Fallout 3: Prima Official Game Guide (Prima Official Game Guides)

Comment: Given that Fallout 3 was my first real RPG experience, it took me a while to learn how to play. Before I bought this game, terms like XP and Leveling up didn't make a lick of sense to me. I bought the game with little idea of what I was getting myself into. I thought it was simply a cool post-apocalyptic shooter. Boy was I wrong! When I first started playing, I lost interest fast, but I figured since I did spend the money, that maybe I should buy the guide to help learn how to play it, so I already had some hands on experience when I bought this guide. I was a little disgruntled about the size of the guide because it is huge. It's divided into 6 chapters.

The first chapter focuses on all manditory info for the game. It gives you hints on how to create a character to your liking and stats, info on the perks you earn while leveling up, and general knowledge on some things you can do in the game. I found this chapter incredibly helpful because I got a feel for how to play the game.

The second chapter basically offers information on different characters in the wasteland. You learn about factions and how strong certain enemies can be. It's a pretty short yet detailed chapter.

The third chapter is a walkthrough for the main quest, while the fourth chapter is a walkthrough for all of the side quests. The walk throughs are nice. They offer information on how certain decisions affect the gameplay. They are also enhanced with photos and you probably could use the written walkthrough for the main quest without having to refer to any of the maps in the guide. Thanks to this guide, I have finished nearly every side quest, and all but the final quest in the main quest.

The fifth chapter is a close look at each and every area in the game. This game is huge and this divides the game into a grids and goes over each and every building or area and explains what items you can find in that area. This is very helpful if you are lost in a certain area or need a specific item. The final chapter sort of coincides with this chapter by listing out all important items and where you can find them. The final chapter divides rare items such as bobbleheads or schematics for building weapons and lists where they are located. You are probably going to have to refer to the previous chapter to get an idea where these things are, and you sometimes might even have to refer to the large fold out map that is also included with the guide for some items. Though it is all relatively simple to use once you get the hang of it.

It's thanks to this guide that I have logged over 80 hours of gameplay. Right now I am so close to the Platinum Trophy that I can taste it! Keep in mind the fact that I had never played Oblivion or any RPG style game before this, but thanks to this guide, I learned a lot about how these types of games can work. I understand that the instruction manual included with the game also offers information to new players, but I felt this guide sort of stuck with me and put it in English better than the manual. I have seen guides for games that make me wonder why there ws even a guide released in the first place, but I really appreciated this guide for the way it was written and for it's simplicity. Thank you for reading!

Comment: This product was in great shape and actually arrived earlier than scheduled, which made me happy as hell. LOL.

Comment: The book, while still useable is anything but "like new". It is virtually filled with ink markings and the pages have all been folded in the middle (not creased).

Comment: It's an awesome book for the money...If you're a serious fallout3 fan like I am, this is a must if you're going to find every little everything in the DC Ruins. This one is a must own

Comment: This a terribly put together guide, its impossible to find the quests. They are not in alphabetical order nor or they in order to come by them.