If only the same could be said of the interior sections. Many of Fallout 3’s quests are of the “fetch” variety (unfortunately, few match up to the high watermark of Oblivion’s Dark Brotherhood). Some jobs are relatively simple, while others expand into multi-layered, multi-hour quests as new objectives get added. While traversing the vast Wastelands to reach a new area is tense, if time-consuming (the ability to fast travel to already discovered areas is a godsend), navigating the interiors (dungeons by any other name) can be intensely annoying. The map system, which lays your objective marker on a flat plane with no indication of whether it’s above or below you, works fine outdoors. However, when making your way around what can only be described as a repetitive, grimy maze of corridors, it’s easy to end up with absolutely no idea where you’re meant to be going. The indoor environments repeat in various guises throughout the world, too, which soon results in a sinking feeling every time you open yet another door that leads underground.

The NPCs are a mixed bag. The conversation system from Oblivion is recycled here – close-up talking heads reciting stilted dialogue ever so slowly (it’s no wonder that subtitles are on by default – you’ll want to skip much of the voice acting) – and while some of the characters are interesting, others have little to say of note, and many repeat each other’s lines when on a particular quest path. Stats-based attempts at persuasion replace Oblivion’s dialogue minigame when needed, with mixed results. All this is rather dated when you consider the likes of Mass Effect’s dialogue options, and your contact with other characters is mostly used as a means to an end rather than something to enter into for the fun of it. Attempts at humour fall flat, whether due to poor line delivery or mediocre writing. The dialogue system just isn’t as good as it should be.

Survival is realistically harsh. The currency in the world is bottle caps and, in order to get enough of them to afford the ammo and medical supplies you need, you’ll need to scavenge areas for various bits of scrap, food and items. These can then be sold to traders, who’ll buy any old tat. If you carry too much, though, you won’t be able to run, so balancing your inventory is an act of micro-management. You’ll also have to cope with the debilitating effects of radiation sickness, since most of the food and water you come across is irradiated, as well as parts of the landscape itself. The menu system is handled by your Pip-Boy 3000 handheld device – accessible via the B button - which successfully integrates what could have been a clunky system into the feel and font of the game. With the 360 controller’s triggers switching between various functions on its monochromatic green display, it’s another example (to follow the likes of Dead Space) of a developer exploring innovative designs beyond the concept of a standard pause menu.

Levelling is handled differently to Oblivion, with the various geographical areas having fixed levels, rather than all the enemies within them powering up with you. This leads to problems with the difficulty balancing – it’s very easy to wander into an area that you’re hopelessly unprepared for, filled with super-powered enemies. NPCs won’t warn you against entering an area with tooled-up nasties, so it’s real trial and error stuff - certain quests that you can gain access to early on are exceedingly difficult to complete without a levelled-up character. Effectively, you’re funnelled down linear paths in the game – yes, you can choose to do story missions or one of the many side-quests, but straying from where you’ve been told to go isn’t advisable, which fights against the open world nature of the game. The levelling system does enable you to run riot later in the game against tougher enemies, which is sweet revenge to a degree, and everything becomes easier once your character gets more powerful.

Fallout 3 is a big game. With a main storyline that can take up to thirty hours to complete, along with a multitude of side-quests, there’s enough content to satisfy anyone. It’s a shame that the combat, dialogue system, and some of the level design don’t display similar ambition. When the game works – the Vault introduction, the Waltons-gone-wrong fantasy level, fighting alongside surprisingly clever AI comrades – it’s fantastic. But when you’re lumbering around yet another sewer, aiming like Stevie Wonder, wondering where the hell to go next, it’s clunk city. There’s enough content here to make you play until the real Apocalypse if you fall in love with the game world, but fun isn’t always high on the agenda. Then again, maybe joyful escapism is overrated.

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