Fallout 3

The player leaves an underground vault to search for a missing parent and finds a shattered surface of raider camps, ghoul settlements, and super mutant strongholds, with every conversation, quest, and fight shaped by a character build the player chooses from the very first hour.

Combat can be handled in real time or paused through a targeting system that slows the world down and lets the player pick a limb to aim at. Choices about who to help and who to rob feed a running karma score that other characters notice and react to.

Radio stations broadcast across the wasteland as the player explores, with a host narrating rumors about the Lone Wanderer's own actions back to them. Side quests range from small moral puzzles in one settlement to sprawling investigations spanning several ruined districts.

• A fully open wasteland Washington, D.C. and its surroundings are explorable from the first hour with no forced path.
• V.A.T.S. targeted combat Time slows so the player can pick specific body parts to aim at before firing.
• A karma system Choices to help or exploit other survivors are tracked and change how the world treats the player.
• Deep character building Skills and perks chosen early shape which conversations, locks, and fights are actually options later.
• Companions to recruit Several survivors can join the player's journey, each with their own story and combat style.