America, 200 years after a nuclear holocaust. Washington, D.C is a blasted wasteland, irradiated, barren, and home to a myriad of small groups trying to a carve a life out of the deserted ruins that once housed the most powerful government on earth. With a handful of old weapons and scattered junk, a lone wanderer explores the dystopian remnants of society that optimistically awaited the future of technology in search of his newly and mysteriously disappeared father. Will he find shelter amongst the scattered townships of the desert or die at the hands of a raider with nothing better to do?
Does this sound like a book synopsis?
It certainly could be, but it’s not. It happens to be my rough overview of Fallout 3, a computer game by Bethesda, known best for the Elder Scrolls games (which could be books in their own right.)
I’ve been playing Fallout for a little over a week now. I could review it as a video game and on those merits it’s safe to say that it’s fun, but for Servusamanu, I’d rather review it as a piece of literature.
Video games tend to have a bad reputation as a medium for story-telling. There’s only so much I can argue against that, but there are definite exceptions and Fallout 3 is one of them.
It’s a world, a huge world. The story is engrossing, but seeing a barren nuclear wasteland and getting to walk around is a haunting experience. Books can describe and movies can show, but only games let you explore. Running out of ammo in the middle of nowhere is frightening and dramatic. I can’t help, but come up with story ideas. Why is this school infested with raiders? Why are all these cars on fire? How many people have wandered into this wasteland and ran out of supplies? Could I start a new village here?
As a medium for ideas, computers games probably aren’t for everyone, and I can’t imagine anyone who already plays particularly needs an excuse to get or avoid Fallout 3, but if everything I write in the next few weeks has a dystopian bent, you’ll know why.
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