"This is the true Racing Paradise"

I have played other Burnout games such as Burnout 3, which compared to this game, is nothing (Sorry if I compare Burnout Paradise with Burnout 3). Burnout Paradise is most likely the best game to come out on the PC. Burnout has been a great series and I want to thank Criterion Games for making a better game compared to the prequels in the series. Burnout Paradise may be one of my favorite games on the PC. Burnout Paradise is a very fun racing game. I tried Burnout 3 and I was just amused and not quite into the game, but when I tried Burnout Paradise, I was thrilled. Burnout 3 has other vehicles, like any other Burnout game, but it is also confined, like the other Burnout games except Burnout Paradise. Burnout Paradise makes the world of Burnout more accessible or you can take a shortcut to the finish and there are no laps like Burnout 3. Burnout Paradise is better than any other racing game that I have ever played. Burnout Paradise is the racing game I would suggest to anyone who wants to play a racing game but wants something better than going in laps and collecting cars like that. With Burnout Paradise, there are events you need to find and you need to win those events to upgrade your license to get more cars and take down cars at certain times to gain them. Two types of the events that make Burnout Paradise not like any other racing game are Stunt Run and Road Rage. You have to play Burnout Paradise to play these events. There are also certain tasks you need to do in order to unlock more cars, but I am not going to spoil that feature because it is not in the instruction manual.

Controls - 9/10
I am a little wiry on the controls because I never played a racing game on a PC with just the Keyboard. I know that there are controllers out there but I need to find a good gaming controller first. I already got by the first of what seems of many tasks of Burnout Paradise for the PC. I guess to get past this is to either buy a gaming controller or just bear with the keyboard configuration. After a few hours, I have gotten used to the keyboard configuration of Burnout Paradise and I have started to not need a gaming controller, even though this port of Burnout Paradise is compatible with the Xbox 360 controller. I have been used to playing with the controller at a friend's house but the keyboard configuration is nice for a change from the controllers on the console.

Graphics - 10/10
The graphics are awesome. Especially across three screens (on the video of the three screen Test). Looking across three screens would be awesome. But I need to figure out how to do that and I would be in all the glory of Burnout Paradise. Yet again I only have one PC screen so I have to bear with Burnout Paradise yet again. Burnout Paradise graphics seem to be better than some of the graphics of games released today. I am not mentioning any of them but with the right monitor[s], you can have the ride of your life in Burnout Paradise. The graphics are better than any racing game that I have played. You can see many of the details on the cars and bikes as well as in the menus and the surroundings in Burnout Paradise.

Sound - 10/10
Everything sounds great. With the right speakers, you may have yourself an outstanding amount of feelings from the game. Many people have two speakers for their computers while others have surround sound. Having surround sound and spanning the game across three computers would be the ultimate ride of this game and any gaming experience. Some of the music is appealing but with the selection I like, I prefer listening to my own music with the game music turned way down low and off. The sound from the cars and bikes are so realistic that, when I turn to the nose view (car) or the wheel view (bike), it feels like I am actually there (almost). I would imagine that surround sound would be much better but if you have to deal with two speakers (stereo), then that is ok as well because I only have stereo and Burnout Paradise sounds fine.

Gameplay - 10/10
The gameplay of the bikes and vehicles in one game is outstanding. This is what I call racing. Having two different licenses for both is great seeing that once both are at 101% (I have been reviewing the FAQ on the console ports and my friend completed the game), you can brag to your friends that you got 202% on this one game that is called Burnout Paradise. Seeing the vehicle list, some of the vehicles that are going to be unlocked seem to be interesting to use in the game. Many of the cars are fun to use, some are funny to use while others are fun and funny at the same time when you use certain cars. I did not mention bikes because there are only 4 bikes.

Replay - 8/10
Giving it a good amount of thought, I would like (not love) to replay this game but why replay it when the game is already completed? Well I would start a new game just for someone else but personally, I would really feel in between wanting to complete it and awkward (for starting a new game when I already completed it). But on the other hand, if I do start a new game I could go through all the joys of getting new cars, licenses, and getting the paint jobs at the end of the game. Also, with starting a new game, you could get through the game a different way of how you first finished it to make the game even better.

