Fallout 3 (PC)

Fallout 3 is a post-apocalyptic computer and console role-playing game developed and published by Bethesda Softworks as the third installment in the Fallout series and a sequel to Interplay's Fallout and Fallout 2. It was released on October 28 in North America, on October 31 in Europe and on December 4 in Japan. It is available on the PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

Minimum requirements

 * Windows XP/Vista
 * 7 GB free harddisk space
 * 1 GB System RAM (XP)/ 2GB System RAM (Vista)
 * 2.4 GHz Intel Pentium 4 or equivalent processor
 * Direct X 9.0c compliant video card with 256MB RAM (NVIDIA 6600 or better/ATI X850 or better)

Recommended requirements

 * Intel Core 2 Duo processor
 * 2 GB System RAM (XP)/ 2.5GB System RAM (Vista)
 * Direct X 9.0c compliant video card with 512MB RAM (NVIDIA 8800 series, ATI 3800 series)

Supported video card chipsets

 * NVIDIA GeForce 200 series
 * NVIDIA GeForce 9800 series
 * NVIDIA GeForce 9600 series
 * NVIDIA GeForce 9500 series
 * NVIDIA GeForce 8600 series
 * NVIDIA GeForce 8500 series
 * NVIDIA GeForce 8400 series
 * NVIDIA GeForce 7900 series
 * NVIDIA GeForce 7800 series
 * NVIDIA GeForce 7600 series
 * NVIDIA GeForce 7300 series
 * NVIDIA GeForce 6800 series


 * ATI HD 4800 series
 * ATI HD 4600 series
 * ATI HD 3800 series
 * ATI HD 3600 series
 * ATI HD 3400 series
 * ATI HD 2900 series
 * ATI HD 2600 series
 * ATI HD 2400 series
 * ATI X1900 series
 * ATI X1800 series
 * ATI X1600 series
 * ATI X1300 series
 * ATI X850 series

Some cards, such as the ATI Radeon and Radeon Mobility X1400 and NVIDIA GeForce 6600 128MB, are not officially supported but can work to varying degrees as long as they meet the minimum specifications. Some Graphic Chipsets such as Intel HD 3000 are not officially supported but can work as they meet the minimum specifications.

Version
The current version of Fallout 3 for the PC is version 1.7, released on July 27, 2009.

Previous patches

 * The 1.6 patch was released on June 22, 2009.
 * The 1.4 patch was released on March 2, 2009.
 * The 1.1 patch was released on January 13, 2009.
 * The 1.0.0.15 patch was released within a week of the game's US and European launch dates and contains minor fixes.

Controls
The default controls are described on page 4 of the Fallout 3 Manual and use a combination of keyboard and mouse.

Achievements
Achievements are available in the PC version to Games for Windows Live users.

Add-ons
Five add-on packs (Operation: Anchorage, The Pitt, Broken Steel, Point Lookout, Mothership Zeta) have been released via Games for Windows Live between January and August 2009 which add new quests, items and content to Fallout 3.

In addition, two bundles with disc versions of the add-ons were released for PC and Xbox 360. The first Fallout 3 Game Add-on Pack was made available on May 26, 2009 and consists of Operation: Anchorage, The Pitt and a Vault Boy poster. The second pack was published on August 25, 2009 and contains Broken Steel as well as Point Lookout. Both retail packages cost $19.99 US each. Mothership Zeta is not available on any disc other than the Fallout 3: Game of the Year Edition.

The Fallout 3: Game of the Year Edition, released on October 13, 2009 for all platforms, includes all five add-ons packs. It costs $29.99 for Xbox and $19.99 for the PC and the PS3.

The official editor for Fallout 3, called the G.E.C.K. (Garden of Eden Creation Kit), is PC-exclusive and available for free download here and allows PC users to create and add their own content to the game.