[quote name='Armstrong x360a']Having never played a Fallout game is this something that I should check out before Fallout 3 (which I will definitely play at some point)?
Will it add substantially to my understanding/enjoyment of 3?
Would it be just as much fun to go back after beating 3 and play these ones later?[/QUOTE]
Without having played the earlier games, there are things in 3 you just won't get. The vault 77 jumpsuit and harold come to mind off hand. You won't understand either without having played the game, but there's a VERY real change you'd never find the jumpsuit and note without knowing where it is and looking for it and harold is part of a side mission that is pretty hard to find. You can play it no problem wihout having played the earlier ones, but there are things that will mean more having played them. In fact... there is more than 1 Wastleland reference in the game, which is the OLD game that Fallout 1 was based on. I jumped for joy the first time I came across one of those. All that said, Fallout 1 is one of the best games ever. Period. 2 I didn't like as much, but it's still worth playing. I loved Tactics, but you have to be a certain kind of person to do so. It is HARDCORE turn-based strategy, like Silent Storm. This is not Shining Force of something like that. And, if at all possible, for anyone that knows how to get a copy, go WAY back and play Wasteland. I love Fallout 1, 2, 3, Tactics, etc., but none of them are still (IMO) as good as the original Wasteland.