Aside from controversial depictions of violence and drug use, the post-apocalyptic adventure “Fallout 3” may go down in gaming history for something unexpected: implementing ethics as a game aesthetic.

For those unfamiliar with the series, the “Fallout” games take place in a post-nuclear war United States. Humanity takes refuge in fallout shelters – more advanced ones than we built in the 1950s – to survive the nuclear holocaust.

The games in the series typically force a former shelter resident to survive in the harsh, unforgiving environment after the war.

The series is by no means appropriate for children and explores topics like drug abuse, prostitution and slavery. The player is always left with the choice of participating on one end of any of the controversial topics, however, unethical acts are not glamorized by the game.

“Fallout’s” portrayal of playing an “evil” character is a sharp contrast from that of the “Grand Theft Auto” series.

The latest entry in the series is even more immersed with realistic graphics and open-ended character interaction. The game manages to put the player in the occasional ethical dilemma. The level of immersion in the game, coupled with the game’s perplexing moral decisions, could very well end up being as important of a step in gaming as the Wii’s motion-sensitive controller.

Early in the game, the player is asked to rescue a teenage boy from a gang that drinks its victims’ blood.

Instead of running in guns blazing, the player gets the opportunity to explore the mentality of the gang. It turns out the gang members – well, they’re more of a cult – have acquired a maddening thirst for human blood from prolonged exposure to radiation. Though the gang’s behavior is appalling, many members in the gang express remorse for their victims.

With a little bit of effort, the player can actually get a local town to donate blood to the gang in exchange for protection. “Fallout 3” goes as far as to give the player a lesson in tolerance and understanding.

Handling the “vampire gang” is just one of many ethical choices in the game, a trend which “Fallout 3” seems to be capitalizing on.

“There is always a choice,” one villain remarks.