Bottom Line:
So with the right modifications on a computer as well as the right equipment, you might as well place a sticker saying, "Burnout Paradise is a True Gamers Game." When I was playing this with a friend, I was addicted to this game. My friend owns two of the same consoles with two Burnout Paradises, and I have played Burnout Paradise with him every so often and I have been addicted to Burnout Paradise since I started playing the game. Thinking about it, Burnout Paradise should have an expansion pack (excluding all the packs that are on the game already) and it should start in a brand new city, totally different to the current one, with all of the vehicles you already unlocked plus even MORE vehicles to use in both versions (Fire Truck, Ambulance, Oscar Myer Wiener Car just to name a few). This is to keep away boredom away when people actually DO finish the game and are bored with just going around the city with all the events completed and nothing else to do. I would suggest this game to anyone who does not like racing games because Burnout Paradise is not just another racing game; Burnout Paradise is the Destruction Racing Game. 'Destruction' is not a word that is usually combined with 'Racing' but Burnout Paradise molds them together like they were made for each other.

Overall - 9.4/10

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 02/05/09, Updated 02/12/09

Game Release: Burnout Paradise: The Ultimate Box (US, 02/05/09)

"A Great Shooter that finally strays away from ultra-realism"

I heard about this game over a year ago and couldn't wait to play it since. So I bought Team Fortress Classic to tide me over and get me used to the way it plays. Then I waited. I know some people have waited for over a decade for this game and I would hate to wait that long for this masterpiece, too. Well, it finally arrived and now we get to play it! I immediately scavenged for money to pre-order The Orange Box on Steam to play the beta. I've been playing it for weeks and it's still fun.

Sound: 9/10
When playing the game, the gun sounds are good and easily distinguishable between the classes. The sounds are appropriate for the power. When the Heavy is firing off his Chain Gun you know that it isn't good to get in his line of fire. When a Sentry Turret is firing, the sound is unmistakable. You hear that as a scout are your immediate reaction is to get the hell out of there. There are taunts, battle cries, and voice commands for each character. The taunts and battle cries are a nice touch. Nothing feels better than walking in as a Heavy while continually yelling out, "Cry some more!" And taunting your latest kill after whacking him in the head with a bat feels awesome. The commands are clear, fit the characters and have a certain charm.

Graphics: 9/10
If you have been following the games development after they announced that they're using a Pixar Cartoon style, you know that the forums were abuzz with complaints on how Team Fortress is a gritty, military game, not a cartoon. And that it won't express how it feels properly. Well, the game came out and they can go shove their complaints up their... sorry. Anyway, the game's graphics fit the feel of the game better than a realistic approach would have. The game is not realistic. It's an un-realistic, comedic game. I'm sure they build bases 50 meters from each other in real life. The game has somewhat of a dark humor feel. You shouldn't laugh at people getting blown to smithereens but they way the game portrays everything is just funny. The characters look great too. When you put the spy and heavy side by side, you know the spy will take less hits than the Heavy. You know what everything does just by looking at it. The medic doesn't carry a med pack but a med gun. One look at the beam with its medical crosses and you know what it is doing. The medic can characters invulnerable for a short time when he has enough charge. When he does the characters become shiny and are completely covered in either red or blue for the team. When you see this you know not to charge them. The blood effects and gibs also look great. They have the same cartoony feel.

Gameplay: 10/10
The most important part. The game play is awesome. This isn't just a Source Engine port of TFC, it's a sequel. The game composes of Capture the Flag, Territorial Control, or Control Point game modes. All of the games modes are fun to play. If you ever get bored of one mode you might just have a craving for another mode. The game also composed of 9 classes to play with. The Heavy, the Medic, the Spy, the Pyro, the Soldier, the Demoman, the Engineer, the Sniper, and my favorite, the Scout. All of them have their uses and you'll never be a class that is completely useless to the team. Every class has their uses. A Spy can completely obliterate a turret defense set up by an Enginner who's turrets stopped the team's advance. Then a Heavy comes in on a killing spree while being kept alive by a Medic but then it's stopped by a Sniper killing him with a headshot. A Scout then rushes the Sniper being too fast to get a target on and kills the Sniper then goes for the flag and is ambushed by a Pryo who can kill people almost instantly in close quarters. The Pryo goes outside to be blown up by Soldier's rocket. The Soldier then goes in to be blown up by a Demoman's sticky grenades. As you can see they all have their uses.

