Obsidian Entertainment was formed by former developers from Black Isle Studios, the studio that created the Fallout series. New Vegas took what Bethesda did with Fallout 3 and skewed gameplay closer to the feel of the original games.
RELATED: The UK Would Be a PERFECT Setting For a Fallout Game Fallout: New Vegas This isn't a bad thing, though given how fleshed out some of Fallout and Fallout 2's characters were, some may be left wanting a bit more. Generally, the NPCs the player comes across with have a fairly obvious quirk or defining character trait that makes them memorable. The charismatic Three-Dog is an exception and remains one of the most memorable radio hosts in Fallout history. There's plenty of memorable characters too, though most of them tend to be fairly one-note. Exploration is probably what Fallout 3 does best, with tons of little stories tucked away for those who look. Tenpenny Tower, Camp Littlelight, Megaton, Vault 108 and Vault 101, among many more, are amazing locations that fit right into the world of Fallout. When it comes to exploration, Bethesda really nailed the space-race aesthetic from the previous games, creating the rusted-out and irradiated Capital Wasteland that players fell in love with. For example, Bethesda did not implement traits that the player selects at the start of the game but decided to keep most of the skills from the previous game. While the RPG mechanics were certainly still faithful to the original two games, there's a strange blend between simplification and complexity that makes Fallout 3 feel a bit clunky. While this could be said for almost any Bethesda game (even New Vegas, which was notoriously buggy at launch), Fallout 3 was a particularly bad case. If players want to get the most out of Fallout 3 today, they'll more than likely want to stop by the Fallout Nexus and download community-made patches.
Bugs have plagued the game for its entire lifespan. The new direction kept up the appeal of exploring a post-apocalyptic wasteland and retained plenty of iconic elements from the previous games, including the VATS system and Pip-Boy. That isn't to say that Fallout 3 is a perfect game, though. The way Bethesda transitioned Fallout and Fallout 2 into an FPS RPG is nothing short of incredible. Fallout 3 certainly turned heads for when it was released in 2008.