Fallout 3
Seismic
Mercifully escaping the tourists, touts and, well, tramps of London's hectic Oxford Street, I find myself in the serene interior of a small hotel somewhere in the vicinity of a Japanese restaurant where I once blew the GDP of a small country on Schochu-based cocktail, which made me feel ill on levels beyond the physical. I'm here to be given a guided tour of Bethesda's eagerly awaited Fallout 3, and developer Peter Hines is on-hand to tell all.
Sitting comfortably in a darkened theatre room, Bethesda's man in London warns us that we're witness to a pre-alpha build of the game, and that all may not be the finished article - that said, as the game begins I'm immediately impressed by how polished and complete everything is looking, given that Fallout 3 won't be gracing our screens until autumn 2008.
Starting a new game, we're immediately greeted with the introductory sequence, featuring the instantly hummable "I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire" as the camera sweeps through a dilapidated bus, eventually taking in a post-nuclear city-scape. War does indeed never change. A bit like Vault 101, which has remained sealed since the nuclear holocaust of 2077, over two-hundred years of no one leaving, and no one entering. Into this closed world the player is thrust, the early portions of the game seeing our young charge being gently introduced to the world, via flashbacks to important occurences in earlier years.
Your father is your guide, and he'll be on hand as you select and tweak your initial skills, abilities and characteristics, choose your appearance, and eventually receive your Pip-Boy, an inventory device on the player's wrist which can be used in all manner of clever ways. Through this approach, Bethesda are cleverly integrating your introduction to the game world into the story, forging a seamless world in which everything that reminds you that this is a game is cleverly part of a believable world. You can choose to play in first or third-person, Bethesda inform us, though for the main part of our demonstration the game will take place from a first-person perspective which, it has to be said, give initial proceedings something of a BioShock feel - which is certainly no bad thing, though may concern puritanical fans of the original two Fallout titles.
This is not Oblivion, however, and Bethesda will stand no more comparisons. Likewise, those likening the game to a first-person shooter will be forcibly removed, I'm almost warned entering the theatre. Though it has to be said that, purely from an aesthetic stand-point, Fallout 3 isn't dissimilar to an FPS, even if no one will thank me for noting it. Similarities are thankfully little more than superficial, and even the combat - which can be tackled FPS style - is more intelligently approached using the pseudo turn-based VATS combat system - which allows you to pause the action and select parts of an enemy to hit, with your timing and shooting ability effecting how likely you are to succeed with that tricky head-shot, or the disabling leg-shot. Likewise, enemies will lose percentages from every part of their body - meaning that you can save ammo and take fewer risks by concentrating on a foe's weak spots via the combat system. FPS fans may of course prefer to engage in more 'traditional fire-fights', which can still be impacted by a player's strength, skill, and various environmental factors (radiation from exploded atom-powered cars and the like).
But before you can indulge in the exploration of the world and in battling or conversing with its innumerable and varied inhabitants, you're going to need to prepare your character and get out of Vault 101. This will happen when, after the initial premise-setting action has passed, your father mysteriously disappears from the vault - and you must follow in his footsteps to discover why he left you. Journeying out of the vault for the first time, the player is dazzled by the first natural sunlight he's ever witnessed, and you look out over the wasteland that surrounds what was once Washington D.C., before the 2077 war which brought to an end civilisation as we know it. Visually, the landscape is breath-taking, the draw-distance epic, and more over, it is awash with signs of former life; debris, ruined structures, and useful trinkets to be discovered and used as you set out to uncover what became of your father.
The first place you reach is the town of Megaton, and Bethesda tell us it is here that your first karma-impacting decisions will be made. Help the town and play nicely, and you'll make friends among the game's good guys. Behave badly, and (eventually) bring about the town's destruction, and you're likely to make enemies among the good guys while falling in with another crowd entirely. Our friendly Bethesda rep is clearly feeling the grim London winter more than most and, befriended by a sinister character called Burke in a seedy bar, we install a detonation device on the side of the town's centrepiece, an unexploded nuclear bomb taken as a sign of grace from god around which the town was founded. It is worth noting that town's such as Megaton are brought to life in vivid and rich detail, and that you can interact with any number of its inhabitants should wish to learn more about life and concerns beyond the sheltering Vault 101.
