Fallout 3 vs. Reality: Photo Comparison

How well does our favorite post apocalyptic wasteland compare to the real Washington D.C.?

Words: on December 4, 2008

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.

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Fallout 3 (Xbox 360)

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61 Comments
Order Comments: Newest First | Oldest First
  • Garrison64

    Garrison64  - 2 years ago  - Report

    Any differences between the game and reality can be easily explained away in that the game is not our timeline. Fallout takes place in and alternate time line that is very similar to ours except that in this one the Chinese invaded and a Nuclear War destroyed the world. Also the whole 50's theme with future tech and robots. So with all that going on I don't take a few changes to a fountain as much of a big deal.
  • Rex_Maztar

    Rex_Maztar  - 2 years, 4 months ago  - Report

    Just think about it, the fountain's statues are changed for a symbolic and poetic reason. They are holding water basins, do you remember the verse your father reads to you at the start of the game? "I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely," They personify the action of giving clean water to the wasteland.

    That's just my theory, but it seems to make sense
  • onewingedantista

    onewingedantista  - 2 years, 4 months ago  - Report

    You guys should do a Fallout 3 vs. Conduit vs. Reality comparison. It'd be friggin' sweet!
  • Trg564

    Trg564  - 2 years, 4 months ago  - Report

    If everything wasn't falling apart, it would look exactly like the real thing
  • stopandstare

    stopandstare  - 3 years, 1 month ago  - Report

    maybe for the fountain photo, the designer didnt want to look gay so he created the statues as women instead.
  • barrage7667

    barrage7667  - 3 years, 1 month ago  - Report

    oh yea and i went to my house...there were a bunch of cannibals living in it with a shack filled with "strange meat" so sad, so very sad
  • barrage7667

    barrage7667  - 3 years, 1 month ago  - Report

    yea it seems a lot of teh statues are greekish, rite neaar rivet city are two statues tht remind me of greece alot i live in DC ive been where the statues are and there are no statues
  • truskolaski

    truskolaski  - 3 years, 1 month ago  - Report

    Thats the best ever
  • Easternwind54

    Easternwind54  - 3 years, 1 month ago  - Report

    The reason for the fountain is because of the alternate history. I watched the commentary, and anything built before the nuclear war was made as accurately as possible. Anything after the war they took liberties with because history has changed, and people would have changed with it.
  • Ravenbom

    Ravenbom  - 3 years, 1 month ago  - Report

    I was just pissed that they cut off the map just short of my mom's house. I wanted to be a good son and look in on her 270 years from now in an alternate future.
  • noofer7

    noofer7  - 3 years, 1 month ago  - Report

    heh heh heh...
  • herodotus2006

    herodotus2006  - 3 years, 1 month ago  - Report

    The changes with the fountain are far too elaborate and designed to be purely aesthetic. Think we'll find out more with the first DLC in the new year.
  • novamonk

    novamonk  - 3 years, 1 month ago  - Report

    They most likely didn't do a more accurate model of the fountain, because of the nudity. Bethesda regulates their forums to discourage people from modding nudity into their game, which is a smart PR move with ESRB. And yes, the three statues do break Beth's definition of

    "Nudity is defined as showing genitalia and/or women's nipples. This includes nudity that is completely exposed or visible through semi-transparent materials."

    Since they don't want mods to have nudity, they wouldn't go and put nudity in there to begin with.
  • Chiropteran

    Chiropteran  - 3 years, 2 months ago  - Report

    There are two reasons I can think of for differences between the real thing and the game. First, duplicating the real thing exactly would take years. Far too many details. Second, with the differences, we're reminded that this is a fantasy, not historical commentary. I wrote a book once, where Detroit was the movie capital, and it was McDonald's Emerald Arches. Just in case someone takes offense at perceived trivial similarities......
  • egfx

    egfx  - 3 years, 2 months ago  - Report

  • jimsondanet

    jimsondanet  - 3 years, 2 months ago  - Report

    methinks the fountain is more a reflection of certain elements in the plot.
    an dont forget this is an alternate reality. it wouldnt be realistic to have certain deatails exactly alike only to have everything else so different
  • Gaz-1

    Gaz-1  - 3 years, 2 months ago  - Report

    The fountains were changed to give a more monolithic image of DC. That explains all those facades, the statues and the giant heads on the non-landmark buildings.
  • HungryBeaver

    HungryBeaver  - 3 years, 2 months ago  - Report

    cool how thet put so much detail in all of the main stuff in D.C. only bad thing bout this game is that all of the wandering around you have to do gets boring - too much wasteland
  • McSpermie

    McSpermie  - 3 years, 2 months ago  - Report

    wow this was really funny, in a lot of ways.
    The fountain is odd though.
  • MikeManly

    MikeManly  - 3 years, 2 months ago  - Report

    this is cool i bought the game 2 days after it came out and still have only completed about half of the quests. but it is nice how meticulous they were about getting everything just about perfect.
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