The Games of Christmas '08: GPU Performance Part II

Fallout 3

Fallout 3 is one of the big games this holiday season even though it was released a little over a month ago. Some of us have fond memories of playing the original Fallout and Fallout 2 until the wee hours of the morning so when Bethesda Softworks announced their third installment, we were understandably excited.

To be brief, Fallout 3 is an action role-playing game that is set 200 years after nuclear war engulfed the world (let me tell you, those newspaper clippings reading “US annexes Canada” are particularly chilling) where you take the role of one of the few survivors. These survivors have been living in Vaults which have protected them from the nuclear fallout for the better part of two centuries. You begin the game as an infant in Vault 101 and quickly grow up while learning the ins and outs of control and combat. Once the brief intro sequence is finished, you are plunged into a web of mystery as your father disappears and forces the main character to leave Vault 101 and venture into the Washington D.C area. You must find whatever clues you can regarding daddy’s sudden MIA status while combating the various inhabitants of the game world.


Fallout 3 uses a modified version of the Gamebryo Engine that was also used in the popular Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion series of role-playing games. As such, some of the visuals in this game are absolutely stunning but it comes with some pretty hefty hardware requirements.


The VATS (Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System) system has been pimped by the developers of Fallout 3 ever since it was announced due to the fact that it adds a true “hybrid” nature to the combat system. Naturally, you can play the game as a first person shooter but the VATS system allows gameplay to be paused while certain actions and commands can be given to your character. This brings a whole new dimension to this game.


Another aspect of Fallout 3 is the Karma system. This is exactly what it sounds like: the way by which you play the game will directly affect events in the world around you. If you choose to destroy a city (yes, it can be done) you will receive a massive amount of negative karma which will affect the way other game dwellers interact with you. Instead of giving you gifts, they may shun you.

All in all, this is not the type of instant gratification game many people are looking for since by its very nature, it takes a while to really get into. But if you do spend the time to work through some of its more boring parts, Fallout 3 promises to keep you hooked for a good long time.