After 3 years, is Fallout 3 still one of the best?
 

It's been 3 years since Bethesda released Fallout 3, the game that decimated many peoples social lives, won over critics hearts and conquered the 2008 game awards. Even with other hard hitting games such as GTA IV and Metal Gear Solid 4, which I remind you are some of the best rated games of all time, Fallout 3 practically beat all of them. Now 3 years later, multitude of games such as countless COD games, red dead redemption, Mass Effect 2, and Uncharted 2, have all tried to get where Fallout 3 was 3 years ago.

I believe Fallout 3 is the best 7th generation console or PC games to date and will be for a long time. However what do others think, was Fallout 3 just a fad, or was it a good game but since then has lost much of it's lister since more recent critically acclaimed games have been released, or are you one of those people who has played it 4 times through even though you got all the achievements first time through, and you still find enjoyment in the game?

Well I bought the GOTY edition in 2009 i think and played it for a few months. But I bever could "get into" this game. I was to big, I got lost in the wastelands. Then I gave it a try halfway 2010 and again... i couldn't find my way.

A few weeks I wanted to sell my copy, but wanted to give it a 3rd try. I decided to do Anchorage. Because that was a "small" story and after that DLC I nevers stopped playing. :)
I'm hooked to this game and i'd say it's one of the best games I've ever played.

For instance when I started Red Dead Redemption i was hooked from the beginning'till the end.

I voted ffor best game, beacuse there was no other optopn. I hated GTA (played the last one on the x360), I only liked Vice and I played that on the PC and I never played Metal Gear Solid. So option 2 is a no go for me. As for 3 and 4.
Fallout 3 is not THE best game I've ever played on the console, but it's mucht better then GTA. It's one of my favorites together with Bad Company 2 and I know that Battlefield 3 wil be the best game of 2011, 2012 and 2013 LOL

One of the best games I have ever played. Enjoyed it a lot. I'm not saying it's the best of it's generation because the competition is very good. But I'd easily spot it in my top 10 ever. maybe even top 5.

I bought the GOTY version back in 2009 as well only to play it up to leaving the vault and putting the game back on my shelf in it's shrink wrap xD picked it up a few days ago and I'm really getting into it now and feel like a right donut for leaving it for so long before giving it a 2nd chance :p

i think there are a lot of reasons why Fallout 3 is such a great game such as:

1) Meaningful exploration: Fallout 3 was a large place (which should be a given) and like in many rockstar games, the location is often can be a character itself. Also in Fallout 3, the exploration was worth the travel because there was a 90% chance that a unmarked sidequest (that you actually wanted to do, unlike in its successor) would happen and you would enjoy it, or it would have something meaningful for your travel.

2) Fallout 3 plot never got too big or complicated for its own good: The plot was pretty simple compared to other games where developers would take a big leap in storytelling or complex plot that more often than not, it crashes and burns,leaves the player confused, or maybe the player just wont care anymore. Bethesda played it safe by having a small story that people could more than likely relate to in some way and care about the outcome of the game. many people including myself all remember taking a vow to absolutely destroy the enclave after they killed your father james in project purity. There are very few games such as the Mass Effect series where you can spend ages deciding on a simple decision because how it they know that decision will impact the world they inhabit forever. Fallout 3 is one of those games that gets you emotionally invested and care about your decisions.

3) Karma is a female Dog: Like i said previously Fallout 3 is one of a few games still today that made you pause and think of the outcome. I remember the first time i played fallout 3, i hesitantely nuked megaton for the need of cash and a place to crash. After i nuked it, i went to ground zero eventually to see my glory. What i saw made me regret the decision to nuke them, because i felt that the world had suddenly become a lot more emptier than it was before, and immediately went back and decided to save the town in previous save file. One of the many reasons why i found it hard to commit crimes agianst people was that i realised the value of humans (the ones who wouldnt start shooting me on site) because i knew they were essentail to my survival.

4) Memorable DLC: Even though Point Lookout and Broken Steel are pretty much the better DLC of the five, the rest was still worth all the money i paid with it. Though they other 3 were lacking in many of the freedoms in the superior 2, they still did a good job of feeding that addiction to play fallout 3, because they were different from main story, had cool stuff to collect, DLC was filled to the brim with cool things, and after you completed it, you could hardly wait till the next piece of DLC arrived, I'm still waiting for the next 6th piece of DLC to come out for Fallout 3.

These are many of the reasons even after playing games like Metal Gear Solid 4, GTA IV, Uncahrted 2, Red Dead Redemption, and Mass Effect 2, i can still come back to the game and play it like it was my very first time.

I'll have to say to this day I still haven't had the time to get around to it. I actually have two copies of the GOTY Edition with all the DLC. I seriously need to start playing this.

I love this game, poll answers were too specific though, leaving out the inbetweens. I would say this is *one of the best games on todays consoles.

Fallout 3 is seriously one of the games EVER made, not just this gen i mean in the history of video games

My favorite game of all time it is so EPIC!

Fallout 3 is one of my to 5, but GTA IV was garbage and I've never touched MGS.

