Fallout 3 wasn’t the firstFalloutgame on consoles, but it was arguably the first good one. For the first time, console gamers got to experience thefull breadth of the Fallout world. From humble beginnings in Vault 101 to the inner sanctum of Project Purity, the Lone Wanderer’s journey is a long one. Thankfully, there are plenty of opportunities tostop and smell the irradiated roses.
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While the game isn’t exactly packed to the gills with side quests, the ones it has are unique, open-ended, and often very memorable. Looking back at Fallout 3, these are the quests that stick out in our minds the most.
There will be spoilers ahead!
10The Power Of The Atom
After leaving the vault, the first town the Lone Wanderer will likely come across is Megaton. They’ll discover the settlers of the town have foolishly built it around aninactive atomic bomb. The players can choose to disarm the bomb. Or, they can blow it up according to the whims of an eccentric capitalist.
The Power Of The Atom is one of the most memorable quests in the game. Many players have destroyed Megaton just to see the mushroom cloud animation. It’s an interesting, fun quest if a bitunbelievable. Tenpenny is willing to kill dozens of people in order to improve the view off his balcony. He’s an irredeemable, uninterestingpsychopath. But the Megaton settlers are odd, too. Why are they so sure the bomb is safe? Why build there in the first place?
9Stealing Independence
Stealing Independence is where Fallout meets National Treasure. In this quest, the Lone Wanderer is tasked with stealing the originalDeclaration of Independencefrom DC’s National Archives. They do this for Abraham Washington, an obsessed recluse with some misguided views on American history. Washington doesn’t even fully understand the document he’s trying to steal, but caps are caps.
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The quest itself is fun, though it can be a bit frustrating. Reaching the document is understandably difficult. Thankfully, another treasure hunter can help the Lone Wanderer, splitting the caps with them but making the hunt itself much easier. It’s aunique premise for a solid side quest.
8The Replicated Man
This quest in Rivet Cityties in with the main storyline of Fallout 4. In it, the Lone Wanderer is tasked with locating an android from the Commonwealth. Along the way, they’ll meet a member of the Railroad, who asks them to protect the android’s identity.
It’s an investigative side quest with a few potential outcomes, depending on the player’s actions.
After uncovering the android’s true identity, the Lone Wanderer can turn him into his owner. Or, they can work with the android to kill or evict their owner from Rivet City. It’s memorable for its interesting storyline, its connections to Fallout 4, and just the nature of the quest, which asks players touse their heads rather than their guns.
7Our Little Secret
In this unmarked quest, the Lone Wanderer decides the fate of the mysterious town of Andale. After wandering in, a townie will warn them to get away from the town. But who listens to people like that? Obviously, something interesting is going on in this town.
After some investigation (AKA breaking and entering), the Lone Wanderer can discover that the citizens of Andale are actuallycannibals.
From there, it’s up to the player to decide how to deal with the situation. Do they wipe out the town to put an end to their cannibalism? Do they simply look the other way? Or do they accept Linda Smith’s strange meat pies and agree to partake in cannibalism?
6The Superhuman Gambit
Caravan runners have a lot to say about the Capital Wasteland. As nomadic traders, they’ve seen all sorts of places. For example, there’s Canterbury Commons, where a pair of"superheroes"are locked in a seemingly endless conflict.
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Like Fallout 3’s other quests, there are a number of ways to tackle this one. It could be as simple as killing both the AntAgonizer and the Mechanist. One could convince them what they’re doing is crazy and get them to leave, or perhaps team up with one of them. The Lone Wanderer can eventake on their own superhero personawith the Child at Heart perk, which is a very fun addition.
5Blood Ties
The Lone Wanderer can grab this quest either by speaking with Lucy West in Moriarty’s Saloon or by investigating the town of Arefu, where her family lives. Unfortunately, after checking on Lucy’s family members, it’s discovered that they’ve been killed. With a decent medicine skill, the Lone Wanderer can surmise that theirnecks were bittenand their bodies are drained of blood.
Like The Replicated Man, Blood Ties asks the player to put their head down and do a bit ofinvestigating. There are plenty of different ways to go about the quest and save the missing member of the West family. We don’t want to give away the ending, but it goes against expectations in a fun way.
4Election Day
Democracy is a beautiful thing. But, in a wasteland community of seven or so people, it’s easilycorrupted. In Fallout 3’s Republic of Dave, a narcissistic wastelander rules. Dave will tell the player how he plans to one day violently take over the Wasteland and how he is the president of the Republic and the savior of its people.
He’s also a polygamist, against the wishes of his “first” wife. The players can help Dave win his election or help someone else win. But it’s not as open as it seems, as helping someone else win necessitates rigging the election by stealing votes. It’s one of the most memorable side-quests in the game, but we wish it wereexpanded into a full questwith a few more options.
3Wasteland Survival Guide
One of the most memorable NPCs in Megaton is Moira Brown, a shop owner seeking guinea pigs for her dangerous research. Moira iswriting a bookto help others survive in the wasteland—a book so important that not even the nuclear destruction of Megaton can deter her from writing it.
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Wasteland Survival Guide is a long quest that will take the Lone Wanderer all across the game world. It’s a great way for low-level characters to find new locations, loot, and quest opportunities. The best part is that the player’s responses to Moira canactually affect the contentof the book she writes.
2Trouble On The Homefront
Fallout 3’s introductory sequence is long.Too long.But it has a saving grace—it sets up Trouble on the Homefront, a very cool quest.
When the Lone Wanderer leaves the sealed Vault 101, along with their father, it triggers arevolution. Other vault dwellers turn against the overseer, who wishes to keep the vault sealed according to its original mandate. The player can address this situation with persuasion or by killing the leaders of either faction. It’s very satisfying, dramatically, to see the situation in the vault come to a meaningful conclusion. The only real issue with the quest is that it’spretty easy for the player to miss it.
Oasis presents one of the most interesting locations in the Capital Wasteland. It’s a gorgeous, refreshing spot choked with lush trees. It also reintroduces a beloved NPC from the series, Harold, who is currently being chokedbya lush tree.
Harold is the unwilling deity of a tribe of tree-obsessed wastelanders. They misinterpret his dying wishes as divine tests. The wastelanders are so invested in their own personal ideas of what Oasis should become they don’t think that maybe Harold is a real person with his own desires. There are numerous ways to handle the situation, from exploiting Harold to spread his trees further to violently killing him with a flamethrower. With interesting writing and a cool, unique location in the wastes, Oasis takes the cake as the most memorable side quest in the game!
