Fallout 3

These are exciting times for fans of role-playing games. Fable II raised the bar and Fallout 3, if anything, lifts it higher. It's the perfect game for those who love the depth and immersion that RPGs provide, but have a phobia of orcs, goblins and the like. It is set in a gloriously devastated Washington DC after a nuclear war has driven people into underground vaults. You're born in Vault 101 and set up your character during a clever accelerated childhood. When your scientist father escapes when you hit 20, you follow him. What ensues is state of the art, featuring an incredibly convoluted storyline, with vast numbers of side-missions, great control over character development, amazing visuals and an unusual but effective shooting system. Moral dilemmas abound. For example, the first location you find is Megaton, a rickety shanty town constructed around an unexploded atomic bomb. Should you defuse the bomb or explode it, obliterating Megaton? This is the perfect credit-crunch game, as it contains vast amounts of gameplay and replay value.