More hands-on with this article from gamekult.<blockquote>"But the problem is that V.A.T.S seemed to be too efficient in the build we have played, in which one could easily defeat entire groups of enemies by using these "aimed shots" while the first person view condemned the player to a certain death. This impression partly comes from the lack of precision and agility of the FPS gameplay, which looks rather dull when compared to recent games of the same genre which have invaded the console market during the end of the last year. One can imagine that raising certain skills might improve that feeling while you shoot, but the heaviness of the character will certainly make us choose the slow motion carnage, despite the fact that it soon becomes very repetitive.
[...]
"The gigantic world promised by Bethesda Softworks looked actually quite narrow, with ceaseless and pretty long loadings once you get out of the vault, when you enter a town or when you enter a building. Even though the outside world we have had the opportunity to explore looked rather open at first sight, you get around the idea quickly without discovering anything really worth of interest. When you finally come across a derelict building that looks a bit interesting, you have to endure a long minute of loading before being able to eradicate its aggressive inhabitants. One might also want to notice that a pacific approach of the game was almost impossible during that fist hour of hands-on since we were a lot more the attacked than the aggressor."
[...]
"And if the developers of Bethesda usually manage to compensate their lack of artistic cohesion by a high-end engine, Fallout 3 was this time disappointing at all levels with its dull characters evolving amidst poor textures and low-poly models."
[...]
"If it's too soon to give a final judgement about this game, one has to admit that our first hour with the game at the E3 made us rather think of a somewhat clever Fallout mod for Oblivion than a real sequel of the Black Isle series. Whether it is at a design level, gameplay or the general feeling of the game, we are having a hard time making the link with the previous episodes of the post apocalyptic franchise. It does not mean that we did not enjoy Fallout 3, which should probably find an audience among Oblivion fans, probably growing tired of perpetual heroic fantasy universes...However, among fanatics of the "good era", it seems rather unlikely that Fallout 3 could manage to make them forget what could have been if Black Isle did not fall at the end of 2003."</blockquote>
[...]
"The gigantic world promised by Bethesda Softworks looked actually quite narrow, with ceaseless and pretty long loadings once you get out of the vault, when you enter a town or when you enter a building. Even though the outside world we have had the opportunity to explore looked rather open at first sight, you get around the idea quickly without discovering anything really worth of interest. When you finally come across a derelict building that looks a bit interesting, you have to endure a long minute of loading before being able to eradicate its aggressive inhabitants. One might also want to notice that a pacific approach of the game was almost impossible during that fist hour of hands-on since we were a lot more the attacked than the aggressor."
[...]
"And if the developers of Bethesda usually manage to compensate their lack of artistic cohesion by a high-end engine, Fallout 3 was this time disappointing at all levels with its dull characters evolving amidst poor textures and low-poly models."
[...]
"If it's too soon to give a final judgement about this game, one has to admit that our first hour with the game at the E3 made us rather think of a somewhat clever Fallout mod for Oblivion than a real sequel of the Black Isle series. Whether it is at a design level, gameplay or the general feeling of the game, we are having a hard time making the link with the previous episodes of the post apocalyptic franchise. It does not mean that we did not enjoy Fallout 3, which should probably find an audience among Oblivion fans, probably growing tired of perpetual heroic fantasy universes...However, among fanatics of the "good era", it seems rather unlikely that Fallout 3 could manage to make them forget what could have been if Black Isle did not fall at the end of 2003."</blockquote>
