There are, no doubt, quite a few downsides to nuclear war. It's eminently possible that Neighbours transmissions would be interrupted due to news updates or the entire cast being wiped out. Indeed, contracting radiation sickness every time you strayed too close to some standing water would also be tiresome, and freakish mutants' repeated attempts to bite your face off couldn't be too much fun, either. Frankly though, the whole 'hunker down in a bunker for a while and ride it out' thing looks pretty enjoyable. It's against such a backdrop that Fallout 3 plays out, though rather than fleeing to your shelter when things looked to be going tits up, you were born in it.

The fact that your experience will begin from this most definitive of beginnings means that, right off the bat, there's a strong sense of involvement in the world you'll be spending your time in. Rather than introducing you to your controls under the guise of something comparatively trivial (like an 'exosuit configuration), you do it in the context of taking your first steps. From this point, you’ll then experience various other rites of passage (tenth birthday, life-deciding exams and, err… first BB gun) safely within the confines of Vault 101 – a large, steel bunker embedded deep into a rocky hillside. You're all set up to live life as happily ever after as could be expected in the circumstances, complete with father, potential love interest, friends and bullies. Such bliss, however, never lasts, and so duly, your father leaves without so much as a note to explain his actions. When there's a nuclear wasteland full of radioactive unpleasantness outside, opening the vault’s door and popping out doesn't go down particularly well, and you're forced to follow in your father’s footsteps.

Having gone from a land of close-knit safety where your biggest problem was the resident alpha-male, to the mutant-infested expanses of a ruined Washington DC is a moment that certainly doesn't lack significance. Though it’s lovingly made you familiar with life in general, allowed you choose your specialist skills and taught you the basics of combat in what was essentially a cleverly constructed tutorial sequence, Fallout 3 revels in throwing you to the wolves – alone and without the community comfort of Vault 101. Your most constant companion comes in the form of the 'Pip-Boy 3000' – essentially a handheld computer that'll happily feed you statistics on your health and quests while also enabling access to your inventory. The fact that all these menu screens come in the form of a wearable device does much to bolster a feel of neatness and smooth edges within the title. All things considered, it's one of the most enjoyable and well put together introductory sections we've found in such a game world.

Once inside it, you’ll find that Fallout 3’s Washington DC is something of a surprising place. If we were in charge of the beautification of any particular area, one of the last things we'd likely consider doing would be nuking the place – radioactive explosions do not a pretty place make. All the more odd, then, to find that Fallout 3 features some truly spectacular visuals.

… continued