Fallout 3 has been an iconic and beloved game since the Lone Wanderer first began exploring on October 28, 2008. The third main title in the Fallout franchise was the first one not to be in the top-down style. This RPG set in a vast and detailed post-apocalyptic world earned a host of awards that showed just how many people held and continue to hold it in their hearts.
With Fallout growing even more popular as the years pass with new games and a live-action adaptation on Amazon Prime, seasoned players flocked to experience the game once again. Since this means there’s likely people who wish to play it for the first time, it’s important for them to know just what they’re getting into. Luckily, that’s just what this article is about. This is the state of Fallout 3 in 2024.
An Older Game with a Solid Story
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To date, the story of Fallout 3 is one of the most impactful stories in the action RPG genre. The main journey of the Lone Wanderer is to find their father after he escapes their underground home, Vault 101. It’s an adventure full of mystery, action, twists, and turns. There are even prevalent themes of betrayal and self-sacrifice when this rabbit hole goes deeper than the average vault dweller would dare to dive. Even the many side quests are this way. That’s why playing Fallout 3 in 2024 still feels like an exciting ride.
One of the most hard-hitting parts of the story is actually the beginning. While most games start you off at a random point in the main character’s life, that’s not the case for Fallout 3. In the game, you start at the very beginning when your character is born. You get to experience your character grow up and go through milestones before the true adventure outside the vault even begins. The beginning of the story enforces the roleplaying aspect of the game, which many players enjoy.
Big Choices, Big Impacts
While traversing through the Capital Wasteland as the Lone Wanderer and experiencing all there is to see, you are given many choices. These are intense choices for anyone to be encountered with, let alone a young adult who has spent their whole life having decisions made for them. One of the earliest decisions you can make is whether to disarm an undetonated nuclear bomb in the center of a town called Megaton. You can also set it off to watch the bright and booming chaos unfold.
Choices with enormous consequences like that are the reason why Fallout 3 is special. One of the pitfalls of games that have choice-based missions is not making the impacts of your decisions feel big enough. While there are examples of that in Fallout 3, there are certainly many ways you can change the Capital Wasteland for better or for worse just by choosing the right line of text. One decision can even determine the fate of an entire population of humans and radiated mutants alike.
Dangerous and Dynamic DLC
Branching out from the base game, all five DLC expansions for Fallout 3 bring new senses of danger and adventure. These expansions are Operation: Anchorage, Mothership Zeta, The Pitt, Point Lookout, and Broken Steel. All of them were released in 2009 with Point Lookout and Mothership Zeta being released on the first anniversary of the game. For new players, there’s something important to keep in mind when playing. All expansions except for Broken Steel can only be completed before you beat the base game.
From taking part in a pre-apocalyptic simulation to fighting for freedom against alien foes, all the DLCs bring unique experiences with new mysteries, different kinds of enemies, and unique weapons and armor to equip to your Lone Wanderer. They even help add to the already amazing worldbuilding and small details the Lone Wanderer can experience on their adventures. To date, these expansions are some of the most interesting stories on the market, and they chalk another reason up on the board to play Fallout 3 in 2024.
The Main Issues of Fallout 3 in 2024
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While there are many reasons why it’s a great idea to return to or experience the game for the first time, Fallout 3 is not perfect. That goes for when it was released back in 2008 and especially now. The game definitely shows its age with its outdated graphics and lackluster voice acting. This is especially true since many video games today are being made to look as realistic as possible. This could dissuade certain prospective players from playing, but amazing visuals alone do not make amazing games.
What could also make players turn their backs on the game is how it seems to run. To put it simply, the game crashes a lot. Even if you have the latest and greatest hardware, this game was coded to run in the late 2000s. A lot has changed since then, and to potentially make the game run flawlessly today, it would have to be re-coded. If you want to play the game, the biggest advice that can be given is to save, save, and save again to avoid having to redo that one portion of the game that you hate.
There’s also an issue that players who choose to play as a female Lone Wanderer will specifically face. At times, certain NPCs may refer to your character as a man. This may be a small issue for some, it may break the immersion quite a bit for others. While not game-breaking, it’s still an issue to keep in mind if you want to play Fallout 3 in 2024.
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