Fallout 3 is an action role-playing game that can be played from either a first-person or third-person perspective.[1] It is set in the Washington metropolitan area, years after a nuclear war left much of the United States decimated.[2] The player controls a 19 year old character who grew up in a fallout shelter called Vault 101.[2] The goal of the game is to complete a series of quests to find the character's father, who unexpectedly left Vault 101.[3]: 57  In addition to the main quests, the player can participate in optional unrelated quests known as side quests.[2] GamesRadar+ critic Andy Kelly estimates there are over 100 hours of content in Fallout 3.[2]
At the beginning of the game, the player can customize their character's physical appearance by choosing their gender and race.[4][5] They can then allocate points into seven primary attributes: strength, perception, endurance, charisma, intelligence, agility, and luck.[5] These attributes are known as S.P.E.C.I.A.L. stats, and range from 1 to 10.[3]: 4  Additionally, there are 13 secondary attributes whose point totals are affected by S.P.E.C.I.A.L. stats: barter, big guns, energy weapons, explosives, lockpick, medicine, melee weapons, repair, science, small guns, sneak, speech, and unarmed.[3]: 10  If the player has a high charisma stat for example, then they will be more proficient with the barter and speech skills at the beginning of the game.[3]: 6  The player can add more points into skill stats whenever they earn enough experience points to level up.[5] Experience points can be earned through several methods, such as killing an enemy or completing a quest.[6] When the player reaches a new level, they can select a perk, which is a permanent beneficial upgrade.[5] For example, the perk Master Trader reduces the price of items sold by vendors by 25 percent.[3]: 18