It's been 10 years since a "Fallout" game was released, so "Fallout 3" has been a long time coming.

I haven't played the previous games in the series, so I started "Fallout 3" knowing nothing about it. What I didn't realize was that this role-playing game would be so fantastic: Deep, beautiful and complex.

"Fallout" takes place in Washington, D.C., in the year 2277. Nuclear war has destroyed much of the world, and your character has grown up in Vault 101, one of many shelters created to keep humanity going after the nuclear fallout.

The introduction is well-done, telling the story, setting up your characters skills and acting as a tutorial in a wonderfully interactive way.

Eventually, when your character is grown, the story moves on: Your father has suddenly left the vault, and you head outside for the first time ever in order to find him.

The city is impressive, an expansive ruin with few loading screens and seemingly a personality of its own. Familiar landmarks such as the Washington Monument are now just ruins. Other buildings have been completely wiped off the map.

As you crisscross the desolate wasteland, you encounter wildlife that has been affected by radiation and raiders trying to rule through violence. Or sometimes you'll come across a peaceful settlement that can use your help.

"Fallout" is vast, and not just in physical distance. Side quests and running errands for people will take up a large chunk of time and can be finished in a number of different ways. Plus, there are lockpicking and computer-hacking minigames that can gain you access to items and information.

Every action you take affects the story and how people react to you. If you choose to be helpful, you gain good karma; if you're mean and violent, you get bad karma. Depending on your karmic status, you'll be able to interact with some people and not with others.

Also affecting how you play are your skills. The skills system, called SPECIAL, consists of traits such as strength, perception and charisma. Putting points into some traits changes, for example, how many items you can carry or how influential you are in conversations. As you level, you also get to choose perks, which give you other special abilities, such as enhanced use of small guns.

One of the highlights of "Fallout 3" - and one of the biggest reasons for it to be rated Mature - is the combat system, called VATS, the Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System. When you come across a hostile enemy, you can hit the right bumper button to freeze the combat. A graphic comes on screen that lets you target specific limbs, be it an arm, a leg or the head. VATS also tells you your likely percentage of hitting that limb. Each limb selection uses points, so you only have as many shots as you have points.

Once you've chosen your targets, hitting the A button begins the action, in a slow-motion, highly dramatic fashion. Sometimes your hits land, sometimes they don't. When they do, it's glorious - and gloriously violent, as your attack potentially can tear off an arm or leg. The combat could have been clunky, but VATS keeps it fresh and entertaining.

"Fallout 3" was created by the same people who did "Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion," and that influence is obvious, in the way the characters look and move (awkwardly), the menus and how you pick up items. But where "Oblivion" was similarly vast, "Fallout 3" is more focused and streamlined. You can see its visual origins, but it's a far different game.

I didn't know what to expect from "Fallout 3," but once I started exploring the world, I couldn't stop. It's an engrossing, bleak picture of a post-apocalyptic world, and you can shape it however you see fit.

"Fallout 3" is one of the best games of this year.

Fallout 3

By: Bethesda Softworks, for Xbox 360 (also for PlayStation 3, PC)

Rated: Mature

Cost: $59.99

Score: 9.5/10