Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #10941 in Video Games
• Brand: Bethesda
• Released on: 2008-10-28
• ESRB Rating: Mature
• Platforms: Windows XP, Windows Vista
• Format: DVD-ROM

Amazon.com
The third game in the Fallout series, Fallout 3 is a singleplayer action role-playing game (RPG) set in a post-apocalyptic Washington DC. Combining the horrific insanity of the Cold War era theory of mutually assured destruction gone terribly wrong, with the kitschy naivety of American 1950s nuclear propaganda, Fallout 3 will satisfy both players familiar with the popular first two games in its series as well as those coming to the franchise for the first time.

The Cold War goes Next-Gen

Welcome to the nation's capital. View larger.

The Brotherhood of Steel is a powerful ally. View larger.

Customize characters with your Pip-Boy. View larger.

The Story: Vault 101 – Jewel of the Wastes
For 200 years, Vault 101 , a fallout shelter, has faithfully served the surviving residents of Washington DC and its environs, now known as the Capital Wasteland. Though the global atomic war of 2077 left the US all but destroyed, the residents of Vault 101 enjoy a life free from the constant stress of the outside world. Giant Insects, Raiders, Slavers, and yes, even Super Mutants are all no match for superior Vault-Tec engineering. Yet one fateful morning, you awake to find that your father has defied the Overseer and left the comfort and security afforded by Vault 101 for reasons unknown. Leaving the only home you've ever known, you emerge from the Vault into the harsh Wasteland sun to search for your father, and the truth.

Key Features:

• Limitless Freedom! – Take in the sights and sounds of the vast Capital Wasteland! See the great monuments of the United States lying in post-apocalyptic ruin! You make the choices that define you and change the world. Just keep an eye on your Rad Meter!
• Experience S.P.E.C.I.A.L.! – Vault-Tec engineers bring you the latest in human ability simulation – the SPECIAL Character System! Utilizing new breakthroughs in points-based ability representation, SPECIAL affords unlimited customization of your character. Also included are dozens of unique skills and perks to choose from, each with a dazzling variety of effects!
• Fantastic New Views! – The wizards at Vault-Tec have done it again! No longer constrained to just one view, experience the world from 1st or 3rd person perspective. Customize your view with the touch of a button!
• The Power of Choice! – Feeling like a dastardly villain today, or a Good Samaritan? Pick a side or walk the line, as every situation can be dealt with in many different ways. Talk out your problems in a civilized fashion, or just flash your Plasma Rifle.
• Blast 'Em Away With V.A.T.S.! –Even the odds in combat with the Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System for your Pip-Boy Model 3000! V.A.T.S. allows you to pause time in combat, target specific body parts on your target, queue up attacks, and let Vault-Tec take out your aggression for you. Rain death and destruction in an all-new cinematic presentation featuring gory dismemberments and spectacular explosions.
• Mind-Blowing Artificial Intelligence! – At Vault-Tec, we realize that the key to reviving civilization after a global nuclear war is people. Our best minds pooled their efforts to produce an advanced version of Radiant AI, America's First Choice in Human Interaction Simulation. Facial expressions, gestures, unique dialog, and lifelike behavior are brought together with stunning results by the latest in Vault-Tec technology.
• Eye-Popping Prettiness! – Witness the harsh realities of nuclear fallout rendered like never before in modern super-deluxe HD graphics. From the barren Wasteland, to the danger-filled offices and metro tunnels of DC, to the hideous rotten flesh of a mutant's face.

System Requirements:

Customer Reviews

DON'T WASTE MONEY ON THIS JUNK EDITION!
I would give the Survival Edition 0 stars, except that the minimum is 1.

Let's review why one would buy this edition. The Survival Edition is identical to the Collector's Edition, except that it includes a Pip-Boy 3000 replica. The price difference (at the time of this writing) is $50. Therefore, logic would suggest that the Pip-Boy 3000 is being billed as a $50 value.

Now that we've established the value of this item, let's consider what the Pip-Boy is worth from a fan's perspective. I am a big-time Fallout fan. I played both Fallout and Fallout 2 when they came out and have played through each game several times with different characters and different types of choices. When I learned about the different editions that would be offered for Fallout 3, I jumped at the opportunity to get the Survival Edition with my very own Pip-Boy.

I received the package at work at noon. I can't install and play the game at work, of course, so I opened up the Pip-Boy box and checked it out.

Initial Reaction (under 1 minute): The Pip-Boy is a piece of junk! It's a couple pennies worth of injection-molded plastic, a cheap compass (woo, a moving part), a non-functional dial that moves 30 degrees or so, and a non-functional knob that moves 45 degrees or so. It'll all green, except for the clear buttons (not red like in the picture), the very distinctive white LCD numbers (much more white and noticeable/distracting than in the picture), and the white and red compass. The rest of it is just a cheap green plastic color, with no gray highlights as shown in the picture. Not very impressive.

