I've heard and read a lot about this game, and it looks intriguing.

I'm a big fan of open-world RPGs that actually let you role play (as in, pretend to have your own life, like Fable and Oblivion), and the idea of doing it in a post-apocalyptic future has me very interested.  My interest has also been piqued by the concept off a dog companion that can die at any time if you don't protect him--I grew very attached to my Fable 2 dog, and I feel that bond would be greater if I actually had to protect him.

What I don't enjoy is lots of stat and inventory management--I prefer action to numbers.  Finding/buying new guns is cool, having to endlessly augment them or give myself stat boosts, etc., is not.

Also, can someone explain the time-stoping thing that happens in battle?  That has me worried that it might disrupt the pace.

So, do you think I'd enjoy Fallout 3?

i dont know you that good enough to know if youd like it or not
but i can tell you that its a good game.

its a great game and u dont have to use vats if u dont want to

The time slowing feature is called VATS. When you encounter something you want to kill, you initialize it with a simple button press. The choice to use it is entirely yours.

I was a little iffy about it as well. The first time I blew off a head in slow motion, I was sold. Also, I found VATS much more forgiving than running and gunning. You have accuracy boosting abilities and such for this mode of play.

I think Bethesda did a good job on the game. Character voices were great, the wasteland is very large, and the freedom to do anything is possible. Overall, I was disappointed with the story, particularly the ending. VATS got a little old after a while as well, but I think that was due to me picking up the bloody mess perk. When you blow someone to pieces with a pistol a bazillion times...it kinda breaks the immersion. :D

I don't know you though, so I can only say so much. If you liked Oblivion, you'll probably like Fallout 3.

The dog is just a very minor, minor thing in the game. My first play through of 120 hours, and I never found him. Second play through found him around the 80 hour mark.
He's easy to get when you know where he is though.

I heard the same great things you did...but i didnt like it.

Starts of solid while you are in the vault...however once you leave it becames such a massive area... You really have to be in to sandbox style gameplay to enjoy it. I am not the biggest sandbox fan so...

If you like open-world RPGs, and especially if you liked Oblivion, then I don't see why someone would not like Fallout 3. Developer of Oblivion = Developer of Fallout 3.

@ thekitchensink: It's a good game, there is alot of freedom and the karma system is interesting, the story is really a lame duck but if you're in it for pure roleplaying based on decision making instead of a linear story, I would recommend it to you. Be warned that you have to constantly repair your firearms though, they tend to wear down in quality quite often and will need frequent repairs and augmentations to keep them in prime condition. In regards to the Vats system (stopping time in combat) If you have ever played an old game on the ps1 called Vagrant Story, then you'll know how vats plays out. Basically as an enemy approaches, you can freeze time and select a body part to strike on your foe, targeting different body parts will yield different results (attack the legs to lower mobility, attack the arms to disable weapon yielding strength, ect). Vats really is necessary because the realtime aiming is quite horrid, however it is fun and rewarding in its own way.

Yeah, it seems like a great game. I certainly want to buy it. I don't see why you wouldn't really, but if your unsure maybe it would be a good idea to rent it first. I've read some people remark that they felt they should have rented it first, so that would be my recomendation.

 When it comes to stats, the game is extremely unfriendly, and I really mean it - just about everyone makes mistakes that are permanant. They're not always major mistakes though, it depends on how you setup your skill points/perks.

The game isn't really action packed - obviously they want to give you an idea what a post-nuclear world would be like, so there's lots of open empty land, and crowded towns are rare. The game is much more of an RPG rather than an FPS, so rather than fighting hordes of enemies that die in a few shots, you'll often go up against only a few guys, but with lots of health.

The time thing is called V.A.T.S. Like most said, you don't have to use it but you're just gimping yourself if you don't. I also found aiming abit awkward when not using it. It's pretty balanced - once you use it a few times, it has to charge abit. You can't just constantly whore it, that is untill you're lvl20 and get the specific perk to do it.

I personally can't say I like the game. Those 40 hours I put into it were pretty enjoyable, but I found myself browsing through menus/dialogue/managing/picking up items way too much. It felt like I wasn't doing enough fighting, and even then the combat feels pretty weak.