In making Fallout 3, Bethesda recreated Washington D.C. and the surrounding area surprisingly accurately (though distances were significantly shrunk). The resemblance was too strong for some - certain D.C. residents were miffed about Fallout 3 subway ads which depicted their city in ruins, claiming they didn't need to be reminded that D.C. is a prime target for terrorist attacks. Apparently no one told them that D.C. is destroyed in nearly every hypothetical war/alien invasion.

Not being residents of D.C., Fallout 3 gave us the perfect opportunity to take a tour of the area without actually having to get off our asses and do something. Sure, most of it's rubble, but we got the gist, and it's accurate enough. Enough, at least, to stick screenshots next to photos and look at them.

The Washington Monument

Photo by NCinDC (Flickr)

A perfect resemblance! Okay, so the Washington Monument is basically just a stick of marble, granite, and sandstone (thanks Wikipedia!), and if they couldn't get that right they should have quit making games to work on basic motor control, but it's a good start.

The Capitol Building

Photo by Tolka Rover (Flickr)

The twiggy remains of the decorative trees are a nice touch, and we wouldn't mind if the real building had gaping holes in it too - we could peek in to keep an eye on our legislators (you know, in case they try to do something crazy like give all our money to a bunch of crappy banks).

The Lincoln Memorial

Photo by BlankBlankBlank (Flickr)

Again, a strong resemblance, though it could have used more stairs, and some of the decorative elements have apparently worn off. Not that they exactly had their work cut out for them with this one - it's a block with some columns.