Content: 8/10
The game doesn't have many maps now. Only around 6. But, the community is already churning out maps. And these aren't half-assed maps. These custom-maps are fun to play. It won't be soon before they remake some Team Fortress Classic maps. Heres to hoping for a mooncheese and hunted remake.

Overall: 10/10
Overall, the game is a satisfying experience. I would highly recommend it. Go out, buy the Orange Box and play some Team Fortress 2. You won't be dissapointed. Unless you're weird.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 10/15/07

"Blizzard turns a great game into one for the ages!"

Introduction:

Hey gaming fans, yes Pikachu1918 is back with another game review here, and in this case it's the highly anticipated Wrath of the Lich King, and expansion pack to that killer game World of Warcraft by the fine folks at Blizzard. Just to be upfront here, this review is based on the 3.0.2 patched edition. I note this, since Blizzard has added new content via patches later on, and they MIGHT change things which run contrary to what's in this review. Generally Blizzard doesn't do a 180, but better safe than sorry.

Now, just in case you've missed the commercials or the real time strategy games this title is based on. Here is a recap for anyone new to the franchise. This game takes place several years after Warcraft III. You create a character for either the Horde or the Alliance, and you go adventuring as you would in a role playing game. Except instead of you being alone, this being an MMORPG you play online. You'll do quests, and such to gain experience, gear, gold, and reputation. Generally I find the social aspects of the game are more addictive than the in game mechanics, or perpetual greed affect.

Story: 10/10

Blizzard did things right with this expansion pack, and introducing players to the new content when it came to an actual story line. Since in the Burning Crusade, the transition was poorly done. You were fighting the undead and other evils all over Azeorth, and then suddenly you're being shipped off to Outlands without any real connections between the two points, except you were being asked to go there by someone.

In Wrath of the Lich King, for about a month before hand players were given a refresher course into where we were two years ago. The Burning Crusade promoted allot of short stories that rarely connected with each other lore wise. Now the quests and the events around you make sense. Since now you can see both the big picture, in sense of world events, to the small scale where it's your own character doing his/her best to save the world.

Just to give you an example on how things have changed when it comes to the story content of the game, before you'd hit maybe a 5 to 10 quests in a chain, at most. I've been hitting different areas of Northrend since launch day, and there are some quests with 15-20 quests in a chain. We're seeing in game movies with graphics & sound which are of a higher level than the usual in game ones. I don't think World of Warcraft has ever had this before, when your character doesn't play an active role. Besides that we're seeing more quests focused on the recent past, so we know what we're going to deal with in the near future.

Graphics: 9/10
Wrath of the Lich King represents the first REAL over haul of the World of Warcraft graphics engine, since the original game launched. Since the first one was a bit cheap, and wasn't aging well. I am proud to say that the work done was well worth it. Since now even some of the older areas which used to have a cartoonish feel to it, now feel more respectable with a deep color palette in use, no increase in background activity, but maybe that's for the future.

When it comes to Northrend, this is what World of Warcraft should've been four years ago. I'm a mountain biker, which means I have more than a passing acquaintance to what woods feel like. Some areas I felt could've been lifted from the trails I ride. Don't get me wrong, there isn't any mud being sprayed about, or bugs hitting your character if s/he rides too fast. However, it has a more realistic feel to it, the cliffs that have multiple faces, there are tree stumps, fallen logs, ground cover that looks more convincing, and it's a combination of these things that help enhance the realism of this part of Azeroth that Blizzard hasn't been able to achieve before.

Gameplay: 8/10

Wrath of the Lich King adds some much needed fresh air to the actual game mechanics. There are three major changes which are worth noting. The first being you can actually use a “war machine” to fire various weapons at other players, building, and vehicles. The second is the introduction of the HERO class, and the third being how much easier it is to solo quest as either a healer or a tank. Which before has been very difficult, and discouraged people from playing those class at the ideal specs for those roles in instances.

The war machines were something I think everyone wanted from day #1. However, the computing power, and internet speed weren't there to support it at the time. They've taken some things from popular first person shooters here, since a vehicle can carry 3-5 people. Which means you might not be the driver, but instead defending it, or using it to advance to the front lines. The reason you'll be using it to advance is since unless a sniper is working on the other team, the machine takes the hit, not the player. The interface is smooth and simple enough that short of being an idiot, you'll know what you're doing, and where you're going. You'll face a steeper learning curve in regards to actually choosing the right machine for the PvP situation you're in.

