...and the Vault Dweller lives on now, but only in memory...

So, I played through Bethesda's Magnum Opus Fallout 3 (with props out to Josh, Phil and Nate). I was a huge fan of the original Fallout series, and had long hoped that the pixelated violence and quirky sense of humor would be accurately replicated in this latest entry in this series.

The more I played it, the more I realized that the game is exquisitely written, but there was something missing in terms of the campaign. It wasn't that the game was too short, quite the contrary, the campaign was satisfyingly long with plenty of content and colorful characters. The problem I had was that the speed at which I gained XP far outpaced my participation in quests. I barely got into the main quest, focusing instead on side quests that took me throughout the capital wasteland. By the time I got around to getting on with the main quest, I was nearly level 20.

And in looking at my achievement listings, it looks like I completed about 1/3rd to 1/2 of the side quests.

Why is the level cap so low at level 20? Or, more importantly, why is the XP curve so gracious as to let a player max the level cap without completing more of the side quests?

So, in that regard, I was disappointed. By the time I started into the campaign, I had nearly maxed out my XP, and so combat at the end in what was supposed to be the most difficult combat turned into a laugh.

Began with such great promise, and ended with a bit of a whimper.