Time for a Fallout 3 follow-up post.

I have to say I am enthralled by this game. I've played slower than either of my other two friends who are also playing but I don't think I enjoy it any less. I am repeatedly delighted by little touches that just blow me away.... sometimes literally.

For example, I was exploring the Museum of Technology and having a hoot seeing the broken wright flyer and a mangled P-38 Lightning on display. Some of the displays were still in working condition with recorded messages and lights and it was wonderfully atmospheric. As I wandered I entered a planetarium with a big old fashioned star projector in the middle.

The device came to life and started presenting it's show. I stood there transfixed looking up at the swirling galaxy on the ceiling and enjoying the robotic presentation. When I was suddenly jarred out of my reverie - and I do mean startled I definitely jumped in my chair - when I heard two super mutants come into the room behind me shouting about getting the intruder and then proceeded to messily kill me before I could regain my composure.

Oh sure I had saved and so I reloaded and played that encounter differently but not before I spent several minutes just laughing out loud at having been so completely surprised by the setup of the encounter and by my willingness to sit and watch a virtual museum display.

It speaks to the strength of the FO3 game, atmosphere. And while I am not very fond of the first person viewpoint (and that is one of the reasons I play it less - I'm prone to motion sickness in that type of game if I don't limit my play times) - and I find some of the NPC characters to be flat, the overall atmosphere of the game is amazing. If you are on the fence about this game I have to highly recommend it as money well spent.