When it comes to the HERO class, Blizzard is very reasonable. One HERO per realm per account, and after you've done X achievements to earn it. This isn't a FAQ so don't expect me to give it away how to do it. The real axe I've got to grind is how easy it is to make a Death Knight. Don't get me wrong, it's a great class and something which is great to add to the game. However, on launch day, less than 12 hours after launch I'm seeing countless Death Knights running around. I feel that by using the word, “Hero” to define this class. It should've been harder to create a character of this class then it presently is.

Just to close this part off, I know one of the older complaints was, “I don't want to grind X rep for X goodie”. Well, Blizzard has removed that problem in SOME instances. However, there is a trade off, if the item is the exception to the rule stated above, expect to pay more for it. They also made it easier for you to grind certain reputations while wearing the right tabard in an instance at level 80. These are SOME of many good changes Blizzard has made in WOLTK.

Sound: 7.5/10

I believe if you've screwed up the basic sound affects in a game, you've got serious problems. Blizzard hasn't changed a thing with the sound affects in the older parts of the game. They've touched a bit up on the music in different areas. All the music for the respective parts of Northrend sound like the music you'd expect from a fantasy based game like this. Which is great, except it tends to get old after a while, since you're going to be spending HOURS in some areas, and the music isn't that long when it comes to time to complete a piece. I would gamble with you down to my last gold piece, you will turn the in game music off after a while, since the Blizzard doesn't really try to change it up, unless you leave an area.

Replay: 10/10

With World of Warcraft there are a few kinds of players, some like myself prefer to explore over grinding, there are Role Players, and guys who want the goodies and only the goodies. Yes, it's possible to hit L80 within 3 days from an L70 character. However, most people don't have the time, orreal life stamina for this. I'd give this expansion a good 5-10 month shelf life, just coming out of the box. This is before new gear, new instances, new areas are added via patches from Blizzard. I mean common you can level upwards of 50 characters to L80. I think that's going to take some time, and just to be clear. My estimates on shelf life are based on ONE character doing everything.

FINAL CALL!

Yup, we're back in the final call bunker. Where you've either read the entire review or you've scrolled down here because you've seen my reviews, and know I have this section where I summarize everything into one lined question, which is. “DO I BUY THIS GAME?”, and the word is, “YES!” This isn't a fan boy yes, or a yes because you own the core game and the first expansion, this is a yes based on applying the hardest standards I could to the game.

I understand how some players left World of Warcraft after the Burning Crusade, and how we felt a bit ripped off at the end. How, it seemed that we had two separate worlds that weren't remotely connected. In Wrath of the Lich King, Blizzard used the watch word innovation, to help reinvent this game in a good way. Improved graphics, innovative game play changes, improved customer service, improved connectivity between the major cities and to Northrend. From Outlands to a Capital city and back took 20-40 minutes, without portals. Now there are means of going straight from Northrend to a Capital, so maybe a 10-20 minutes for a round trip.

I've never seen myself as one to tow the “Fan boy line”, I try to be fair, and critical of any title I do a review on. This game is worth the $50 you need to pay to go to the new content; it's one of those expansions that turns a great game into an exceptional one. Blizzard has set a new bar with Wrath of the Lich King. I've run out of words of praise for this title. Well, this is Pikachu1918 signing off, and reminding you, “NO take my candle!”

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 11/20/08

Game Release: World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King (US, 11/13/08)

"Oblivion attempts to do just about everything, and excels at all of it."

Oblivion is the fourth installment of the hugely popular "The Elder Scrolls" series of RPG games. The Elder Scrolls games have been on the forefront of RPG innovation and excellence for years. As a result, Oblivion had to offer more than most RPG's ever dream of to be considered a worthy successor, and a valued name in the series. And my job is to tell you whether it does or not.

Graphics: 9.5/10
Let's start with the obvious. The graphics are stellar. If you have seen any screenshots from this game, or seen it in action, you know that the graphics are breathtaking, and there's no denying it. The greenery is amazing, the buildings are awe inspiring, the lighting and water effects are brilliant. Even after a week of non stop playing, I find myself stopping to view the scenery every few minutes. I take more screenshots in this game than I have ever taken in any game before.

