Fallout 3 Made Leaving a Vault Feel Like Stepping Into Another World
Gaming Up North
The setup
A young Vault 101 resident leaves the safety of the underground vault to search the ruined Capital Wasteland for their missing father.
Fallout 3 is clunky in loads of places now, but I still love what it does. Walking out of Vault 101 and seeing the wasteland open up is one of those gaming moments that stick with you. You can follow the story, disappear into a ruined building for an hour, accidentally stumble into an entire side quest, or spend ages deciding whether you are actually going to be a decent person this time.
The shooting without VATS is rough, and the faces have aged horribly, but the atmosphere carries so much of it. I can forgive a lot when a game makes me want to see what is over the next hill.
Positives
Fantastic atmosphere, brilliant exploration, memorable quests, VATS is still great fun.
Negatives
Gunplay feels stiff, visuals have aged, technical jank is everywhere.
Verdict
Messy, dated and still one of the easiest open worlds for me to get completely lost in.
