Fallout 3, Starring Washington, D.C.

For people who want to stick to the main storyline and just find out how the story ends, there's about 20 hours of gameplay. But there are also plenty of side trips for anyone who wants to stop and smell the rubble. Bethesda Softworks says there are about 100 hours of entertainment stashed on this game disc.

The game is bleak, engaging and very funny in a very dark way. For fans of apocalyptic-flavored pop culture, the stories contained herein are every bit as compelling as books like "The Road" or the zombie tale "World War Z" and movies like "Mad Max."

This is very much an "M-rated" title, by the way, so don't nobody pick this up as a stocking stuffer for the little ones. There's blood, some drug use, strong language, potential cannibalism, robot mistreatment . . . the list is longer than my space here.

This is also, I should say, not a game for people unwilling to spend some time actively thinking as they sit on the couch with a controller in hand. Gamers love Bethesda Softworks' titles for their complexity, but I can picture some people picking this up and becoming intimidated by a game that requires more attention and decision-making than the average release.

For the rest of us, Fallout 3 is a hell of a ride. Every once in a while, a video game comes along that makes you think this still-young entertainment medium is, indeed, going to amount to something more profound than space marines, street gang simulations and World War II re-creations -- and, dang, here's one of them.

In the meantime, I'm hoarding bottle caps.

For excerpts from an interview with Fallout 3's executive producer Todd Howard about using Washington, D.C., for the game, visithttp://blog.washingtonpost.com/posttech/