Bethesda Softworks' Fallout 3 has been one of the most anticipated titles for 2008 ever since it was officially unveiled last year.

But despite the numerous pre-release awards and hype amongst the press and gamers (not to mention the studio's stellar RPG track record), Bethesda was still awaiting today's official release with much anticipation.

"We're never really sure how these [reviews] will turn out," Bethesda PR boss Pete Hines told Edge in an e-mail. "So in general, we're always nervous/anxious.

"Obviously, we had some early indications from folks that played the game first for print magazines here and in Europe. The 10 out of 10 from Official Xbox Magazine here in the U.S. gave us an indication that at least somebody really liked it.

"But obviously we'd prefer that everyone like it, so we were at the midnight launch event last night at 12:01 browsing every site we could think of to see if reviews are up and what they said."

So far on the review aggregator site Metacritic, Fallout 3 is earning a 93 out of 100 on average, or "Universal Acclaim."

Future's Official Xbox Magazine gave the game a perfect score, stating, "Games this captivating do not come along often."

1Up gave the game an A, stating, "Faults be damned, though; this is the kind of hugely ambitious game that doesn't come around very often..."

Giant Bomb gave the game four out of five stars: "It'll be a struggle in spots, but I'm willing to guess that most people will be able to overlook a lot of the game's problems and still have a very good time exploring the irradiated wasteland formerly known as Washington D.C."

Good reviews are important to game makers, whether they'd admit that openly or not. But Hines says reception from the average Jill and Joe gamer is what really matters.

"We're very pleased and thankful that people like it so far," he said. "Obviously, we also really hope all the folks going out to buy and play the game really like it as well.

"I got an e-mail from a colleague about all the people standing in line up in Minnesota last night to buy the game, out in the freezing cold. Those are the ones I really hope love the game, because they're obviously really excited about it, and they had to freeze their butts off to get it."