Second Reaction (T+ 1-2 minutes): Put in the batteries. My, the numbers are hard to read. It's hard to even see them with my office lights on and the faint sun from the mostly cloudy skies outside my window. It doesn't look anything like the nice, big, readable numbers in Amazon's photo. Hmm, how do I set the time? Wait, why did the clock just switch from 12:00AM to 12:01PM? I thought one learned in elementary school that 12:00 is the transition point from AM to PM and vice versa... Made in China indeed.

Third Reaction (T+ 2-3 minutes): The manual says to push the left button and the clock will flash, allowing you to set the time. Umm... no, it doesn't do anything. Try pressing it once (as it's worded in the manual), holding it in a short time, and holding it in a long time. Ditto for the other buttons. Okay, now for combinations of buttons. Nothing. Great!

Final Reaction: It's going back. I didn't open the game's DVD case, so I hope I can return it without any problems. I do feel like Amazon should be obligated to process the returns quickly since this is the "Amazon.com exclusive" item. Heck, I'm already getting the information ready to contact my credit card company. (With all due respect to Amazon, of course; I totally love Amazon and buy from it all the time. I'm just really upset about this product.) I went through the online return process, packed up the game in the original materials, slapped on the return postage slip, and, after taking some time for lunch, walked it over to the nearest post office to mail it back.

I'm really sorry I bought this item. If you've bought it and get anything from this review, you might not even open it and instead just go through the return process; it's that bad in my mind. I'd hoped Bethesda would provide something worthwhile for its new Fallout fans (since they bought the franchise after Fallout 2 came out). Deep down, I had hoped they'd toss in a surprise bottle cap or something like that. But no... this is a MAJOR disappointment. When I get my refund, I'm not sure I'll even go with the collector's edition. I love Bethesda's games, but they've gone down a couple notches in my mind on this one. I am really disappointed with them.

Bottom Line: Don't buy this edition. If you want some goodies to go with the game, grab the collector's edition and save $50. If, on the other hand, you want a cheap plastic toy, go get a Happy Meal at McDonalds.

Fallout 3 Survival Edition - Pipboy Clock HELL
If you purchased the Fallout 3 "Survival" Edition from amazon.com, you will want to be aware of this:

For me, the Pipboy Clock that came with the Survival Edition was Broken on Arrival. Two of the three buttons do not work which makes it impossible to set the time (short of putting the batteries in at midnight or noon). So, I went through the info in the box and found a warranty card. To my surprise, the warranty states that: 1) You have to pay to send the clock in for repairs, 2) You need to enclose a check for $10 for return shipping.

This is unacceptable.

So, I contacted amazon.com to see about an RMA for a replacement. They cannot since at that time they were out of stock, but they will refund my money if I return everything (and they will pay for shipping). At least I can get my money back.

Still unacceptable if you want to keep the Pipboy.

So, I tried to contact Bethesda Customer Support (301-949-2200) hoping that this could be resolved. They directed me to Bethesda Technical Support. Their Customer and Technical Support is the same thing (supposedly). After 4 calls to each of the numbers, this is the result:

1) No one can escalate the issue..there is no such thing. Their technical support department is an self-enclosed entity that does not have any upper management. If you push to hard, they will direct you to Customer Support, which takes you back to Technical Support. Round and Round and Round....

2) They tell you to use the warranty card. Once you explain that this would cost over $20 to do this(almost half of the price difference between collector's and survival edition), they get sympathetic...but can do nothing. They tell you to call Customer Support.

3) If you call the parent company number (301-926-8300), they will happily direct you call to voicemail. Someone will call you in 24 hours and give you the Technical Support Number.

To summarize:

Bethesda is not responsible for the Pipboy Clock to work when you get it. They do not want to be responsible and do not care if it arrives broken or not. If it is broken and you want it to work, send $10 to fix it (plus shipping to send it). But they do not guarantee that what you get back will work, so you may have to do this again.

Does anyone else see this as incredible poor customer service?

Pipboy was a bit of a dissapointment.
First of all I would like to point at that the thing on the top left of the Pipboy people are calling a compass, is obviously not a compass. Since it is held vertically it would be impossible for the compass to work, it is a radiation meter, if you played the game first then you would know that.

The Pipboy is a cheap piece of plastic, it does go on your arm but falls off very easily, I am afraid to break it. That is about what I figured it would be like though, what I was really disappointed in is the fact that it has no alarm on it. I was hoping to be able to replace my alarm clock in my room with a sweet Pipboy3000, but it only tells the time, nothing more.

The artwork, bobblehead, making of DVD, and lunchbox are all very nice though.

Pipboy 2/5

Everything else 5/5 overall.