Amazon Maximum Age: 20
Amazon Minimum Age: 204
Binding: DVD-ROM
Brand: Bethesda
EAN: 0093155129306
ESRB Age Rating: Mature
Format: DVD-ROM
Label: Bethesda
Manufacturer: Bethesda
Platform: Windows XP
Publisher: Bethesda
Release Date: 2008-10-28
Studio: Bethesda

The third game in the Fallout series, Fallout 3 is a singleplayer action role-playing game (RPG) set in a post-apocalyptic Washington DC. Combining the horrific insanity of the Cold War era theory of mutually assured destruction gone terribly wrong, with the kitschy naivety of American 1950s nuclear propaganda, Fallout 3 will satisfy both players familiar with the popular first two games in its series as well as those coming to the franchise for the first time.

The Cold War goes Next-Gen

Welcome to the nation's capital. View larger.

The Brotherhood of Steel is a powerful ally. View larger.

Customize characters with your Pip-Boy. View larger.

The Story: Vault 101 – Jewel of the Wastes
For 200 years, Vault 101 , a fallout shelter, has faithfully served the surviving residents of Washington DC and its environs, now known as the Capital Wasteland. Though the global atomic war of 2077 left the US all but destroyed, the residents of Vault 101 enjoy a life free from the constant stress of the outside world. Giant Insects, Raiders, Slavers, and yes, even Super Mutants are all no match for superior Vault-Tec engineering. Yet one fateful morning, you awake to find that your father has defied the Overseer and left the comfort and security afforded by Vault 101 for reasons unknown. Leaving the only home you've ever known, you emerge from the Vault into the harsh Wasteland sun to search for your father, and the truth.

Key Features:

• Limitless Freedom! – Take in the sights and sounds of the vast Capital Wasteland! See the great monuments of the United States lying in post-apocalyptic ruin! You make the choices that define you and change the world. Just keep an eye on your Rad Meter!
• Experience S.P.E.C.I.A.L.! – Vault-Tec engineers bring you the latest in human ability simulation – the SPECIAL Character System! Utilizing new breakthroughs in points-based ability representation, SPECIAL affords unlimited customization of your character. Also included are dozens of unique skills and perks to choose from, each with a dazzling variety of effects!
• Fantastic New Views! – The wizards at Vault-Tec have done it again! No longer constrained to just one view, experience the world from 1st or 3rd person perspective. Customize your view with the touch of a button!
• The Power of Choice! – Feeling like a dastardly villain today, or a Good Samaritan? Pick a side or walk the line, as every situation can be dealt with in many different ways. Talk out your problems in a civilized fashion, or just flash your Plasma Rifle.
• Blast 'Em Away With V.A.T.S.! –Even the odds in combat with the Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System for your Pip-Boy Model 3000! V.A.T.S. allows you to pause time in combat, target specific body parts on your target, queue up attacks, and let Vault-Tec take out your aggression for you. Rain death and destruction in an all-new cinematic presentation featuring gory dismemberments and spectacular explosions.
• Mind-Blowing Artificial Intelligence! – At Vault-Tec, we realize that the key to reviving civilization after a global nuclear war is people. Our best minds pooled their efforts to produce an advanced version of Radiant AI, America's First Choice in Human Interaction Simulation. Facial expressions, gestures, unique dialog, and lifelike behavior are brought together with stunning results by the latest in Vault-Tec technology.
• Eye-Popping Prettiness! – Witness the harsh realities of nuclear fallout rendered like never before in modern super-deluxe HD graphics. From the barren Wasteland, to the danger-filled offices and metro tunnels of DC, to the hideous rotten flesh of a mutant's face.

System Requirements:

	Minimum Specifications:	Recommended Specifications:
OS:	Windows XP/Vista
Processor:	2.4 Ghz Intel Pentium 4 or equivalent processor	Intel Core 2 Duo processor
RAM:	XP: 1GB System RAM Vista: 2GB System RAM	2 GB System RAM
Video Card:	Direct X 9.0c compliant video card with 256MB RAM (NVIDIA 6800 or better/ATI X850 or better)	NvidiaDirect X 9.0c compliant video card with 512MB RAM (NVIDIA 8800 series, ATI 3800 series)
Supported Video Card Chipsets:	NVIDIA GeForce Series 200, 9800, 9600, 8800, 8600, 8500, 8400, 7900, 7800, 7600, 7300, 6800; ATI HD Series 4800, 4600, 3800, 3600, 3400, 2900, 2600, 2400; ATI Series X1900, X1800, X1600, X1300, and X850

Customer Rating:
Summary: Shoddy Clock Not Worth Extra Price
Comment: The game is fantastic. The lunchbox and bobblehead are neat. Those points have been made very well in other reviews of them. This review focuses on the one item exclusive to the Survival Edition, the PipBoy Clock. The clock is a poor product, plain and simple, and not worth $10 extra, much less the $50 over the Collector's Edition price.

