Yeah, the developers did their job at making a game. But the way they did it - that's a different story. Everywhere you go, you feel it - something's not right. It's all too "fun and games", "how do you do?" and the like. Hell, sometimes it goes as far as "hello kitty". The atmosphere's what I'm talking about.
I mean, it's like staying at a luxurious hotel (even though you hate all the fancy stuff around) after one of those tiresome days you're so used to, then being welcomed right before your room by some guy who's paid for making visitors "feel like at home". Then, after you get rid of the bastard, you enter the room, explore it - and guess what? The room service was so thoughtful they even placed more "nice" stuff, as "nice" as it gets. I mean, all the rich dads who stay here prefer that kind of treatment - they're used to it, even more, they'd leave the place right away if it wasn't. But hey, I've got a whole hell behind me - I don't care if the pillows aren't fluffed. It feels alien and primitive, makes me wish I slept outside. Of town. As far away from that hospitality as possible.
That's the same feeling I get when trying to play Fallout 3. I've finished Fallout 1 and 2 several times, i'm used to the wastes where the green ones are no more than food.
This is the welcome you get in the original games. If you're nothing - you won't last long. That's what I miss the most, even more than the combat and roleplaying systems. VATS mode is unrealistic, and the gore with the slow-mo - it's just not serious. The game (or at least the combat) should've been made in 3rd person view like in the first Neverwinter Nights or Van Buren, that way combat would be more logical, real-time, but with regular pausing so you can plan your characters next action. Not to mention the fact that it is
your character who is supposed to aim, not you. That's why I consider it to be a shooter.
In short, Fallout 3 turned out to be a game - just a game, no more. But that's no different than a painting turning out to be no more than a picture on your calendar, without a soul, depth and the like. And the bad thing is, most of the games flawes are hard-coded or otherwise too difficult to fix, just like in the Elder Scrolls games with it's dreadful AI (Morrowind) and obligatory voiced dialogue (Oblivion and this game).