Bethesda is known now for making quality RPGs. From Oblivion to Skyrim, every game always is extremely time-consuming and entertaining. One game in their collection has always stood out to me though, and that game is Fallout 3..
Fallout 3 tells the story of you. You were into Vault 101, which was used as a shelter from a nuclear fallout. The apocalypse has been around for a while now, your character does not know this, due to the fact he was born in this underground shelter. All that's gold turns to dust when your dad, James (voiced by Liam Neeson), abandons the vault to pursue his scientific work of making all the water in the Wasteland pure again, just like your mother wanted.
Once you leave the Vault, your path is completely up to you. You get to tell your own story of the Lone Wanderer. Everything feels possible and nothing feels limited as soon as you step out of the Vault to see the beautifully haunting Wasteland in front of you. You can see tumbleweeds rustling through the dirt, destroyed buildings in the sunset, and loose animals wandering just by stepping on the cliff in front of the Vault. This is what the possibility of wasting hundreds of hours looks like.
The most satisfying element of any RPG is freedom. You get to do things on your own terms and Fallout 3 is no exception to this rule. In fact, Fallout may do it better than any RPG. As you discover places, they will be marked on your handy-dandy Pip Boy, which acts as an all-in-one tool for your character. You can access your map, your weapons, and your health from this tool attached to your wrist.
Once you have enough places to explore, you can fast travel to them with your Pip Boy. This makes traveling so much easier. Sometimes though, you'll feel compelled to just walk everywhere.
Fallout 3 has no shortage of fights to participate in. Like most games, Fallout has a special component that makes it different from other games. That component is VATS. It allows your character to stop time and make a precision shot at an enemy. You can aim at the legs to cripple their speed, or aim at their head to make them go in a frenzy, attacking everything (including allies) in their sight. The combat outside of VATS feels a bit odd, but don't fret, it isn't unplayable. It's actually quite satisfying to kill something outside of VATS. When I say something, I mean many of the Wasteland's creatures and people.
Like other RPGs, you need multiple enemy types. Something to spice up the fights and make you think on your feet. Fallout does this perfectly. While you will come across the Mad Max-esq Raiders who just want to kill you for no reason, you will also come across many mutated animal types. Whether it be enlarged rats (known as Mole Rats) or crazy big bloat flies, you'll have a gun for everything. If it's a Deathclaw though, no weapon is big enough to put that beast down.
If you have been looking for a game to settle you down for a bit and to take up your time, look no further. You have been introduced to the best RPG of our generation. I'll see you in two months once you finish your sixth playthrough.