Not only are the graphics beautiful, but the landscapes and layouts of the world are equally as impressive. You'll spend days exploring the land, and you'll constantly be finding new brilliant landmarks and scenic views that will drop your jaw. The combination of great graphics and great landscaping makes the cosmetic portion of this game barely short of perfect. The only drawback here is optimization. Obviously a game with such beauty would have high hardware requirements, and you cannot knock the game for that.

The only negative aspect to the visuals is that the graphics are not quite as optimized as they could be. Even on the best gaming PC's, there are noticeable stutters and framerate inconsistencies that probably could have been remedied.

Combat: 9/10
One of the core elements that will make or break any RPG is the combat system. Luckily, the combat system in Oblivion has received a major overhaul since Morrowind. Combat is simple. It only takes a simple click or button press to swing a weapon, fire an arrow, or cast a spell. A right click on the mouse will allow you to block or parry. It's rather simple, but it works very well. The controls are very responsive, and as you continue to play you will start to form more strategies as you face different types of opponents, making it much deeper than it appears when you first experience it.

Although it is simple, the combat system still has some excellent diversities. For example, you may choose to play a stealth character who sneaks up behind his opponents by sticking to the shadows, and unleashes a nasty stealth attack from behind for extra damage. Or you could choose to play a summoning character who summons creatures to battle at his side.

Another great aspect to combat is the excellent physics engine. As you crawl through dungeons slaying various imps, bandits, goblins, and dozens of other creatures, you will notice the excellent use of ragdoll physics. A strong swing from a large dwarven warhammer will send a little goblin flying across the room, while a heavy downward slash with a longsword will crumble your opponent straight to the ground. Sometimes you may even battle it out with a monster on top of a bridge or ledge, and as you strike the fatal blow, you watch them stumble backwards off the ledge for a brutal collision with the concrete below. It adds an extra bit of excitement with each and every kill.

When it comes to combat, I haven't really been able to pinpoint anything that stands out as an obvious flaw. But combat as a whole just seems to lack the fun factor to make it excellent. It is very good, but just not revolutionary. But it serves it's purpose well, and it is fun enough to keep you heading back into the dungeons for more.

Roleplaying: 10/10
With most RPG's, combat is the primary focus. In Oblivion, it can be, but it doesn't have to be. Many people prefer to spend their time earning money to buy new houses, tracking deer through the wilderness, collecting ingredients and making potions, drinking ale and conversing at the local tavern, picking locks and stealing loot from strangers houses, or dozens of other activities. There are limitless possibilities when it comes to spending your time. And as a result, Oblivion is the most open ended RPG I have ever played.

And thanks to the masterful AI system, which gives all NPC's their own wants and needs which they attempt to fulfill within their daily schedule, the world feels very lively. Roleplaying isn't particularly interesting when everything else in the world is stagnant. But with oblivion, it feels like a massively multi-player experience, minus the poor combat systems, and devious or annoying fellow players.

Because of the roleplaying aspect, this game transcends beyond the hardcore RPG crowd, and also caters to players who may enjoy games like The Sims. If you aren't that interested in crawling through dungeons and hacking at things with swords, perhaps you will be interested in living in a massive, ever-changing, and completely lively world, which you can interact with in any way you choose.

Sound: 9.5/10
One of my favorite things about the sound in Oblivion is the subtle music. Too many games have overbearing music that's constantly pumping at high decibel levels in the background. Oblivion's music is generally more subtle, appropriately fitting with whatever happens to be taking place at the moment. On a leisurely stroll through the forest amongst a beautiful grove, the calm ambient music in the background will fit perfectly. It's never too much, and never annoying.

The voice acting is very good. One of the better efforts I can think of. The only fault is that you will hear the exact same voice on different people. Sometimes you will speak with one man, and then turn to speak with another, and notice both were voiced by the exact same actor, which can be a distraction to the otherwise immersing world.

The battle sounds are done nicely, and leave nothing to complain about.

