For starters a deeper storyline would be better, fallout 1 was about saving your vault, fallout 2 about saving your village. That was the essence of the game, not some bullshit 'omg my daddy is gone, me want daddy boohoohooo!' Yeah sure the story developed further but it was always revolving around that old fart (about who personally i didn't give a fuck)
The enemy variety was shit if you ask me, (in fallout 1 & 1 there was a fuckload of enemies wich varied on areas) in fallout 3 99% of enemies are raiders and super mutants, i remember in fallout 1-2 i saw a supermutant and had an anal evacuation.
I WANT THE OLD TRAVEL SYSTEM BACK ARRRGHH!!!!!
and the black humour, and the drammatic influence SPECIAL had on gameplay.
More weapons.
The world should be more autonomus, and not waiting for me to press that thing for something to happen. I BLEW UP THE FUCKING MEGATON AND NO ONE EVEN NOTICED FOR CHRIST SAKE, in older fallouts that would be the talk of the day, FUCK the talk of the month!
In fallout 3 no one gives a fuck about anything.
Smarter dialogue, not that shallow THING bethesda feeded me.
[flashback: i remember when in fallout 2 i made a character with 1 intelligence and went and talked to torr in klamath (to whom if talked with a high intelligence you would make no sence of what he was saying) and talked to him, AND TO MY SURPRISE the dialogue i saw made me laugh to tears, saying 'ugh mom?' to ppl. Jobs you could take only if you had the reqired stat.]
Also it seems that fallout 2 is far beyond in the future after fallout 3, why? NEW RENO FOR FUCKS SAKE, MAFIA, FAMILIES, DRUG COMPANIES-DEALERS-JUNKIES
Ugh i miss al that shit, i'm gonna go and play fallout 2 again i guess, it's far more supperior to fallout 3 from my point of view.
/rant