The Fallout universe has never looked bleaker ... or better!

Bethesda Game Studios has returned to the roots of the original Fallout role-playing game in this latest iteration with the gamer controlling the life of his alter-ego within yet another Vault-Tec Industries fallout shelter. It’s now 2277, two hundred years after the nuclear devastation caused by a thermonuclear war between the United States and China. As one of the fortunate few who dwell in Vault 101, you’ve been sheltered from the harsh existence of life in the irradiated wastelands outside, leading an idyllic (albeit mundane) existence within the cold iron confines of this bunker you call home. For twenty odd years, very little changes; the inhabitants content to be born, live their lives and eventually perish within this isolated antiseptic society. That is until one day, your father disappears mysteriously from the vault, catapulting you unceremoniously into the post-apocalyptic and perilous realm of the Capital Wasteland. It’s across the devastated city of Washington D.C. and its associated environs that you will need to traverse to locate your dad and find out why he left the safety of the vault.

The world of Fallout 3 follows Black Isle Studio’s original vision, drawing heavily upon 1950’s pulp fiction, period events and the “Cold War” mentality prevalent for those times. Envision a Retro-futuristic world mixed with generous doses of Stalinist and Googie architectural styles and you’ll get a pretty good picture of this version of the United States of America as it was in 2077. This is a universe of grim-faced statuary adorning monolithic public buildings in downtown D.C., fusion engine vehicles, valve powered computer terminals and the utopian answer to Wal-mart, the Super-Duper Mart. At least it would be, if it weren't for the several hundred nuclear devices the Chinese detonated across the continental United States. Now, the city and its surrounds lie in ruins; the result of racial paranoia and the false belief that Mutually Assured Destruction would prevent Armageddon.

The seven year interregnum between the last game in the series and this episode has given the developer the opportunity to immerse the player within the Fallout universe in a way none of the previous games could manage. The original isometric portrayal of Fallout 1 and 2 was more a result of the limitations of the technology of the day and smaller development teams than any perceived need to render the game in such a viewpoint. Instead of sticking to this recipe, Bethesda have used their previous experiences with the Gamebyro engine (Morrowind and Oblivion) to render the dark and twisted wastelands from both first and third person perspectives; the results of this revision are truly spectacular. Whether you are standing on a rocky promontory gazing across the ruins of Springfield, following the irradiated shores of the Potomac River or walking amongst the shattered edifices along Washington D.C.’s Mall, the sense of immersion within the game is incomparable to any of the previous instalments.

Any concerns that this instalment wouldn’t remain true to the original game experience and canon will rapidly fade after you’ve spent just a few minutes toying around in-game. The design team has obviously spent a great deal of time and effort gaining an appreciation of just what made the Fallout universe the engrossing world that it is, and every effort has been made to permeate their vision with the lore, mechanics and humour from a decade ago.