Story: 9/10
The story is very engaging right from the beginning. It does an excellent job of captivating you and compelling you to sympathize with the other characters. It also leads you down many interesting paths, and never gets stagnant or boring. It's a very good story for an RPG game. However, there are a few rare gems in the world of video games that have compelling stories that rival some of the best fantasy or science fiction novels. This is not one of those games. And although the story is good, I cannot give it better than a 9 because it is does not achieve novel-like quality, as a handful of RPG's before it have done.

Replayability: 10/10
I predict that many people will log 1000+ hours on this game. There is a nearly infinite number of things to do. Even if you were to finish every quest in the game, there would still be many hours of enjoyable exploration, hunting, thieving, gladiatorial combat, and much more, that you could still do. And the game already has a huge modding community thanks to the excellent modding tools from Bethesda. I know this game will last me a very long time.

Overall: 10/10
This may be the best RPG of all time. If not, it's certainly near the top. The creators of Oblivion set out to create an RPG that had many more avenues to explore than any before it. And what's truly impressive is that, not only does it contain more aspects than any other RPG, it also excels at every one of them. It's like a handful of great games in one. I suggest you do whatever it is you have to do to get your hands on this game. It's that good.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 03/28/06

"Fun but flawed"

War. War never ends.

Welcome to the world of Fallout 3. After Bethesda took over the project from Black Isle Studios there was quite a bit of expectations that this game lived up to and some where it fell short or even flat on its face.

Story: 7/10

The beginning is actually quite fulfilling and tells an excellent story. However, the main quest becomes "follow your dad" within the first thirty minutes of playtime. It quickly devolves into a series of honey-do lists and being pushed from one place to another to talk to people who merely push you forward with little else to go on. In any other game this could be overlooked, but ladies and gentlemen this is Fallout 3, precursors to two of the bests games you ever read. Bethesda's main Fallout 3 quest is extremely hit and miss. With enough foreknowledge half of the main quest can be skipped. Let me repeat. With enough foreknowledge, half of the main quest can be avoided entirely.

However, many of the side quests have wonderful storylines. I won't go into detail but just like in other Fallout games there is an idea that you're really in a world that doesn't revolve around you. There are many places in the game that have history and you can see something very awesome going on but you're there more like an observer than anything else. You're seeing snapshots of the past. If I were just talking about the side quest storylines I'd be giving this a 9/10, so that says something about the main quest.

Gameplay: 10/10

This is not Oblivion with guns as many people groaned, but a well developed game. The developers put a lot of their heart and soul into making this game not only challenging but also fun. Are you perhaps one of the old school Fallout fans who are terrible at shooters? No worries, that's why we have VATS, the Vault Assisted Targeting System, which pauses the game and helps you isolate body parts depending on range and cover, giving a mathematical formula which ends up as a readable percentage to hit a body part or weapon, and it even lets you blow grenades out of the sky if you're fast enough. This hearkens back to the old Fallout days. But if you're into shooters this can be challenging, especially on hard mode. My only very minor problem here is that shooting in first person mode is still affected by math and if your shooting skills aren't great you may miss a straight shot or get a head shot when you know you shouldn't have when your bullet magically curves the trajectory at extremely high skill levels, even if it is ever so slightly. Vault technology must have been pretty sweet to curve bullets.

But I digress. In the game play department there is something for everyone. Small guns, big guns, 1950's faux laser guns, knives, batons and even makeshift weapons made out of random crap you find out in the wastes which are by and large the weapons which are the most fun to use, even if they're aren't always the most effective. The game play is not only solid, but fun, at least on the player's end.

Sound: 9/10

The sound is quite superb; there is something for everyone. There are two radio stations along with a hidden third one later on in the game. However, as far as the radio stations are concerned there is something left to be desired.

On one hand, you have Enclave Radio which plays patriotic songs that anyone from the United States will be able to recognize along with your occasionally talk with John Henry Eden. Bethesda in my opinion nailed this one as John Henry Eden mimics a radio version of the old FDR fireside chats which feels folksy and that the Enclave is doing their best to rebuild and aspire to an America long past which can be revived once again.

On the other hand you have Galaxy News Radio done by Threedog, your charismatic host from the wastes. This not only plays music via the 1950's which helps make Fallout 3 a great period piece but it also chronicles what the player does throughout their career and the general goings on in the world, which helps direct the player to pick up side quests and it also gives a bit of flavor to the world. Galaxy News Radio is great. However, it is marred by one thing, there are incredibly few songs to be listened to. With the age that most of these songs have one would think that Bethesda could have picked up hundreds of songs without batting an eye for cheap or for free. However, the player only has about a dozens songs to listen to and modding can be a bit difficult. Hopefully with later patches or even an expansion this will be remedied.