Performance is terrible. The clock doesn't work unless you use some redneck engineering on it with aluminum foil inserts placed between the positive battery point and the positive contact plate. Once you get the batteries in and actually get power to the display, setting the time can itself is cumbersome. The three buttons provided are often times unresponsive, requiring a good deal of wiggling at times to get the display to change as desired. The display, even with fresh batteries, is very dim, very hard to interpret unless it's very dark.

In terms of power consumption, it devours batteries, consuming three AA batteries every two weeks, sometimes sooner. In comparison, the old one-way pager I carry for my job, which has an alarm, storage for phone numbers and time received, and makes some rudimentary sounds if desired, uses one AAA battery every MONTH or so. This clock doesn't even have an alarm, and uses much more power for it.

Aesthetically, the clock is a mixed bag. The overall design and look match the Fallout universe exactly. My example, however, arrived unpainted, looking nothing like I expected it to look. I know the technology and "look and feel" of the game series is "used retro science fiction", but this clock is as drab as drab gets, with no logos or anything to maintain that sense of having something form the Fallout world, even if it's a fake. Further, the clock was at one point supposed to be wearable like the PipBoy used in the game. That too, has been nullified by poor craftsmanship.

Furthermore, the level of customer service provided for this clock from amazon.com and Bethesda SoftWorks, the game's license holder, is incredibly underwhelming. For one, in order to get any warranty work done on it, you must send in $10, and the clock, to some company in California that no one's ever heard of. So for $60 you lose possession of a broken clock that originally only cost you $50. Compare this sort of "service" to the defective NECA Gears of War Lancer. When the NECA Lancer had its own battery issue, similar to the one described above, NECA and amazon.com worked to fix it in some form. NECA sent out replacement parts, for free, in a timely manner if you contacted them. amazon.com handed out $10 coupons good for the next purchase on ANYTHING they make available. Wither that level of customer service from amazon.com and Bethesda SoftWorks?

All in all, SAVE YOUR MONEY. The Collectors' Edition gives you so much more value, with the lunchbox and bobblehead being the best collectibles this year. With incredibly poor workmanship, lack of attention to detail, unknown warranty service from a company whose reliability can't be ascertained, and overall price point, this clock simply is not worth the extra $50 price.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: who knew the post-apocalyptic world could be so fun?
Comment: as soon as you step out of the vault, you have this overwhelming sensation of "ohhhh boy".

graphics are very well done.
a.i. is entertaining at times with bad guys actually going back and getting weapons after you shoot the ones they have out of their hands.

and my favorite part,
watching the head of an enemy rolling down the hill in front of you after you hit him with your sniper rifle.

a must get for fans of the original series.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: PIP boy Survival clock edition
Comment: Not very satisfied with the survival edition, it did come with a great game and a poorly built PIPBoy clock. The clock is not that good. I purchased a couple editions for gifts and they all keep going dead overnight. They all last about 1 day and need new batteries again - forget that!! Seems to be a problem with the clocks draining the batteries down over night. I suggest just buying the cheaper edition.
- The game is great. You definitly need a guide book. The problem is that it does end and you would have to start over again. Not as good as Oblivion. Oblivion is much more colorful and happier.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Great Game, Survival Ed. is overpriced
Comment: If you liked the other games in the series and/or Oblivion you will like Fallout 3. The Amazon.com exclusive Survival Edition includes a large battery operated clock shaped like the Pipboy 3000, which although is an interesting addition to your museum of game swag, in a few months it will just be sitting there collecting dust and you will have to find someplace to put it when a girl comes over. For the money stick with the collector's edition which has everything except the clock.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Amazon canceled my Survival Edition order - BOO!
Comment: I preordered the Survival Edition as soon as it went on sale last summer, and it never arrived. Nor did the purchase show up any longer in my "Your Orders" section. I double-checked the confirmation email, and clicked the link there, which sent me to an Amazon page for the Collector's Edition. I sent two emails about this and received zero response.

Finally, I talked to someone on the 800 help line who said -- after asking for far more personal information than necessary -- the order was canceled on October 23 & my card refunded. Why? She didn't know. I still don't know. I've ordered from Amazon for YEARS, but can I trust any longer that if I buy something it will arrive? I realize customer service is a dying art, but c'mon Amazon you put your NAME on the product.

I ended up buying the Collector's Edition at a brick n' mortar store, and I'd give the game 4 stars so far. It's fun. Not exactly Fallout. Feels more like Firefly (the tv show) in my opinion, but it is fun.

Zero stars to Amazon, though, if possible. Word to the wise: email is free, and good will is priceless.

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