Fallout 3, Fallout: New Vegas, DRAGON AGE: INQUISITION
ROLFCOPTER!!!
FALLOUT?! Ask any gamer, who actually (unlike you obviously) has long experience and long term playtime in RPG genre, about Fallout series and he will tell you that fallout has nothing to offer in terms of good story, absolutelý NO interesting but only generic, forgetable characters etc. What are you even talking about meaningful choices and interesting characters in Fallout games? Don't make me laugh. Fallout is all about gameplay freedom, that's it. Story? What story? Characters? You means those generic ones whom u forget after completing the quest? Sidequests? - Witcher 3 eats any RPG for breakfest when it comes for sidequest, and speaking about FT quests - it spits on it from a mile.
Dragon Age: I? Are you high or just plain bad troll? LMAO there's just no point to even continue this as you clearly make no sense nor you have played any good RPG it seems.
Naming games like Fallout 3 as a "story, character rich game with engaging quests" is nothing but plain ridiculous. Witcher 3 is simply superior to these in terms of story / writting / characters / choices / OST / aswell as main and superior side quests. I can't even take you srsly anymore.
And when you ask how can I judge it by comparing it to other open world games - the answer is more than obvious.. You compare it to other big games because you have to realise that since it's enormous game which in development needs to be filled with richness, you can't simply focus solely on Story like previous two games were. W1 and W2 were never known for good controls or great combat but rather for its mature content, great stories, music, characters and decition making that actually has consiquences to it. Witcher 3 manages to add those elememts despite the fact that its much harder to achieve in non-linear, non-section based game..