Borderlands > Fallout 3? That is so wrong on so many levels. Borderlands is bad, boring and repetitive on and F3 is a lot more fun.
And Fallout 3 is worth playing. Sure, it's the worst of the 4 main games and story wise it's unconnected. But the way I see it, it's more of a spin off, set in a different place with some iconic things from the franchise. Bethesda's take on it, rather than a real sequel. And while the writing is average at best and the main story line is uninteresting after Tranquility Lane, it has a lot of strong points that save it.
Gameplay wise, it's simplistic and really lacks any depth, but that's the problem of the entire industry so I can't complain too much on it. It's what sells these days and it's too late to complain. Besides, combat is still challenging for the most part and is enjoyable in some ways. As an example, Bioshock was very good despite being an incredibly dumbed down version of System Shock 2 and having some very simple and unsatisfying shooting.
Writing is somewhere between average and weak, but again, thanks to the low standard set by other current gen games, it doesn't annoy as much as it would 10 years ago. Not even remotely comparable to F1,2,NV, but still decent enough and not really corny or anything. Occasionally it's even amusing or funny, definitely has a few good moments. The side quests can be pretty enjoyable too, enough motivation to explore the wasteland, the only problem is that there's not an awful lot of them for some reason.
Point Lookout has some good and creative writing, which means that Bethesda might eventually get better at writing.
The real star is the giant game world, full of locations that have good loot, interesting information on the terminals, at times unique enemies, armor or weapons. It's rewarding to explore the world and combat is generally fun enough to keep battles fresh, with a nice amount of weapons to chose from. The simple rpg system allows you to be good with most weapon categories, which is bad from the balance side of things, but good as it keeps combat more or less fresh. On the downside, the game world lacks towns (there's only a few of them) and general consistency.
The art is also a highlight of the game - the design is pure 1950's of the future and the DC area has some really good architecture. All the posters, neon signs and art are all top notch. All models are very detailed and the game manages to feel like the fallout universe in 3D, despite the lack in gameplay depth and the writing. Also, despite being full of enemies, the game world feels like a real post-nuclear area, a depressing and ruined world that nobody tries to rebuild. Sad that the DC area is full of enemies, I would prefer more of a ghost town with the occasional enemy and ton of skeletons on the ground.
The radio is a very nice addition, creating a unique and interesting mood to the game, even if it slightly damages the grim atmosphere.
Another nice addition is creating weapons from junk. Those weapons are pretty well designed and fun to use. Repairing weapons with parts from the same weapon model but in worse condition is pretty nice too.
Ideas and details like these make the game interesting and compensate for the flaws. And that is the thing, it's a game that has a lot of flaws but also a lot of good things that compensate for the bad parts. A game that neither can be called good nor bad. It's somewhere between decent and good, if you ask me.
Try not to think of it as direct sequel to F1/2 and ignore the main quest after Tranquility Lane and you can have a nice time with it. It's certainly an enjoyable action rpg with emphasis on action and a very big one. Very few games on the market can give you 80+ hours of gameplay. And sadly for the industry, F3 is still better than most mainstream games out there. Sure, the fact that other current gen games aren't very good is NOT an excuse fo F3 being flawed. But the fact that it's more stylish, better and more interesting than most current gen games is enough of an excuse to play it and enjoy it for what it is - a decent modern action oriented Fallout spin off.
Also, here's a funny thought - it does provide an interesting experience - looking for the good parts of the game among the bad ones is kind of like exploring a dead city full of dirt, corpses and crap and occasionally finding truly good things as a reward for patience. Could this be a real post-nuclear experience?
