2008 Game of the Year, Day 3: The CG Awards

And on the third day Uncle Crispy created a winner, and he saw that it was good.
12/23/2008 6:14 PM | 2 Comments | Page 5 of 13

First Place: Fallout 3
(Bethesda Softworks)
Order Now


Troy Goodfellow: Sometimes it just takes a setting. Like last year's Bioshock, Fallout 3 works because of what it shows us more than because of how it plays. Here we have a convincing alternate future that somehow is dominated by images from our past. It is, in many ways, a sterling example of how, even if Bethesda still doesn't understand characters or dialogue; no developer makes better use of the human urge to explore, to see what's over that hill. But none of this would be enough to make it the Game of the Year if it weren't for the excellent general structure of the game. You stagger out of a vault on a simple quest to find your father, and quickly become the go-to guy for every major and minor task in a ruined capital. The combat is excellent, even if the V.A.T.S. targeting feels like a bit of a cheat, and the quests keep pushing you onward with just enough time to rest and enjoy the scenery.

Scott Alexander: There are flaws and frustrations here and there, and sure -- it feels a little gamey and artificial at points. But for sheer vision and ambition, these guys put my jaw on the floor.

Harold Goldberg: "I don't want to set the world on fire." Oh, of course you do. This is sheer creative genius. The Jean Shepherd meets Rod Serling narration. The tongue-in-cheek details like Nuka Cola. The Norman Rockwell look on the characters' faces within the post-apocalyptic world that feels as real as ABC's "Lost." The game-makers have pulled me into a world I'd want to live and fight in, despite its dark aspects. In some ways, that would take too many words to explain; Fallout 3 is "The Minister's Black Veil" of games. "Children, with bright faces, tripped merrily beside their parents, or mimicked a graver gait..." Hawthorne would love this thing.

David Thomas: The first hour of this game is weird and boring. The second hour of the game is sort of nerve-rattling and depressing. Then you flip into survival mode and your curiosity will either get you killed or at least keep you playing much longer than you really need to, in order to trip through the basics of the tale. When you first encounter Gob, the ghoulish bartender, you don't know whether you're playing a horror title or some Hunter S. Thompson-inspired freak-out. In the end, little things, like empty cans of soup rattling on a store shelf or the mirthful illustrations of awful behavior in your Pip-Boy 3000 keep you thinking about this game long after you've set the controller aside.

Marc Saltzman: Rarely does a game get everything right -- from story and dialogue to atmosphere and graphics to action and exploration to sound effects and music. Bethesda's stellar sequel to Fallout 2 is an extraordinarily rich and immersive single-player story with some of the most gratifying combat available, played out real-time or in turns via V.A.T.S. Bullet Time.