Not really like FO:NV, but I’m thinking about getting Metro: Last Light when it comes out (supposedly fairly soon). It’s set in post apocalyptic Moscow.
I recently read an article about this in the latest PCGamer magazine. It sounds interesting.
Stealth sounds like it might be harder, and there’s no mention of multiple factions to pick from with the intention of joining.
Stealth in Skyrim uses light and skill. It had better! There is a skill called sneak and it’s not useless. Perks are more frequent in Skyrim, and they are tied to specific skills, whereas Fallout ones are more general, and rarer.
The best faction plotline is in New Vegas. Four factions (although 3 are rather similar). I wish it continued beyond the end, though.
Fallout 3 doesn’t have factions, but there are binary choices, usually good/evil. Some are subjective and morally ambiguous, which I like. I believe the biggest “faction” choice occurs in the add-on, Broken Steel, but I didn’t play that one.
Skyrim’s 2 factions are not terribly big decisions, just choose the one you like.
In Oblivion, I think the only big choice you can make is in Shivering Isles, where you choose which side to support, although it ends mostly the same.
And there’s always Fallout and Fallout 2 (and the other ones). #2 is the best.
I have not played it yet, but would the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series fit? Compared to the Metros, both by gameplay and because they’re both Russian. Also on my list to get to is the Witcher. I believe the second one at least has stealth. Crazy diverging plots/decisions.
The first game is kind of like Fallout 3 when it comes to player agency - there are two major groups you can join to move the plot forward (or you can just go by your own self), and there are different ultimate outcomes depending on the specific path you took to reach the “final boss” and the choice you make there - none of which being happy endings because Russia 
- but nothing you do really dramatically alters the Zone before the end scenes.
Not sure about Clear Sky and Call of Pripyat - despite their being strictly better games than* Shadow of Chernobyl *I never got very far into them for some reason.
Metro 2033 was completely different though - it’s a linear shooter more than anything, stringing you along from one setpiece to the next. It has its charm (nothing quite like fighting Nazis in a post-apocalyptic subway), but it’s definitely a one playthrough game.
Not really - there is one (1) short section early in the second game where you can do the Metal Gear Solid thing while escaping prison, but no further stealth after that point that I remember (and even there, just wading into the guards and clubbing them upside the head with your torch is just easier).
But yes, crazy diverging plots indeed.
Stalker: SoC has a great atmosphere and I like it a lot but it offers very little in terms of stealth or sniping. There’s virtually no stealth mechanics beyond a basic field of vision check and noise check (running makes more sound, gets you spotted faster, etc). You don’t get access to a proper sniper rifle until the final quarter of the game although you can sort of snipe with the more accurate conventional rifles. It’s a great game but I don’t know if it’ll offer what the OP is looking for.
Who are “They”? FO:NV’s Obsidian or FO3’s Bethesda?
Witcher 2’s elf path had at least two different stealth parts and I absolutely loathed both because unlike the prison bit, getting caught resulted in getting killed instantly and since it wasn’t primarily a stealth game the stealth was so clunky you could never really be sure when you’d be spotted. Oh, and one stealth part in the riverside village. That sucked too but it was short and thus not so bad.
Mostly great game but there were parts of it I hated so much they soured it for me. Maybe the other path would’ve been better but I can’t make myself to restart it.
I’ll second Deus Ex 3, and suggest Alpha Protocol
Bethesda has the rights to Fallout and will likely be working on all the mainline games. Too bad, because Obsidian did such a better job, at least with story/characters/writing/world coherence/quests. I can only hope that they’ll outsource Fallout 4: New Talahassee or something to Obsidian again.
I loved the Witcher 2, but hated the “stealth elements”, I use quotation marks, as they have as much stealth in them as “pacman”.
Other than that, it fits the bill, you can significantly change the world, the sides aren’t black and white, it’s very immersive and there is crafting.
I’d second Dishonored. Not as open as Fallout but you can stealth thru the entire game if you want.
I highly recommend the DayZ mod for ArmAII. Or you can wait a couple months when the standalone game is released as it will be more stable, less hacker prone and have more content.
The premise is simple. You are dropped on the beach of some post-soviet state in the middle of a zombie outbreak with no equipment except a bandage, flashlight and some meds. From there you just basically have to survive by scrounging the 250 sq km map full of cities, towns, buildings, military bases, roads, factories, fields, woods and other structures for everything you need. Food, water, survival gear and most importantly - weapons and ammo.
Oh yeah, there are also dozens of other players and most of them are jerks who will gladly shoot or ax you for your food, gear, ammo or just because they can. Some will just don a ghillie suit ant hang around the major hot spots waiting to snipe unwary players from 1000m away with an anti-material rifle. Others will form clans and drive around in a truck full of weapons chasing unwary players.
There are no real “rules” or point to the game other than survival, but it’s about as open, realistic, stealthy, sniping and war torn as you could want.
Oh yeah…and there are zombies.
Crysis 2. It’s a largely linear game, though sometimes it’s hard to tell since some of the levels are so immense. Basically, there’s been an alien invasion concurrent with an outbreak of debilitaing virus. The city of New York has been evacuated and largely destroyed. One of the corporations researching alien technology sends in a squad of marines to investigate.
You wind up with a nanotech combat suit that allows you to do all sorts of cool stuff. There’s a big stealth element to the game since you can become invisible for short spurts of time. Plus, the combat is pretty good for a shooter.
It’s a fun game. I haven’t really done it justice in my description because I’m kind of tired. But from what the OP said about what his friend liked about Fallout 3, I’d wager s/he would like Crysis 2.
I was really excited when I first read about this game…then I realized that it had just become a bunch of dicks in ghillie suits who want to shoot you and steal your shit.