I would hardly call FO3 a good sequel to FO1&FO2. While average to good game in it's own right it simply lacks the same feeling I get when playing the the originals. FO3 is too watered down/clean and as usual for FPS it actually is, too combat driven. I much rather had them develop their own IP unless they are willing to be absolutely faitfull to original franchise (isometric story driven HC RPG with turn based combat). Also Bethesda simply lacks good story and dialogue writers to achieve the level of the old classics (with Oblivion they hit rock bottom in that area). We'll see if Obsidian fair any better on that front.

Well some games cheat a bit. When the player isn't looking in the direction of the ladder the npc teleports up it or down it.

I enjoyed FO3, but I missed the point of the Original, and so would a similar rework of Arcarnum. What makes these games so great as the fact that they are not strictly combat drven, and thus the choice you make in charecter creation has a mssive impact on how you progress through the game. In FO3, it just didn't matter.

Ontop of that, I don't see a modern RPG which isn't combat focused, AND is set in a highly unusual Steampunk world, selling that well unfortunatley. Though I don't see why these games couldn't work in 3d if done well.

You know, I made this posting as a parody, to mock fallout 3, but now I'd say it would be awesome to say the least of a first person RPG that had combat but it wasnt necessary, and had a world very similar to Arcanum's. If only because it would be the only game of such kind.