Thrasher
Wheeee!
I liked FO2 the best. Lots of neat stuff to explore, without the countdown to fail timer of FO1. That said FO3 and NV were great fun too. NV comes a close a second.
Sounds like you played a different Fallout than I did. I remember the game ending because of that awful timer if I even considered going off the rail
Beyond that, Fallout can't touch FO3 when it comes to the sheer amount of unique locations and interesting stuff to find. Audio logs, the stories in terminals, etc.
Also, exploring in first person is simply much more satisfying and immersive to me, but to each his own
That said, Fallout is a fantastic game - and I did struggle deciding that FO3 is my favorite over the first game.
Sounds like you played a different Fallout than I did. I remember the game ending because of that awful timer if I even considered going off the rail
The timer was patched out of Fallout and I'm willing to bet a lot of people experienced the game without it.
I could see Fallout 3 being great if you are a huge fan of the Elder Scrolls and were looking for something in the same vein. It's not what I was looking for from my Fallout game. The bottom line is that I gave it a try many times, it was good entertainment, but I was not engaged. It's the only one from the main series that I didn't finish and I think that speaks volumes. By the same token, I have never finished an Elder Scrolls game either, though I do enjoy messing around in the world of Skyrim.
For me, in spite of all its technical limitations and crashes to the blue screen of death (as opposed to the gentlemanly crash to desk top), it is Fallout Vegas by a Vegas mile. I lived that game while I was playing it and any game that can subtlety bring in Peggy Lee's "Why don't you do right" as ambiance has some brilliance in its design in my book.