Facebook – Top 100 FAVORITE Video Games: 20

20: Fallout 3 (PC/360/PS3)
Developer: Bethesda
Year: 2008

If Final Fantasy Tactics saved my life during the time between the loss and gain of knowing what I wanted, then Fallout 3 is the game that really pushed me forward and out of a serious funk. FFT sealed some wounds, treated some illnesses, and was the antidote to many a poison. Fallout 3 was refreshing treatment and relaxation that is healing. Being able to pour dozens upon dozens of hours into a single game made the rest of the world wash away for weeks on end as I continued to press on to happier days.

But that’s the ironic thing about this game’s timing in my life: while I was a wreck, a shadow of my former self, the same can be said about the game world found in Fallout 3 (and any previous/subsequent Fallout titles, to be honest). This was not a happy game by any stretch of the imagination, no, but instead a game filled with despair, longing for better days. The parallel that ran between this game and my own life at the time was noticeable, even then. But the thing that stuck out the most was my desire to make it all better, both for myself and for those left in the Wastes of the post-nuclear D.C. area. And with plasma rifles and fatboy missile launchers in my hot little hands, a giant Super Mutant with a laser gatling gun, and a dog that would protect me until the end of days (came around a second time), I was ready to do some damage.

Now, I’m not saying that this Oblivion-based shooter solved my problems, simply because I helped a few people avoid being blown the hell up in Megaton. Nor am I going to suggest that by solving an issue with a water caravan that my issues were alleviated instantly. I would also never state that ending the water crisis ended a state of depression. No, while I did all of these things (and more) in the game, I wouldn’t insist that they stopped my sorrow for one second. But I would suggest that one look at how I was before this started and how I was at the end of it all. Do that, and you’ll see one undeniable fact: I had a lot of fucking fun. And that’s what this game provided me when I needed it most… fun. So many times – especially these days – a game company decided to make a great looking game or a game based solely on a franchise, but not one that is overly fun.

For comparison, Mass Effect 2 was a great game. Cinematic and engrossing, epic to the core. But I don’t think I had that much fun playing it. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the game to death, will buy and play every bit of DLC that comes my way, but the fun factor wasn’t that high. It was just about getting to the next bit of story so that I could drop my jaw at someone’s actions and then – inevitably – see the ending cinema. Stack that up against all the hilarious times I had in Fallout 3, especially once I had good bonus perks and a solid armor/weapon combination. The number of times I laughed my ass off after blowing someone’s head clean off their shoulders from a mile away (using VATS) are innumerable. And, yes, blowing up Megaton on my second play-through was a blast (pun intended). Seeing the changes Ms. Brown underwent was a fun little alteration the world of the D.C. Wastelands, and a welcome one.

All in all, Fallout 3 was a fun as hell game. Gorgeous to look at (for its time) and never too buggy to play, with a set of interesting – if not sometimes slightly meandering – DLC to burn through during and after the main quest, the game can eat up entire weeks if you let it (and you should!). While I would go on record as stating that New Vegas is the better game out of the Fallout 3 engine, I would be lying if I said I would rather take it over this game. The scope, the size, the imagination, and the fun of blasting my way through the world, taking names while asses get kicked can never be described properly. Just know that, when all was said and done, I was ready to get the hell out of Nebraska. Something no game could have done, other than this one (primarily because the terrain and look of this game reminded me of my hometown…).

Classic Moment:
The primary reason I will always love this game over Fallout: New Vegas is for the “Leave it to Beaver”-style quest, set entirely in black and white. Going and being a part of the pre-waste world, playing as a kid, and then having to become a slasher villain to free yourself is a treat, and especially frustrating if you know how to get out of doing evil deeds, but lack the skill sets necessary to accomplish any of those actions. When all is said and done, that portion of the game is out of left field and really, really funny. Another example of a moment of pure fun.

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Added April 5, 2017
I watched my older brother start this game over a Christmas visit and when he stepped out of the Vault and saw the word for the first time was a breath of fresh air. My mom was there and was impressed, too. Then a dog attacked Pete and he turned around, threw up VATS, shot it in the face, and the dog’s head exploded.
My mom was horrified.
10/10, would play again.