I can't even believe it myself...........I really ended up not liking Fallout 3.  I love Bethesda's past efforts, and Oblivion is probably one of my favorite games of all time, but Fallout 3 is quickly losing me for several different reasons:

1.  Just give me some freakin' ammo already!!!  It's fairly easy to accumulate money in Fallout 3, but I hate that I always need way more of it than people have to offer.  It would be nice if I could just buy what I need for the next quest instead of having to go back and forth 8,000 times.  And yes, I realize you're supposed to look around for it too, but sheesh, I want to actually finish some quests along the way!!!  It would be nice if I could progress the story along without having to worry that the next gun fight is going to completely clean me out of every bullet I have for every gun I have causing me to have to go back to a merchant for a quick fillup (which will again turn out not to be enough to get me through the next battle). 

2.  This is some of the most irritating combat I have ever seen in a game.  How many times do I need to shoot something in the head before it dies?  Super mutants may be huge, but why does that mean they can take like 20 shots to the head without dying?  Was Bethesda worried about VATS making it too easy to pull off head shots?  If that's the case, then I say ditch VATS and come up with something else.  At this point, I think the combat should have been handled more like a standard shooter rather than this pseudo turn based system.  I realize killing things is a huge part of every RPG, but I feel like killing things in Fallout 3 is a gigantic chore, and god forbid if you get into a situation where there's more than one enemy coming after you. 

3.  This game depresses me.  If you're going to talk about Fallout 3, it's hard not to at least briefly compare it to Oblivion.  And looking back at Oblivion, it had vibrant colors, beautiful scenery, variety from town to town, etc.  While Fallout 3 is a much bigger game than Oblivion was, and there is way more to explore, I just feel like it's the same scenery over and over and over.  Does that mean I think the graphics are bad?  No.  I think they're quite good.  But I can only look at so many bombed out schools and factories and government buildings before I start getting bored.  And on the inside of the buildings, they all kind of seem interchangeable.  AND, I would like to scour each and every one of those buildings I pass for ammo and supplies, but I hate the combat so much it just seems like more trouble than it's worth sometimes, and that's usually when I just turn the game off.  Yes, I know it's trying to simulate what things would really be like if there was nuclear fallout; I get that.  It would be dull and depressing.  Not adjectives I like to hear when describing games.

4.  I want to punch Moira.  And since I can't seem to play the game for more than 20 minutes without having to go back and buy more ammo from her because last time I saw her she only had 10 bullets for sale, I have to talk to her quite a bit.  Did Bethesda REALLY need to make it so that she talked like Sarah Palin?  Seriously? 

So I think I may be done with the game.  It may be on the fast track to being traded in for something else.  Thinking about ever trying to finish it just makes me tired.  Maybe somebody can give me some pointers on the game.  Maybe I'm doing something wrong.  Maybe I'm just being impatient.  I don't know.  I've already spent about 4 hours in Star Ocean killing the same enemies over and over, and I'm having a BLAST in that game, so it's not that I'm impatient or unwilling to pay my dues leveling up in RPGs.  It's just that I at least want to have FUN while I'm leveling up and maybe feel like it's a game, not a chore.  I'm pretty big into RPGs, and Fallout 3 just isn't doing it for me.  Anyone have any suggestions?

I didn't like it either. The idea was awesome, but not enough creativity went into it to make it epic. I agree with your number 3 big time. Just because it is an aftermath game doesn't mean that the environment can't look a bit more varied and creative. There were way too many repetitive textures and items. It was just....blah.  Oblivian was a MUCH better game.

You certainly aren't the only Fallout 3 hater. My friend hates it because she didn't see her boyfriend for a week after its release

1: The game isnt a shooter.Its not meant to be.You are to supposed to be trying your best to SURVIVE.Surviving does not include a bullet for every enemey you face.

2:Again,not a shooter. The is still an RPG,and Bethesda isnt dumb.This relates to the overall balance of the game.1 bullet in the head shouldnt drop everything,the game would be far too easy.Fallout was never meant too be a realistic shooter(and of course if you level up you'll do more damage).Its all a part of Bethesda balancing the game.

3: This is for the atmosphere.How else could you capture the essence of a nuclear wasteland? You wouldnt be able too.And if you venture into some of these buildings you might find that there's more too it and just an old blown building.

4: I would expect everyone to hate her...

It sounds like you expected this to be a shooter with RPG elements. Fallout 3 is an RPG with shooter elements.

Of course,everyones opinion is different.I personally adore Fallout 3.One of my favorite games this gen.

I'm with Kylie on this one:

- never had any ammo problems...in fact at later levels I'd sell off 200 or so of various types of ammo at a time for some extra caps.

-Most head shots I can remember necessary was 4 or 5, and that was with the 10mm to a Super Mutant when I was 2nd or 3rd level.

- Color palette; well, that's your opinion, if you don't like it, you don't like it.

- Moira kind of reminded me of a girl I knew in college...

Shame you don't like it though Fallout 3, in a year filled with great games, was probably (IMO) the best.

I dont hate it but I GOt bored of it quickly... Its lacking some charm.

No, you are not the only hater. The others will probably be here soon.

KylieDog

If you didn't mention the third point about the different scenery in the game then I was, I was actually put off by him saying it was the same everywhere, my favorite part of the game was exploring different locations like oasis and rivet city, tenpenny tower, little lamplight. All those places because they all had something different to offer that made me want to jump to the next location to see what kind of crazy concept it held.

However a lot of the same places look the same, i.e. water towers, power plants, the subway system, but there's only so many ways those different locations can differ.

But the point that was brought up about the ammo, that's kind of depending where you are in the game, if you get far enough along then you have enough ammo to wage war on every supermutant in dc.  Ammo's scarce at the beginning, but in a way it's like that so you have something to work towards, building an arsenal by scavenging. After about forty hours into the game I don't go with any less than 250 stimpacks and max ammo for the assault rifle and lincoln rifle.

Oh yeah, I got pretty damn bored of this game after I finished the main quest. What else is there to do but wander around and shooting stuff? However, I believe this game to be better than Oblivion, a game I really hate. Now there was a game that lacked immersion and charm.

I wasn't a huge fan, the environment was bland and all the buildings, severs and vaults looked exactly the same. Plus the difficulty curve was backwards, I started off dieing every 5 minutes and towards the end could take down a room of super mutants without taking a scratch.