Bottlecap mines are fucking incredible. Save all your lunchboxes, cherry bombs, and sensor modules!
edit: I also wanted to mention that the bloody mess perk makes some deaths a little ridiculous. For example, if I kill a super mutant by shooting it in the head with a hunting rifle, I might expect its head to explode. I would not expect all its limbs to simultaneously explode as well.
Never liked that perk - kinda seemed a waste.
Well, in the older games it was a trait, and it was only a waste if there was a second trait you'd rather have, which sometimes wasn't the case. I nearly always went Gifted/Finesse or Gifted/Bloody Mess; I just didn't like the trade-offs on the others. In FO3 I never would have taken it if it was just the animation change, but it also has +5% to all weapon damage; that's money, sonny.
edit: also, Owl, sounds like you and I took the same path with Mr. Burke, only once I realized there was no way to save the Sheriff's life if I turned in Mr. Burke, I just reloaded and blew Mr. Burke away right after he asked me to blow the town.
edit edit: So far, by far the most difficult enemy I have faced are the giant flamethrower ants. Admittedly you can pop their antenna to make them attack other ants, but if no other ants are around, they still come after you. Of course, one ant by itself isn't really that dangerous as long as you don't let them get close, but if you try to clean out the entire area I encountered them in one go, you start running out of bullets real fast (especially if you sell off most of your mines to clear up inventory space).
Also, mines are incredible. Did I say that already? Oh, looks like the next room has a bunch of mutants in it, I'll just put mines EVERYWHERE, pop one, and run awaaaaaaaaaaay