Well I finally beat it....with the first go through. Took me 34 hours and 48 minutes. "It can be beating faster, but i was doing a lot of side quests." It felt a lot shorter than that, which makes me feel I got my moneys worth. I had to use my strategy guide twice. When I got lost and at the end of the game.

Helpful tib bits...
I did get locked into a room I couldn't get out of once...so save every once and a while.
Turn off, notifications in your XMB...so it doesn't pause the game every time a friend signs on or off.
Get at least one other party member! There are three for good, three for evil, and three for neutral karma.
Small guns helps a lot, but you can use others just fine.
There is a glitch were Walter from Megaton sometimes walks of the baloney to his death.

On a scale from 1-10, Ten being Sweet
Sound, 8, some sound glitches
Graphics, 8, sometimes objects would get stuck in walls, and float
Gameplay, 9.5, since I did get locked into a room once.
Re-play value, 9, will be playing another play through when trophies are released....which is confirmed now!
Presentation, 10, was done wonderfully, I felt like I was in the enviroment, and the main story / quest fit with the other fallout games.
Overall I give it a 9.

cool

haha yeah i just beat it yesterday too... i was like ...what? it seems like the main quest flies by to quickly.. but that also might have to do with the fact that i made level 18 before i even hit Rivet city i set the game to a higher difficulty, but it doesnt really make the game harder, its more like a waste of ammo because all you have to do is put another 2 bullets into someones head. Another helpful hint is to save periodically, don't trust autosave.

This game is so near perfect, it's a real pity to see the PS3 get f'd again. I also heard M$ bought out exclusive rights to downloadable content/expansion packs etc.

I'm hoping to see some trophy's implemented sometime, then ill start my evil character


Oh, and Mike, how do you get lost in the main story line? it's to straight forward... :P

sweet can't wait to play it. Just bought it for my PC but the download is taking forever! want to finish Fallout 2 anyway before i start

yeah and it sucks that M$ whored out to keep the rights for DLC to xbox PC so I had to snag the PC version.

I've been trying out Fallout 3, which is the first time I am playing an RPG. I'm having trouble getting into it... perhaps I'm too used to combat in other FPS's (Killzone, Resistance, etc.). I know that it is supposed to be different, and combat isn't really even the main focus of games like this, but it sucks when I use all my good ammo trying to kill one super mutant!

Any tips or suggestions?

how far in are you?
theres a quest you can do in Rivit City called The Replicated Man that if done a certain way will net you an ungodly powerfull plasma rifle.

otherwise put alot of points into small guns and take perks that increase headshots and VATS accuaracy.
the Hunting rifle is a pretty decent early weapon and ammo is pretty common

if you've got 1,000 caps grab yourself the Rock-it Launcher. should only take about 3 tin cans to drop a supermutant and you'll never run out of ammo ever.

I don't think I'm very far...I'm looking for a satellite dish of some sorts to put on the Wash. Monument.

That was how I started, I put a lot of points into my small guns category. I also put some points into sneaking, so I wouldn't have to fight so many dudes hahaha. Do you always use VATS or sometimes try to shoot unassisted?

sneaking is VERY hard in fallout. To sneak you need to crouch down. I do not use VATS when I'm shooting "undetected."
What Level is your character?

I'm almost at level 6. I've been using the hunting rifle a lot, to some success. The game has grown on me a little more now that I have kinda figured out how to approach the missions

Well I and Mat have played it a bunch if you get stuck...I'm sure one of us can help you out.

Yeah ive done every single side quest along with some quests that dont even show up as quests. ive tried and maxed every different skill except heavy weapons and unarmed. i sold my old copy and im waiting for a GOTY so i can do it all over again

yeah I waiting for all the expansions!