I'll take Arcanum, please. ;)
(It's more like Fallout than Fallout 3!)
Anyways.. each one has certain good points.
Fallout 1, it's the game that started it all (although Fallout was the spiritual successor to Wasteland, an old EA title). Many fond memories, and the possibility to actually have a semi happy ending. (unlike 2, ya'll know what I mean)
Fallout 2, is IMHO, the best in the series in terms of plot, options, how wide spread the world is. It's a great game, hell of a lot of fun to play through. And even more odd-ball humor than 1. (Including a random NPC that spews lines from Wasteland)
Fallout Tactics. First: It's not a Fallout game. It's supposed to be, but it's not, it does not follow Fallout canon. It was made by a 3rd party developer with the Fallout label slapped on to it for sales. As a Fallout game, it fails. I love it though, and will be buying a new copy here pretty soon. It's one of the best Squad-based tactical RPGs I've ever played.
Fallout 3... *sigh* so much potential. For an under polished Oblivion mod. As far as Western RPGs go, like everything Bethesda produces it's 'decent'. And what REALLY shines is the player-created content. (even though to the industry, Bethesda poos gold). Now of course the problem was, I had been playing Oblivion quite a bit again shortly before playing Fallout 3. So I really noticed all of the Bethesda trademarks, and elements that just screamed "Oblivion."
The plot, was ... weak. I hated the opening crap. (I didn't like it in Oblivion, and it was worse in Fallout.)... But the biggest thing that stood out to me, even the druggies, hookers, rapists and murderous psychopaths were NICE about it. They would all just casually chat with you, like.. you were some long-time friend. Or better, there was no.. 'faction standing' with towns. If you walk in to Megaton, and decide you like the sheriff's hat and yer gonna take it. you blow his frelling head off, the town will hate you.
Walk out of the town go wander around for a day and come back, and everyone loves you!
There were also the thing of .. finding information.. that you just couldn't use. That doesn't happen in a Fallout game. Or it's not supposed to anyways. The biggest example I have at the moment is if you break in to Moriarty's office, and hack his computer, he's got a file on Jericho(?), talking about how he raped/tried to rape (forget which) Jenny Stahl. Now me, I wanted to go call Jericho out for it, and get him kicked out of Megaton. (Or maybe just kill him) ... but you couldn't bring it up, to anyone.
Or the fact that.. no one reacts when some guy in the bar blows someone to pieces, and you take your knife out and gut him.
None of these faults would really bother me if it was Elder Scrolls V.
But they put the Fallout name on it, that made the expectations greater.
Like I said, as a Western RPG, 3 is fine. As a Fallout title, it fails.
the only company that could have pulled off Fallout 3, was Troika. RIP Troika.

Fallout 3 is easily more worthy of the Fallout name than Fallout Tactics. It's not AS good as 1 and 2, sure. But it's a great game all the same, worth the Fallout name, and I'm glad to have it. Sure it can be improved. In fact, it can be improved a lot. But with teh scale and character of it all, well, I love it all the same.
What's with everyone saying it's okay? Please tell me if there are much better options for Western RPGs in the current day, I'd love to not feed off Bioware, Bethesda, and the odd title like Witcher.

What do you mean with "odd"?

It's a turn of phrase, at least where I live, that just means something that can't be relied on. Like, only occasionally does a western RPG seem to come out that isn't tied to a developer that I know fairly well.

Odd, in the aforementioned contextt, means that it rarely happens...

I just saw Drakensang mentioned another place earlier today. I'm looking into it, and it looks interesting! I'm gonna give that one a whirl, thanks!
No thanks on the other option, though. I disagree with your assessment in that regard! =)

Drakensang has a somewhat generic setting, but for $30 it's easily the greatest modern RPG since Arx Fatalis, good amount of number crunching, difficult combat, and it doesn't push any of that gimmicky choice & consequence in your face like so many RPGs seem to enjoy doing today. Binary alignment decisions are no fun, Drakensang is good oldschool fun, and it's hard as nails, requires proper planning for combat, and smart character development choices.
Used the money I could have spent on Fallout 3's much maligned DLC on a fantastic game.

I had a thought playing S.T.A.L.K.E.R that this is what Fallout would be like if it went even further in the FPS direction. Anyone else feel the same way.

Fallout 1, 'nough said.
But then again, I haven't met Frank Horrigan. Yet.

man.. i just encountered the fallout 2 THE END sign... first i was freaked out.. now im depressed.. so.. what do you think happened with your/my character anyway?

Fallout 2 was the first Fallout wich i've played, but after play Fallout 1, i think it's the best game of the franchise.
Fallout 2 is bigger, have more weapons, quests, etc. but have too many jokes for a post-nuclear war world, (i still love the game)
Fallout 1 history is much better, the game is more serious (less jokes and funny things), you'll be worried about radiation more than in Fo2 (the Geiger Counter is useless in Fo2, 'cause the only places with radiation are the Toxic Caves, near Klamath, and you'll have boots to protect you, and in a special encounter wich can be easily avoided).
The difficulty is better too (in Fo2 for example, you can get a Adv. Power Armor in level 2 and now you're god! yay! at least is hard to get a PA in Fo1).
Fallout 1 is smaller, but it's better, in my opinion.
You played with your character for 13 years? If yes, you can't play with this character anymore. 13 years is the maximum you can play with a character. :(

I've thought much the same myself, indeed. STALKER has such a deep "post-apoc" vibe washed over the entire game, it's brilliant. A shame that Fallout 3, which was actually set in a post-apocalyptic setting, didn't come close to the brooding despair which Stalker managed to evoke. But still, I am a rabid Stalker fanboy that I can't deny. It's some sort of Deus-Ex-Meets-Fallout so it can't go wrong in my book!

For me its fallout 2.fallout 1.fallout 3. and then tactics. I actually genuinely like fallout 3 and ive been playing fallout since it first came out years upon years ago.I was mad at how beth did things with 3. i admit that. does it stop it from being fun?not really. i still stroll through the waste. exploring random shacks and semi trailers. little caves and what not. just to see whats there. I think ive played through 3 like 6 times so far give or take. I tend to ignore the main questline for a while I think i hit the citadel on my last playthrough at max level. tells you how much exploring i did.. oh and i hated oblivion....btw hahahaha gaaary! .freakin clones...

i prefer Fallout 3
just because of the perspective