Fallout 3 Reviews

Had problems in the past - but I've seen that there is a up date, my system has 2 terabites and all the updates. this is a old game and I hope my system isn't over the top. I liked playing this game and hope it downloads without any problems - let ya know later on.

Absolute masterpiece, to absolutely try and complete, favourite game of the entire Fallout franchise.

albeit pretty dated at this point, at the time, it had one of the most interesting worlds to explore, and still does. if there's one thing Bethesda has mostly done right, it's making fun worlds to explore. shooting and rpg elements are kind of shart by today's standards, and also, were kind of shart for their time, and the writing is kind of bad, but it's still worth playing if you like this kind of thing

Fallout 3, released in 2008 by Bethesda Game Studios, marked a radical shift in the beloved Fallout franchise, transforming it from a top-down, turn-based RPG into a first-person, open-world experience. Set in a retro-futuristic post-apocalyptic Washington, D.C., the game plunges the player into a hauntingly atmospheric wasteland teeming with danger, desolation, and complex moral choices. From the very beginning, Fallout 3 sets itself apart by starting not with a bang, but with your literal birth inside the Vault—a moment that cleverly doubles as character creation and sets the tone for a story deeply tied to themes of legacy, choice, and survival. The world-building in Fallout 3 is arguably one of its strongest achievements. Bethesda created a dense and immersive Capital Wasteland, populated with remnants of pre-war American culture, shattered monuments, and mutated wildlife. Traversing the ruins of the National Mall or discovering a half-buried Metro station feels less like a quest objective and more like uncovering the corpse of a lost civilization. The attention to detail—old world posters, ruined homes, scattered journal entries—tells stories even when no NPCs are around to speak. The world isn't just a backdrop; it's a character in itself, shaping the player's journey and constantly reminding them of the consequences of war, technology, and hubris. Gameplay-wise, Fallout 3 marries first-person shooting mechanics with deep role-playing systems. Players can approach situations with stealth, diplomacy, brute force, or clever use of skills, giving a rewarding sense of agency. The V.A.T.S. (Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System) mechanic deserves particular praise, turning combat into a strategic affair by letting players pause and target specific enemy limbs, often with gory, cinematic results. While the real-time shooting mechanics can feel clunky by modern standards, the hybrid approach helped bridge the gap between traditional RPG fans and action-focused players. Leveling up allows for significant customization through perks, allowing players to tailor their character in meaningful ways—from silver-tongued diplomats to sadistic pyromaniacs. Narratively, the game tells a personal story framed within a larger socio-political context. You play as the Lone Wanderer, leaving the safety of Vault 101 in search of your father (voiced by Liam Neeson), and inevitably getting entangled in the ideological conflict between the Brotherhood of Steel and the Enclave, remnants of the pre-war U.S. government. While the main story has its pacing issues and some underwhelming twists, the emotional weight of finding your father and grappling with his vision for the future of humanity gives the game a human core that complements the macro themes of war, reconstruction, and control. Moreover, the game shines brightest in its side quests, which often outclass the main narrative in complexity and player agency. Encounters like the twisted Vault 112 simulation or the moral ambiguity of the Megaton bomb decision showcase Bethesda’s knack for layered storytelling and ethical gray zones. From a technical standpoint, Fallout 3 was ambitious for its time but also carried a fair share of bugs and performance issues. The Gamebryo engine occasionally struggles with physics glitches, NPC behavior, and crashes—particularly on the original PC version. Modding, however, quickly became a saving grace. The vibrant modding community extended the game’s life far beyond its initial release, offering everything from quality-of-life improvements to massive fan-made expansions. Even today, modding remains one of the best ways to experience Fallout 3, adding modern resolutions, bug fixes, and overhauls that breathe new life into the aging engine. The game's audio design deserves special mention. The juxtaposition of upbeat 1940s and '50s tunes from Galaxy News Radio with the bleakness of the wasteland creates an ironic, unsettling atmosphere that sticks with the player long after they log off. The voice acting is uneven—strong performances from key characters like Three Dog and James are offset by more generic, repetitive NPCs—but overall it adds to the immersion. The ambient sounds of distant gunfire, howling winds, and Geiger counter clicks all enhance the oppressive tension of exploring the unknown. In retrospect, Fallout 3 was a bold and transformative entry that not only revived the Fallout series for a new generation but also helped define the modern open-world RPG genre. It laid the groundwork for successors like Fallout: New Vegas and Fallout 4, while still maintaining its own identity. Though it may show its age today, both graphically and mechanically, its atmosphere, storytelling, and world design continue to resonate. For players willing to overlook its quirks or embrace its rough edges, Fallout 3 offers a haunting, thought-provoking journey through a shattered America that remains one of Bethesda’s most iconic achievements. Rating: 8/10

Absolutely crap. Couldn't get it to work without going through so much bullshit. Bought a broken game. For some reason doesn't count my playtime. No workshop (makes modding way more of a pain then it has to be), No achievements, No trading cards, no bitches. Pirate it.

fallout 3 isn't bad the reason why i don't like this version is because it will just kick me out immediatly. hopefully there's a way i can fix this. if you don't want this to happen to you just get the goty version.

Fallout 3 was my introduction to the Fallout Franchise, and while it's not the best Fallout game (Fallout 2 has my heart), It is worth the play. Got nothing better to do? Fallout 3 will never let you down. There's always something interesting going on, so take a crack at it, you might like it!

As others have already said this game has some bad issues with crashing/not loading on modern PC hardware. On my desktop I had trouble getting the game to stay open for longer than 10 minutes at a time. BUT if you own a Steam Deck you can still play! I ended up connecting my Deck to a dock with a mouse and keyboard ad have easily put 20+ hours in without issue. Use Proton version 6.3-8 or Proton Experimental and game runs like butter. 60FPS, high settings, 1080p (external monitor) ad have only had maybe one crash. Great game, but they need to do work on the PC version for sure.

Heads up, just get the gog version of the game. way less time spent modding it to work.

The fact that Steam does not have a clear and distinctive warning on the store page that you cannot run this game without extensive modification and tweaking is a deceptive and/or abusive practice, and should be reported to the appropriate regulator. I see the price is down to $2.49, and in the game's current form, it is literally not even worth that. You should be able to buy the game, download it, and play it. It is that simple. The vast majority of gamers are not computer programmers or experts in modding games. Steam should either demand that this game be fixed so you can buy it and download it as is to play it, or them should remove it from the site. At the very least, people that are thinking of buying this game should have the full story. This was a fun game when I was able to play it before, and the fact that it is so buggy and not able to be just downloaded and played is a shame, especially when so many older games out there are able to be played.