Fallout 3 endings



Just like the intro, the ending is narrated by Ron Perlman. The first and final parts are the same for each player, the 3 middle parts depend on their choices, Part 4 may not be played if having entered the wrong code when trying to activate the purifier (the purifier will be destroyed in an explosion that way).

Unlike previous Fallout games, there is no ending narration for individual towns visited during the game. The only thing influenced by side quests is the choice of some of the slides shown during the ending cinematic.

Ending
Part 1: Part 2: Part 3: Part 4: Part 5:
 * Video segment 1 - Will always be included.
 * Video segments 8, 17, 18 - Based on Lone Wanderer's Karma. (One of them will always be included.)
 * Video segments 2 to 7 - Based on whether the Wanderer completed a specific side quest. However, only one of them will appear.
 * Video segments 9, 10, 11 - These segments are based on end-game decision in the control room. (One of them will always be included.) #9 is slightly altered by Broken Steel
 * Video segments 27 to 29 - Same as video segment #10 (Sacrifice Another), but showing RL-3, Charon, or Fawkes instead of Sarah Lyons. These are added by Broken Steel
 * Video segments 12, 13, 14 - Based on end-game decision on FEV. (One of them will be included if Project Purity was not blown up.)
 * Video segments 15 and 16 - These two segments have identical voice overs. Based on the Lone Wanderer's gender. (One of them will always be included.)
 * Video segments 19 to 26 - These segments show the same scene, differ only on player character's race and gender.

Video segments
There are 26 (29 with Broken Steel installed) independent video segments for the Fallout 3 ending. They can be viewed on the PC version using the external software "RAD Video Tools". Whether they are shown depend on certain task performed in-game. Some are mutually exclusive.

Fallout and Fallout 2
Fallout and Fallout 2 had a narrated slideshow as the ending, but without added visual effects (Solid full-screen images). The images were high-quality artwork, not in-game images (As these titles were played from an isometric perspective). While the first part of each ending was the same no matter how the game was played, it was followed by a town-by-town epilogue based on the actions in-game. Locations that had been 'skipped' were not mentioned. New Reno in Fallout 2 had no less than 7 endings (Siding with one of the four families, knock up one of the Bishop family women, not siding with any of the families, killing everyone in the city).

There are 47 possible ending "factors" in Fallout 2 - This means that the ending gotten after completing the game can vary in many different ways. Only a few of these endings are "required" (in that they are obtained no matter how the game is completed and cannot be changed or avoided), but the rest of them appear or do not appear depending on choices made throughout the game.

Continue playing
Fallout 2 allowed players to continue playing after completing the main quest line. There were no 'consequences' to having beaten the game, and new endings would not display if the conditions later changed. Aside from a few little extras (like congratulatory remarks on defeating the Enclave), it was the same as having never triggered the event that takes the Chosen One to the final area. Fallout and Fallout Tactics did not allow continuing play, although there are mods that do this in the former game.

It should be noted that the add-on "Broken Steel" for the PC, PS3 and 360 allows continuing past the end of the main quest. In this add-on, the ending is altered and the effects of the choice made at Jefferson Memorial during the final quest, Take It Back!, are made is able to see the effects of the choice made.

Fallout Tactics and Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel
Fallout Tactics had a combination of a "True" cinematic ending and a narrated slideshow. The cinematic was the same under all 5 possible endings, with the slideshow following the Fallout and Fallout 2 formula of solid images with voice-over. Fallout Tactics had no town-by-town analysis, as the game featured few RPG choices (someone lives or is dead).

Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel features a rather short narrated slideshow which ends with the three main playable characters watching the mushroom cloud blossom into the air after the final boss fight and the Vault is blown up. This game has few RPG choices, and no characters other than predetermined enemies could be killed. While there are side quests, they have no impact on the overall plot, so there is only one way to play the game.

Fallout: New Vegas
Fallout: New Vegas follows the style of the first two games' endings, going through all of the Courier's major choices in a slideshow with voice-over, and showing the consequences of each of these actions. Thirty topics are covered in this slideshow, and each topic has several different slides; which one is shown depends on the choices made. Thus, like in Fallout 2, there are hundreds of different ending combinations.

The player character is placed into a very small room where they are unable to move, and they are shown the "slides" on a screen in front of them.