Well this is it. My reign of looting-terror is over. No more metal boxes, footlockers, lockers, first aid kits, or dead bodies for me. I finished Fallout 3. I saved the Capital Wasteland.

Which is somewhat bittersweet. On the one hand, the wasteland was depressing (especially the recordings and radio broadcasts of the dead). On the other hand, I kept wanting to play more and see more.

But I did have an adventure, a full journey with many memories.

I came out of the Vault not knowing anything. I didnt know where to go or what to do or who to trust. I was weak. I was scared. I was amazed and curious.

Over time, I killed a millions creatures and people. I learned what junk was valuable and what was plain junk. I grew stronger and confident and by the end I truly was the last hope for the wasteland.

I had a great time with Charon at my back.

I met Falkes and adventured with it.

I found Megaton and helped those people.

I was terrified on my first mission, to the super-mart. The first time I went I found ghouls but instead of attacking me, they talked to me. The second time I went, I found a bunch of dead Chinese soldiers and raiders who killed each other just as I got there. I was really impressed how the game was so random and varied.

I freed slaves.

I snuck through a million miles of sewers.

I found friendly ghouls and feral ghouls.

I found vampires and robots and mercenaries and the Enclave.

I met President Eden.

I found the Slavers (but I didnt stop them).

I decapitated a countless number of those who stood against me.

I started off as a timid thief sneaking around for the first shot and ended as a power armored titan able to walk into any room and defeat any opposition with little damage.

I found 7 bobbleheads.

While I had a great time and leave with a lot of memories, I feel strangely unfulfilled. There were several mysteries I never solved.

I never figured out why the Super Mutants were so strong in the Mall or the square or why they "acted different".

Although I did find an alien weapon, I never found the alien spacecraft.

It took me most of the game to figure out lockpicking and to realize that every wrecked car is really a massive bomb in disguise.

I found heavy weapons to be underwhelming. I never used the flamer or the fatboy, and the rocket launcher and miniguns seemed ineffective.

I was able to play almost the entire game without using a wiki for help, which is pretty unusual these days, but the wiki did explain a lot of things that I missed in the game. I had not realized I found the source of the supermutants until I read it in the wiki, for instance.

I didnt care for the ending, which was like a movie. Roll credits... As soon as I won, I went back to a save game to continue to explore the wastes. Unlike Oblivion, I saved the world but I didnt get to see the future I created. The ending was a bit of a letdown.

Even though it ended with me wanting more, F3 is my game of 2008. Not sure if I will want a sequel but the boys at Bethesda have built another amazing virtual world. Enjoy it.