Fallout 3 (Or, 'Oblivion With Guns' to it's detractors) makes for a very interesting experience once you put the time into it. Despite the slow start, an issue I've found with a few Bethesda RPG's, once you hit a decent level and pick up good resources you can go on a hell of an adventure throughout the ruins of Washington DC, probing into the ancient Vault's, different human settlements scattered across the ruins, battling mutants and monsters all the way along.
The central story, focusing on your quest to find your missing father and later on battling the government remnants of the Enclave, goes on some interesting directions, but sadly it can become deeply linear at times... and if you know where to go, you can just skip about the first five missions of the questline. Yeah. Also if you don't have Broken Steel installed, well the game becomes finite if you follow the main quest, leading to a disappointing climax.
On the five DLC packs I'll give a quick rundown:
Operation Anchorage: An interesting idea, but not all that entertaining in the long run. While the VR aesthetic is nice, Fallout 3's shooting mechanics aren't robust enough to warrant a jaunt into FPS land. It's short, thankfully, and you get some lovely loot for the hard work.
Broken Steel: The most necessary of the bunch, adds several new quests, a buttload of new content, a raised level cap and allows you to continue on past the ending of the game. Entertaining and definitely worth it.
The Pitt: Undoubtedly the weakest of the lot. The new area to explore is almost shockingly small, doesn't have much to differentiate itself from the Capital Wasteland and is ugly to look at. The questline is so short that even taking your gear from you doesn't do much to prolong it. It DOES have a somewhat interesting moral dilemma,but that only comes at the end.
Mothership Zeta: Fun b-movie schlock where you and a bunch of frozen misfits fight off the aliens that abducted you. Fun, funny, and filled with new gear to make use of. Again a little short, and sadly you can't do much with the alien ship once you have it, but still good to play.
Point Lookout: Biggest and probably best, an eerie series of quests through the grim and murky swamplands. Creepy and very distinct from the mainland.
A Lengthy Irradiated Romp
Fallout 3 (Or, 'Oblivion With Guns' to it's detractors) makes for a very interesting experience once you put the time into it. Despite the slow start, an issue I've found with a few Bethesda RPG's, once you hit a decent level and pick up good resources you can go on a hell of an adventure throughout the ruins of Washington DC, probing into the ancient Vault's, different human settlements scattered across the ruins, battling mutants and monsters all the way along.
The central story, focusing on your quest to find your missing father and later on battling the government remnants of the Enclave, goes on some interesting directions, but sadly it can become deeply linear at times... and if you know where to go, you can just skip about the first five missions of the questline. Yeah. Also if you don't have Broken Steel installed, well the game becomes finite if you follow the main quest, leading to a disappointing climax.
On the five DLC packs I'll give a quick rundown:
Worth getting the GOTY edition, definitely.