Fallout 3

 
Rating: M
Release date: October 28, 2008 (US)
Platforms: Xbox 360, PS3, PC 
Multiplayer: No.
Downloadable content: Yes: Broken Steel, Mothership Zeta, Point Lookout, and The Pitt. The Game of the Year (GOTY) edition comes with all of them included on a separate disc.

Whenever I have nothing better to do, I pop in Fallout 3. Why? Because the way the game is played is really up to the player. There is no set limit to the area that the player can explore, save the size of the map. No place is barred if the player knows what they're doing. While there is a main quest-line, there are so many side quests and unmarked quests that it's perfectly possible to not touch it until the player has hit the level cap. In addition, the player character can tackle these missions equipped with virtually anything.

Want to dress up like a cowboy and shoot it out with a revolver? Go ahead. Channel Jason with a machete and a hockey mask, or go super-soldier with powered armor and a minigun. This is possible because of S.P.E.C.I.A.L., which is an acronym of the game's seven basic skills: Strength, Perception, Endurance, Charisma, Intelligence, Agility, and Luck. Putting a point into one of these skills means the skills they feed into will be higher. For example, if the player puts a point into Luck, their Sneak and Lockpick skills will be that much higher.

In addition to the ability to arm the character with mundane weapons like assault rifles and pistols, the game also gives the player things like laser miniguns, flaming swords, and garbage cannons. Many of the more unique weapons have to be either bought from certain characters, rewarded from quests, or built using schematics.

All of this enables truly diverse playthroughs, with no two ever being exactly the same. Epic moments abound, simply waiting for the player's imagination to bring them forth.

If you'd like to experience this post-apocalyptic wasteland, a copy of Fallout 3 and Fallout 3: GOTY can be bought from my Amazon aStore.