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It's happened guys. It's actually happened. I'm happily addicted to Fallout 3. The reason this is so exciting to me is because this has been a game that i've wanted to try out for a long time, and it's gotten to the point that I genuinely get excited when I can either talk about it or play it again. I've pretty much spent most of my time today playing it. I mean, I believe I started playing this game again yesterday afternoon, and at this moment, I have a little over 10 hours of playtime already logged through Steam. I know i've been talking about this game a lot this week, but quite frankly, it's my journal, and I can do whatever the hell I want. Anyway, let's get into some of the things that I've been enjoying about this game in the time that i've been playing so far. (Caution: Potential spoilers coming up.)

Megaton and it's short lived existence: I never really decided early on whether or not I was going to be a good character or a bad character, but I feel like it doesn't really make a humongous difference in the grand scheme of things. Sure, my dad mentioned the fact that I blew up Megaton and wanted to talk to me about it, and Doctor Li was caught off guard by the fact that I killed the man with the heart problem, but I haven't really seen much other than that of which made me regret some of the decisions i've made. Anyway, yes, I decided to go ahead and set off the atom bomb that was sitting in the middle of Megaton. I didn't really know what to expect from it, but the reward was pretty awesome. In a time like this when everything seem hopeless and I'm trying to find what I can get, to be rewarded with a room and a bed and all that stuff is just so worth going through the trouble of making sure the atom bomb is up and running. Honestly, I wasn't really a big fan of Megaton in the first place, mostly because nobody really seemed interesting and I quite honestly never wanted to see those people again. They were mean. So setting off an atom bomb in a place like that was truly a wonderful feeling. Plus, there's plenty of other cities to explore, don't need to hold back.

Power Armor training: I finally got to the point in the game where I can finally look like the guy that's on the box art. Unfortunately, I had a set of power armor in my equipment tab that was pretty well worn already, but I'm sure I'll be able to afford the repairs. The power armor is pretty damn cool looking and just looking at my character wearing it just feels even cooler. Not that it was really too much of a problem before, I can now take on enemies that are in groups much easier than I was before. I know that most people probably would be more likely to choose laser based weapons to go along with the armor, but honestly, i've been having some good luck with the hunting rifle. It's accurate, it's easy on ammo, and it's fun to use. It doesn't really have an easy reload time to work with, but other than that, it's probably my favorite weapon. Yes, I went back on my decision about going full melee, and I decided to level up my small / big guns levels as I level up.

Those are the two things that kind of stick out to me for the time being that I thought had a really good impact on my overall experience with the game. However, there are a lot more little details while playing that really add to the overall depressing atmosphere that this game attempts (and succeeds) to give off. For one, the ambient background music that plays as i'm wandering in the wasteland is both spooky and depressing. To me, it's got the post-apocalyptic Washington D.C. feel that it should have when walking around the D.C. ruins and wasteland. Hearing the tune play while looking at the buildings that are in ruins is just so depressingly beautiful. There's just something about it that makes me feel like i'm the one walking through the ruins of D.C. and I really am feeling the pain of what would potentially happen if something like this were to happen. To be honest, the entire soundtrack is fantastic:



I also hope people don't take the fact that i'm calling this a depressing game and take it the wrong way. From what I can tell, that's what Bethesda were going for. They wanted to create a game that pretty much portrays the depression and somewhat beauty that would happen if we lived in a post-apocalyptic world. It's honestly one of the first times in a video game where I feel really truly awful for not only my character, but every single NPC that I run into. It just makes me think that every single person that I run into is either lucky to be alive, or is struggling to be alive. Even seeing people sleeping on dirty mattresses on the ground, living in homes where half of the home is gone, or even living in an abandoned school bus that is just lying in the wasteland. There are those and so many more things that makes this game truly as beautiful as it is. I'm not even upset that I've kind of grown addicted to this game, because I really feel like this isn't going to be the only time that I talk about being addicted to this game. I've seen people talk about the fact that they have 800 to 1000 hours in this game, and honestly, I can understand why. With the amount of side quests, little things here and there, helping out NPC's and the like, I can definitely see myself ranking up hours really quickly. It's also one of the few games where I really don't mind staying up until 2 or 3 in the morning playing it. The experience is worth it.

I'm constantly slapping myself on the wrist every time I think about the fact that not even 48 hours ago, I felt that this game wasn't worth my time. I really truly wish I could go back and just tell myself (and yes, I talked about this already, but I mean it) to play this game. It's easily one of the best experiences i'm having with a video game, and I feel that it's just going to get better. I know you're probably tired of hearing about me talk about this game, but don't worry, there'll be plenty more opportunities for me to talk about it. Don't think this is the last time I'll talk about it.