I do still love FO3 though, and I still pop it in there once a month or so and run through it for a few hours.

GTA IV and MGS??

Fallout is one of the best, but I can´t vote since you made that compare. Reaaally different games.

To me GTA IV wasnt that good as the critics say, but fallout 3 is definitely up there in the list of my favorite games along with mass effect 2 and oblivion.

Replace GTA IV with Oblivion (you know, the game with the same engine Bethesda used for Fallout 3 two years later) and MSG 4 with Mass Effect and then you might have a legitimate option I can choose from. Otherwise I can't vote as none of the current options apply to me.

Fallout 3 is my all time favorite game because the possibilities of what you can do in it are endless and it just never gets old.

I've never played it. I love RPG's... Should I give it a go? Is there a GOTY Edition still available? If so, how much is it going for these days?

Well when I say one of the best games along with GTA IV and MGS series, I don't restrict it to just them. Those were just some of the games that could be seen as one of the best games ever along with half-life series, mass effect series, uncharted 2, legend of zelda. May have been my fault but I thought people would see that I was just using GTA IV and MGS as some examples of exemplary games I have ever played, and to others maybe Fallout 3 is up there as your favourites along with N.U.D.E. or call of duty 3. It doesn't have to be just MGS or GTA IV.

Well, from what I can see, and from what I've heard friends on live say, not many people consider GTA IV to be an "exemplary" game. Bad example. Should've just put "Easily in my top 5" or something along those lines. I bet that'd get 90% of the vote.

Well according to websites like metacritic which gave it a 98/100, 99.9% of every critic who rated the game, and in my opinion, GTA IV is one of the greatest games of 7th generation, and maybe even ever.

Yes, because critics, people just like you and me, are always a good meter to rate games. You can take them into account, but just because some dude that writes for a magazine says a game is good or bad doesn't mean that's the end all, be all. For an example, the most recent Transformers game got terrible reviews, but most of the people I talk to that have played it enjoyed it as far as a one-two playthrough game. Homefront got destroyed by most people, but there are still a lot of people that loved the campaign, even though it was so short.

The point isn't that GTA IV was good or not (which it wasn't even as good as the last 3, by the way), it's that your option in the poll was dumb. You left no option for people that loved the game, but like another one better. You went from "Best ever" to "It was okay". If you loved GTA IV, good for you. I'm glad you didn't feel like you wasted 65 bucks like I did, but that doesn't mean that anyone else likes it, and the simple fact that you try to even put it in the same class as a game like FO3 is absurd.

Often it's best to trust the reviews especially when a game is almost unanimously critically acclaimed all across the board. Remember theres often a reason why critics for different forms of entertainment are still around, it's because they know what the hell they're talking about. If after all the reviews for a film are sent in such as The Godfather and it has a 100% on rotten tomatoes or a game like GTA IV that also has an average of 98% after all the reviews, you think there might be a chance that that movie or game is really good or worth your time? Maybe I'm wrong, maybe the critics are useless fat elitists and the Hangover Part II should win best picture at the oscars this year.

Also I know that I kind of botched the poll alittle but I thought people would be smart enough to figure out that MGS & GTA IV were just some examples.

yeah GOTY editions are still available i'm not sure how much, but i'm sure you wiil get a GOTY edition

Class
 

Yep...F3 is in a class of it's own.

I believe it's still one of the best yeah

Haven't read any posts but the OP, but I have to say that it was one of the most enjoyable games that I've played in years.

Fallout 3 is hand's down with Dlc and all just one of the best game's to be released on the X360 console and it was just down right fun while amazing.

I originally picked up the game over 2 years ago, one of the few games I ever paid full price new for. Popped it in just to test out the disc and to just "try it out", next thing I know it's 6am and I'm supposed to be getting up for work.

I had to put it away, or else I never would have slept again. I just got completely enthralled and just kept going.

Actually perma-loaned that copy to a buddy, which is probably now wandering the world with his army unit.

Anyhow, borrowed my brothers regular edition copy recently, dipped back in and have already put about 20 hours back into it. And I've barely left the Megaton area. I'm definitely going to get the GOTY edition at some point, which is cheaper than buying all the DLC through the marketplace.

That even just wandering around a desolated wasteland is so intriguing, picking up and throwing tin cans, just poking my nose into derelict buildings hoping to not get blown up by traps, I've barely even touched the quests and am truly enjoying it.

One thing that struck me just last night, how vivid the sunrise and sunset transitions are. It's quite spectacular and outside the Red Dead Redemption day/night cycling haven't seen anything that can quite match it. I stood there for a few minutes and just watched the sun come up.

I think this game is pretty special.

I don't know if it's the best game ever. It's hard to compare Fallout 3 to some very good first person shooters, action or other RPGs like Mass Effect. But it's definitely on my top ten.

Theres a reason I completed the whole game + DLC's on Xbox and Ps3 :')

One of my Favourite games along with New Vegas...

Played probably over a 1000 hours between both of them.

I absolutely love Fallout 3. NV is fun, but pales in comparison IMO. Still, I hope they continue making games for this epic series.

Just about pick the goty edition up from Zavvi for £12.99. Bargain