albeit inaccurately), the good pacing of the missions, or the very good reward for the mission. I just generally enjoyed it. The DLC also taught me how to play Fallout on a controller, and through the lens of a tutorial, it's a very efficient one.

1. [Broken Steel]: On the one hand, I dislike how it cheapened the Lone Wanderer, and lessens one of my favorite parts of Fallout 3; on the other hand, it's very fun, the adventure takes you to new parts of the map, and does a wonderful job encouraging exploration. I really liked all of the missions, and seeing the wasteland change because of your actions was a really cool detail. I do wish some more things were changed, maybe a new Enclave leader, or if you didn't destroy Raven Rock, Eden would be in charge of the Crawler, but eh. I'm glad that this DLC exists in the first place.