(Note: Someone get me some Nuka Cola. I’m finally gonna finish this game.)

Relax, even though I’m going to beat the game, I don’t run any risk of losing my noob cred. Even though the game is over 6 years old, I still am going to need to use a walkthrough in order to beat it. You’ve no doubt already guessed that the game in question is Fallout 3. If you didn’t guess that, then not much about this article will apply to you other than the following sentences. Go, now, and buy this game. Seriously, do yourself a favor, click the link (Fallout 3 eBay), find the game for your system, and push that “Buy Now” button. I still contend that Portal 2 is the best game in terms of game play, story, innovation, and fun. While Fallout 3 isn’t the most innovative and the game play is somewhat less in my opinion, it is only slightly behind in terms of story and fun.

Mind you, I am not a Fallout fan boy. I never played the first 2 main games before picking up the third and I honestly don’t remember why I got the third. I did, though, and found myself playing it one night that turned into two nights and then three or four. I made it as far as Megaton, did some research, and found out that you could blow up the little town if you wanted. I’m a sucker for sandbox games, especially ones with really good story or acting. I will tolerate Grand Theft Auto because it is so open world and non-linear, but I haven’t played number 4 yet. Maybe that will be my next project after finally putting Fallout 3 to rest. The story to F3 (my lazy and not so original attempt at abbreviation) reeled me in hook, line, and sinker from the opening title screen and transistor radio playing old timey music. See the introduction here. As an aside, Bioshock got me the same way. There’s just something about altered history with the accurate little touches that really bring it home. I’ve also been a fan of post apocalyptic entertainment since Night of the Living dead scared 10 year old me so badly that I still won’t pass a cemetery when it is dark to this day.

As I said earlier, the game play takes some getting used to, but I enjoyed the story so much that I spent the next week searching for the “history” of this alternate United States. That history led me to Fallout 1, 2 and Tactics on Steam and played through the first half of Fallout 1. Since I have such bad luck with computers lately and can’t really play any of the powerful games, I may go back and play those games, too, in order to get the full effect of immersing myself in the story of a United States ravaged by a nuclear war.

After all, I’ve written recently about being in a gaming rut and lamented the fact that I have these games that I’ve bought and haven’t finished. I have done a few things to help break that rut. I downloaded the Magic online client and a new block hit in Magic that has me wanting to play that again. I also got Gauntlet (but my computer isn’t good enough to play it), so I have had to find other diversions to reduce my time in Hearthstone and Marvel Puzzle Quest. I find myself going back to Hearthstone entirely too much. I often say that if you’re not part of the solution, you are part of the problem. Well, time to find that solution while I get lost in the mythos of Fallout.