I'd also say this about where the franchise can go.

Right now, you encounter Raiders and Slavers that have lived in the Wasteland their entire life. You get into a quick round of combat with them (that they started) and you quickly end their lives.

It's dumb, as a player, to let them run away (though they do do that in FO3) because if they heal up, they'd be a threat again. I think, just for the hell of it, combat that treats these random encounters with a little more character would be interesting. You can still have mindless animals be fodder for leveling up - but then, how interesting is the random encounter in Fallout 3 anyway?

OK, not really, but Wasteland and Circuit's Edge are two old games I'd love to finish before the end of 2008. And, as I may have said elsewhere, the VATS system in Fallout 3 really does remind me of the combat in Wasteland. Shooting people in more-or-less turn-based motion and people exploding like blood sausages. Perfect.