Grade: A+

Time Spent Playing: 20 hours

This is the kind of game I longingly dreamt of when I was a child. Well, that hypothetical game probably had more boobs in it.

My meaning is actually quite simple: Fallout 3 feels, more than any game I can recall, like the evolution of the medium. Instead of being bound to the designer's linear will, I'm free to make my own way. In his infamous essay arguing against video games as art, Roger Ebert cited the observer's control over events as a key reason as to why video games were not art. I would offer this game as the antithesis to that argument. Were it not for the tremendous freedom the player enjoys in Fallout, its commentary on mankind's natural inclination toward petty barbarism and its message that doing good is its own end would be completely lost because it's the choices the player makes that reflect these themes.

But Roger Ebert was silly for writing that article. His point of reference was Myst and, as Bioshock cleverly highlighted last year, the observer generally has little to no control on the outcome of events in a video game.

Fallout 3 begins with your character's birth and gives brief glimpses into his life before he follows dear old Dad into the unknown. As an escapee from an underground vault meant to preserve mankind from annihilation, you will embark on a journey across a ruined world; a wasteland of humanity where might makes right, mutants pillage, abominations devour human flesh, and opportunistic slavers ply their trade. The waste is sparse, irradiated death and the waste is your constant companion.

I find myself drawn to combing the hellish desert more so than kicking around towns and the magnificently rendered ruins of Washington DC. Every moment feels dire. Every moment feels like a possible end awaits nearby. The desert, largely quiet, is indifferent to my trespass; knowing that I too fade away with time.

Fallout 3 isn't perfect, but to list any complaints seems an obtuse task. Much better to use my time reflecting on what an amazing game Bethesda has put together.

Rating: B+
Time Spent Playing: 20 to 30 hours

There was a point during my time spent with the new console friendly Civ in which I stopped wondering to myself, "why did they take this feature out?" and just started enjoying the game for what it is. I imagine this obstacle will prevent more than a few hardcore Civ fans from fully appreciating what a great and unique experience this game is. It feels, especially when played online with friends, how I imagine a board game version of Civ might feel. It's Catan on steroids.

One of the game's key successes is the controls. Designing a game around a controller produces far better results than trying to cram the complicated controls of a keyboard and mouse into a gamepad. It's for this same reason that I suspect if an RTS will ever find success on a console, it will be one designed specifically for console, a la Halo Wars. There is a bit of a learning curve with acting efficiently--a crucial skill when playing the timed rounds of multiplayer--but after two or three games everyone should be founding cities, researching techs, and reigning bloody devastation upon their enemies with ease.

The transformation of Civ from a primarily single player game to multi player is remarkable. Human opponents make for far more entertaining foils than AI ever will. The idea of everyone moving at the same time seems chaotic but generally works quite well.

There are faults to be found. Single player AI essentially results in every competing civilization waging endless war on you. I've been playing on deity difficulty lately and even when I'm in near last place in every category, even as the French are launching their space station toward a new star, all focus is on my English rubes who've barely figured out rail roads.

Multi player probably drags on a bit too long for anything outside of play with friends. Gameplay is titled far more towards winning by Domination and Monetary victories. I don't recall anyone ever winning via Culture.

As far as elements from previous Civs dropped for this game, there is only one that I find truly annoying and mystifying as to its absence. The ability to upgrade units to their new tech equivalent with gold. As it is, it can only be done by building a specific wonder, making that wonder far more useful than just about any other.