Fallout 3 Review - Vault 101: Good or bad? You decide!
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Primarily you start in a “Vault,” an underground safe haven where you were born and resided with your father. This Vault protects you from a post-apocalyptic, radiation-filled world, and all seems to be well, until news reaches you that your father has left the Vault, and that you should do the same or risk internal punishment. During this early development time, you are building and training your character in every action that you perform. Conversations fork in different directions, answers spawn new questions, and results compile and lead you to the skill set you deserve, upon exiting the Vault into the Capital Wasteland. 
One thing to note: everything you do in Fallout 3 revolves around the concept of personal Karma. Shoot a good person, you get bad Karma. Help someone, you get good Karma. Steal something (which isn’t hard to do by mistake), bad Karma. As a constant counting mechanism, your level of Karma dictates in-game events and potential outcomes.
But regardless of good or bad Karma, a plethora of mutated monsters are going to die in outright horrible ways. Using the in-game V.A.T.S (Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System), players are allowed to slow time, using slow motion combat techniques that allow you to choose parts of the body for shooting. Combine that with the level 5 Bloody Mess perk, and it’s quite a sight to see! Of course, the V.A.T.S. system runs off an allowance bar, so regular non-V.A.T.S. combat is common and at times, a little harder than you might think it would be.
But of course, don’t be misled to just concentrate on the combat side of things, as that’s not even the best part of the game. The actual world of Fallout 3 is the true prize of the day. Immediately upon leaving the Vault, you are immersed in a desolate, hollow city, rife with hidden dangers (mines, bear traps, shotgun traps and loads of mutants) and bountiful rewards scattered amidst shattered freeway ramps, bombed-out buildings and impassible piles of rubble.
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