Vault 101 is the utopian society in which the game begins -- the only certain safe place from the mutated outside world following an atomic war.
But Vault 101 is not without its drawbacks; there is a notion that brainwashing may have something to do with the total compliance with "the Overseer," a sort of post-apocalyptic Big Brother.
And, should you ever venture to leave Vault 101, you can never come back.
The hero of Fallout 3 sets out to find his father, who left Vault 101 for reasons unknown. Outside are all the great mutants you would expect from this genre, but we're not dealing with a straightforward evil here. Those who were hit by the blast are a slightly more intelligible form of zombie, but with a conscious thought-process intact, they are less monster and more lower-class. They are regarded as the lowest form of life, and their story is more sad than terrifying. The mutants have even built their own community, safe from discrimination.
The other fun aspect of this game, found in more and more games lately, is your choice as the player whether to act morally or immorally. You must make decisions that will lead to another character living or dying, whereas games of the past only allow you to kill or lose.
But Fallout 3 goes even further. There is actually a karma system intact that keeps track of your good vs. evil actions. Characters will react to you accordingly, trying to fight or befriend you, to find you trustful or not.
And, when you level up, you get to choose your own skills -- picking locks, having extra power against female opponents, and so on.
Fallout 3 is one game really utilizing this new trend in allowing the player to make moral and immoral choices, a tool that strongly connects the player to the hero by more than just a wire (or wireless controller).
But Vault 101 is not without its drawbacks; there is a notion that brainwashing may have something to do with the total compliance with "the Overseer," a sort of post-apocalyptic Big Brother.
And, should you ever venture to leave Vault 101, you can never come back.
The hero of Fallout 3 sets out to find his father, who left Vault 101 for reasons unknown. Outside are all the great mutants you would expect from this genre, but we're not dealing with a straightforward evil here. Those who were hit by the blast are a slightly more intelligible form of zombie, but with a conscious thought-process intact, they are less monster and more lower-class. They are regarded as the lowest form of life, and their story is more sad than terrifying. The mutants have even built their own community, safe from discrimination.
The other fun aspect of this game, found in more and more games lately, is your choice as the player whether to act morally or immorally. You must make decisions that will lead to another character living or dying, whereas games of the past only allow you to kill or lose.
But Fallout 3 goes even further. There is actually a karma system intact that keeps track of your good vs. evil actions. Characters will react to you accordingly, trying to fight or befriend you, to find you trustful or not.
And, when you level up, you get to choose your own skills -- picking locks, having extra power against female opponents, and so on.
Fallout 3 is one game really utilizing this new trend in allowing the player to make moral and immoral choices, a tool that strongly connects the player to the hero by more than just a wire (or wireless controller).
