Relax, it's finally here: you can play it

Fallout 3

Developer: Bethesda Softworks

Publisher: Bethesda Softworks

Platform: Xbox 360 (reviewed) PlayStation 3, PC

Price: $59.99 (Shop.Ars)

Rating: Mature

Just a few feet in front of me stands a balding, wiry man who wants to kill me. He snaps at me with a loathsome tone for asking a line of ethical questions about his occupation of slave trader. Sun-weathered skin cracks around his mouth as he barks "get yer ass out of here if you don't like it then!" I relent and cool him down a bit. I inform him that I would like to inspect and possibly acquire several of his goods, but I am swiftly denied.

Perhaps he knows of my true intent, to rescue two children who have recently vanished from a neighboring shantytown. He hints to me that I can gain entrance to his slave pen if I offer him the right sum of caps, which are the legal tender in the Wastelands. Better yet, giving him a slave from a nearby town might improve my odds. I question whether I should even continue this harrowing discussion as I eye the road behind me.

I notice a raggedy man in a hockey mask standing behind him, holding a rifle. I quickly pull out my combat shotgun and literally blow the balding slaver's head right off. The grunt in the background raises that shotgun of his, but I put an end to things before he can even pull the trigger. I have found a more favorable solution and fashioned my own means of entry outside of the dialog tree. I'll continue my search for those kids, but first I'll pick these bodies clean of munitions and rations. This was my way of doing things in one of the numerous side-quests in Bethesda's long-awaited and skeptically-approached take on the Fallout franchise, Fallout 3.

My RPG gaming roots run reasonably deep, beginning with the King's Quest series back in 1985. Countless hours were dedicated to the Baldur's Gate titles, Ultima, Neverwinter Nights, World of WarCraft, Mass Effect, and, of course, Oblivion. Despite my love for RPGs, I regrettably missed the Fallout boat when the title first docked 11 years ago.

Nonetheless, like every other RPG lover out there, I have been anticipating the release of Fallout 3 since Bethesda first announced it was working on the title back in 2004. Poised to use gameplay elements and upgraded technology from Oblivion, including Gamebryo, Havok, and Speedtree, I could not help but wonder if the team would alter some of the maddening game play elements I felt hindered Oblivion’s experience. Previously, enemy skill levels automatically adjusted to match the player, destroying the player's ability to overpower enemies who once proved difficult. Or how about enemies repopulating dungeons that were cleared out during a prior quest? I felt Oblivion pleading with me to paint all over its huge canvas, but despite my effort, it would inexplicably wipe my work clean. I want to exist in the world in a way that makes more sense, and that's what I was hoping for from Fallout 3.

The only thing more pronounced than the hand-wringing over this title was the hope that it would actually live up to its name. We're happy to report that the humor, violence, and open-ended nature of the original games arrived intact. While most $60 games only last eight hours or less, we put 50 hours into the game before writing this review. Come with us to see what we found.