Agreed. Whether because there was an actual dip in quality or the subsequent games simply couldn't replicate the impact of the "new-ness" of my initial exposure to Fallout 3, none of the others ever satisfied me quite as much. And, since, then, Fallout 3 is the bellwether for what I gravitate toward in other games - I just love the VATS mechanic over button-mash real-time shooters, and I loved the depth of the environment and the wonder it inspired. As such, I buy very few games - and I bought the Witcher 3 simply because it seemed to have a lot of the Fallout 3 qualities (minus VATS), but ultimately got bored not only with the complexity but with the lengthy cut-scenes that made it feel less like a game and more like watching a movie (though Witcher 3 is still incredibly impressive.) Other Bethesda games like Oblivion and Skyrim were "close but no cigar" as well, as I'm not big on the "sword and sorcery" milieu.
Runners-up for favorite game would be the GTA series and the Batman Arkham series (where detective mode is almost "quasi-VATS").
Aaaaand I've pretty much listed in this post every single game I've bought in the past 6 or 7 years. So if anyone has a recommendation on good games that fit my admittedly-narrow criteria (Fallout-GTA-Arkham), please feel free to PM me so as to not derail this thread. I'm on XBox One, not PS3-4.
M