A nice touch is a third radio station that can be done through a side quest with a little old lady in the middle of nowhere. Somewhere out there is a side quest that will net you this gem. It is worth it to find it.

Finally, the general noise when the radio off is creepy and adds to the desolation and the idea that everything is wrong and that you are quite alone.

As far as non-music, the sounds are great. From the over the top steam powered railway rifle to the hum of the Rock-It-Launcher to a mini nuke going off the sounds are well made and wonderful and adds to the general greatness of the game marred only back the lack of variety in music.

Graphics: 9/10

The graphics are great as well. They aren't superb but they can be run on most computers with a decent graphics card with ease. The difference between this and Oblivion I believe is that Oblivion for one had to render the ambient nature, which could be a tax the graphics card. In this environment everything is very set in place while looking good. This can run decently on a budget computer or look fantastic on a monster, and that's all that most people need in a good title.

Voice Work: 9.5/10

A far cry from Oblivion, which seemed to have a pool of maybe ten voice actors and many character would switch between one distinct voice and another much to the player's chagrin, the voice work here shows much more polish. You will notice that some people do have the same voice but it isn't too often. More importantly the voices do add depth and value to almost every single character you meet. Quality work for a quality game. However, it does seem that every once and a while there is a bit of dialog missing from the game if you start changing the environment around you. For example, if you were to kill the man who employs a certain prostitute and treats her badly (and get away with it) she'll thank you but that'll be it. It feels distinctly like there is a bit of depth lacking there. However, again, another small nitpick.

AI: 8/10

Your party AI and enemy AI is a bit dumb but they do still make the game challenging. To start, your party AI varies in intelligence. Your normal followers keep quiet while you're quiet and will charge in when you charge in, but their path finding isn't the best. Alternatively your loyal companion, Dogmeat, will growl when enemies get near and then stupidly charge off after them which makes you break cover to save his furry hide. He has no idea about the concept of stealth whatsoever. In one building he will even growl at the enemies on the level above you where you can't see rendering him effectively useless. However, it is nice to order him to get you a beer or a snack in your own house and he will bring it back to you from your own fridge with a wag of the tail. Good dog.

On the other hand there are your enemies. The creatures of the waste will hunt you down ferociously and kill you, and they are much faster than you. Their path finding AI can be confused if you leap up to an area they can't get to but for the most part they're solid and challenging enemies. Raiders wielding ranged weapons tend not to have this problem and will even break for cover or heal themselves in rare instances if they're getting banged up. AI tends not to matter because most of the time it works, meaning you rarely notice problems. And even when something bad happens you can normally be forgiving because the game is engrossing.

Ambiance: 10/10

The ambiance is perfect. Bethesda nailed it spot on. If you really take a look at this game it is frighteningly detailed. You may walk into a room in a house or a ruined vault where there is a child's skeleton clutching a teddy bear or two skeletons on a bed in a last embrace. There is even one on the pot clutching a rifle. The general desolation of the land is put into full effect in the game as there is rarely anything but blasted earth, craggy hills, polluted water, burnt out cars and the occasional blasted house between here and there. And the locations are fantastic; each settlement is different and has its own atmosphere. Best not to spoil it for you, but you will be pleased.

The End: 2/10

Two words: Severe Disappointment.

I will not go into any detail beyond this: The ending sucked. It was terrible. Bethesda really skimped on this. The large number of endings that were promised are not there nor is the ending in any way fulfilling. The game feels as if it were a book with quite a few chapters that were skipped. With respect to the other Fallout games where every single choice that you made affected the ending it feels as if Bethesda skimped on the ending to make its due date. It left a bad taste in my mouth and will hopefully be fixed by an expansion at some point.

In closing, I believe that Fallout 3 was a great game right up until the end where it fell flat on its face. However, the large amount of side quests and little things from playing different ways will keep you coming back again and again. I thoroughly enjoyed this game and do recommend it besides its shortcomings. I give this game a 9/10.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 11/14/08

Game Release: Fallout 3 (US, 10/28/08)