I hate to keep pestering but could you explain these points?
Better writing - this is an obvious one, there were screenshots of conversation with Eden some pages ago - prime example. If they really won an award for this, I have no words.
Good plot - now, I'm not saying that Fallout 1's plot was a ground-breaking masterpiece, but it was good for what it was. Failout 3's plot was just... sloppy, no better term comes to my mind. Too much of everything, it's not bad itself, but how it was presented. I hate how they tried to throw there everything from the previous games (find GECK, stop the Enclave, help BoS, fight the mutants) instead of creating something on their own, just referencing to these things, like Fallout 2 did to Fallout 1 and how (partially) Fallout Tactics did (although don't question me about this one, I haven't played it for years).
Meaningful choices - Fallout is an RPG game and in order to play a role, you should have some impact on the created world and your decisions should have
consequences. In Failout 3 the game makes sure that the player can't lose. You blew up a whole town or defuse the bomb, thus saving it - there is absolutely no difference, except that there is one shopkeeper to sell your stuff to less in the game. You kill Harold or help his followers - the only difference is the color of the armor you get in reward. You shot your daddy in the face with a rocket launcher? Don't worry, he will stand up intact in thirty seconds. He won't even scold you. You went on a killing spree in a town, but there are still quests to do? Don't worry, come back in five minutes and people will forgive you and everything will be okay. The game treats you like a kindergarten child - you can drive a bike, but only in the backyard. You can't screw up anything. You don't have to think. There are no bad decisions.
You always win.
No dumb shit - there was a discussion about this some pages ago. Fallout wasn't all serious, it was really juvenile sometimes, but it was not a buffoon. In Failout 3 there is a town harassed by a woman dressed up like a giant ant who controlls insects and a guy dressed up like a robot who has an army of robots. There is Harold, who turned into a giant tree (apparently, he took a nap for 6 years) and now he's making forest around him. There is a town built around an atomic bomb, which has its church and followers, who praise it as a god (oh, and it's built with scrap brought from some other place). There is a town of children, where everyone has to leave as soon as they turn sixteen. And don't get me started on the DLCs (Mothership Zeta... Really?)
World that makes sense - Towns are created basing on the cool factor. An actual, logical town that is possible to prosper? That ain't no cool! A town built around an atomic bomb? A town built on an aircraft carrier? That's cool! These are the biggest towns around and they have approximately 10 inhabitants? There are towns that have 4 inhabitants? There are no crops or farm animals anywhere? There is a market near Megaton (a prospering town) that still has edible food in it after 200 years? Capitol is mostly intact after a nuclear war? There are robots wandering around the wasteland for decades without any maintanance, but a plasma rifle breaks after twenty shots? There is BoS and Enclave in DC after Fallout 2? There are raiders decorating their hidings with corpses (in a world without hygiene)? The Overseer let someone in the vault? Pipelines work perfectly fine after 200 years of no maintanance and the water is good to drink? That doesn't matter, because everything is cool!
Of course, we could go on and on and on about this.
Not breaking lore too much - Well, that's obvious.
Better combat - The combat in vanilla game sucks so hard I can't believe there are people who like it. And even with tons of mods it's not perfect, because the game engine is an ass.
