The post-apocalyptic setting gives a really interesting sense of perspective, in a way that I find can cut quite close to home. Fallout and Mad Max go fairly humorously, so this is generally lost, but I found that the Book of Eli did this best. I was unable to shake the feeling that amidst the ruins of civilisation, the entire place looks like what little I know of third-world countries.
The whole idea of an economy that's been turned on it's head, with everything that was once valuable (gold, gems, expensive clothing, status symbols) now being next-to-worthless and things needed for survival (clean water, sunscreen, safe food) now being the biggest commodities, is one that I enjoyed being immersed in. Anyone who's also read the Dark Tower might recall the section where Roland (the protagonist) finds his way to real-world New York, and is alarmed by how cheap and easy sugar is to come across, where in his world it's seen as a rare drug.
And the worlds that are produced by these kinds of settings are almost always massively impressive, mainly coming from the way a building or object has been put to a vastly different use to what would be expected. Bottlecaps being used as currency, tyres being fashioned into clothing or armour, cars being stripped down and used for furniture or housing, and so on, along with everything being a mix of pre-apocalypse technology crudely repaired or amidst piles of improvised junk.
I find a lot of enjoyment in interesting and unique settings and worlds, ones that don't go so far from the norm as to be overly comical (Hitchhikers Guide) or to the point where they're too far into High Fantasy for any meaningful comparisons (Narnia, Harry Potter), but instead use the setting as something truly believable whilst also being intriguing.
As a side-note on Fallout, I've always liked games in which non combat-focused characters have some viability. I recently picked up Fallout 3 cheap, and though it's a long shot from the old-style isometric turn-based Fallouts of the past, it's done pretty well at maintaining the theme. The biggest qualm I have is with having the game practically hold my hand. Fallout 1 just dumped you in the middle of a deserted wasteland and told you to find your own way. No quest markers, no clear way to complete your objective, just a world out to get you, the clothes on your back, and a ticking time limit reminding you that every day you spent lost or distracted, your people were running out of water. Fallout 3, however, has very clear and obvious quest markers that require little outside thought other than just going to the marker and killing / talking to / picking up whatever it's set to before going to the next one, and the time limit has been removed along with all sense of urgency.
Anyway, I've rambled long enough. I leave you with the trailer to Book of Eli. 0:36 to 0:45 really shows off the scenery of the world that I like so much.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKfZrbS79To&feature=related
(Anyone knowing how to embed a video to a blog, do tell)
