Twenty-four moons ago in this column (December 2006), I identified five points that Bethesda needed to get right to create a satisfying Fallout game. After previewing Fallout 3 last year, I vaingloriously bestowed ratings on those five points in an interim report card. Now, I’ll conclude that ostentatious trend by meting out my final assessments: ...

If you were like me on my first playthrough of Fallout 3, you just couldn't do it. You couldn't pull the trigger, choose the cruelest dialog, or pal around with worst terrorists. Maybe you broke into a few houses, stole some empty whiskey bottles, slapped around a few back-talking civilians, but you never cut Moira's head off and laughed as it rolled around on the floor. ...

Whether you're unaccustomed to this crazy RPG business of stat-chi-ma-call-its and skill dongles, you're a bit rusty after years without a new Fallout to play, or you just want to design the most badassiest character ever, this guide will gently push you and your character in the right direction. I suffered through hours and hours of low-level mudsuckery to determine exactly how to make sure you're not flailing around at level 10 with a ...

If you've been playing Fallout 3, you've probably found a few Bobbleheads tucked away on dusty shelves and desks. You'll need to collect at least ten to unlock the "Yes, I Play with Dolls" achievement and all twenty for the "Vault-Tec C.E.O." achievement. But even if you don't give a hoot about your gamer score, you'll still need to collect all every one of these wobbly figurines to create the ultimate, kickass, Wasteland survivor. ...

You won’t make it to the end if you can’t get through the beginning.You can’t get through the beginning? Really? We hope not. Fallout 3’s Intro throws you right into the game and teaches you to play at the same time, but it’s not that tough. Nonetheless, we’re sure you’ve missed a few things, done something wrong or decided to play on Very Hard. ...

The third installment of Fallout is here, in all its post-apocalyptic glory. You’ve read the reviews, you’ve seen the trailers – now see the first 15 minutes of gameplay. OK, not the very first 15 minutes, we picked up after all the “growing up in The Vault tutorial” stuff. ...

It wouldn't be E3 without any subsequent fanboy bickering over which game or console "won" the show. Well, bicker no more, because the Games Critics Awards, an independent coalition of 36 US games journalists from various media outlets, has just released their Best of E3 2008 list. Any game present in hands-on playable form was eligible - so if you're wondering why Fat Princess isn't Best of Show, there you go. ...

With my five-hour play session with Bethesda’s Fallout 3 fresh in my mind, I sat down with Lead Producer Todd Howard and Lead Designer Emil Pagliarulo to pick their brains about what I’d just seen. We printed some highlights in the September issue of PC Gamer, but Todd and Emil had more to say than we had pages to print on. ...