Our Bethesda guide, however, is on a mission to destroy Megaton, and so we embark on a journey through the disused Washington Metro en route to the middle of the former city and a rendezvous with the mysterious Burke that will see Megaton's landmark detonated - the will of sinister force's within Fallout 3. In the Metro, we meet our first real threat (beyond the giant red ants dispatched with a shotgun in the wasteland): the super mutants. These shambling wrecks of former humanity are the main villains of the piece, and it is in combat with them that we're demonstrated the title's combat system. Of course, how well you battle these nasties is impacted by how evolved your fire-arms skills are, and the Pip-Boy, as ever, will help keep you posted. There are also various boosting snacks you pick up, which grant you stronger abilities in certain areas. For example, in order to modify Megaton's bomb, you'll need a certain level of intelligence given the technical nature of the undertaking - such points can be a garnered via various diversions in the game world, or by picking up boosters.
Back to the disused Metro, however, and having overcome the super mutants we emerge to downtown DC and find ourselves tagging along with a Brotherhood of Steel force trying to repel mutants over-running the city. As we follow the troopers, we gradually pick-up a few new combat tricks, a couple of new weapons and a little more of the plot, before all hell breaks loose. A super mutant boss behemoth has crashed through a building, and having killed a couple of your new friends, you'll now need to defeat this monstrosity, using the portable nuke gun, which fires mini-atomic missiles, two or three direct hits from which should see the beast falling. Once again, the VATS system comes in handy, and the scale of the combat is certainly impressive - especially given the relative minnows you've faced so far.
But our brief glimpse of the game is drawing to a close, and now we find ourselves on a rooftop, out of harms way, and in the company of the sadistic Burke. A cut-sequence ensues, in which the button is pressed - sending white-light and a mushroom cloud wafting out over the city, from somewhere beyond the edge of the ruined metropolis. The ultimate bad karma move, according to Bethesda; Megaton is no more.
But, in a relationship councillor sty-lee (appropriate in the field of games journalism), what have we learned? Well, Fallout 3 is rich, ambitious and epic in scale. Whether it can blend perfectly RPG and FPS (with a splash of third-person thrown in) remains to be seen, but the lengths the developers are going to are more than apparent. We'll certainly be following this new offering with interest as it is polished, tweaked and expanded ahead of a debut around this time next year. Until then, suffice to say that this is one wasteland we'll be more than happy to revisit.
Comments
I don't think that making fallout an fps with inplemented rpg elements is a good idea :/
It looks like the screwed up already. Seriously, if it's not broke, DON'T try to fix it! FPS?!? I just lost all interest in this game. :(
bethsoft, i hope you pull this one off, because if you fail, i will personally see to it that your asses will BURN!
The writing sounds just horrible. And portable mini-nuke launchers? Utterly ridiculous.
Its more like an rpg with fps style combat.
It was not broken, but does need to be updated. The samething over and over gets old. Thats why originality is valued. Now stop posting half formed opinions.
Im a fan of fallout since it can out and this doesnt sound as bad as i thought it would be. Yes im very upset that they have changed everything and made it fps or 3rd person but alas im willing to put up with most just to play a new fallout. Im user bethsoft will make a fallout closer to what we know after this (praying) until then ill cry in the corner and think of better fallout days
Did you guys read the article or did you go straight to posting?? Typical of Internet morons...
Wow, you all (except for the canadian) sound the exact same as all the flamer on the bethesda forums. Making an isometric fallout with today's physics engines and high-performance machines would be a waste of time - i've always wanted to really feel like the vault dweller, and 3rd and 1st person views are delightful ways to integrate the player more with the world - which is what is really important about Fallout.
Ok wth/mir are you a starcraft fan... Well let’s make a 1st or 3rd person shooting starcraft, warcraft, Diablo... Why not if people have not played them we can do what we like, well that’s what you say. But no we shall not because all these games have massive followings of people that will riot in the streets if that is even mentioned. Or let’s take comics/games/books into movies well some people have not read them so let’s do what we like even know the people that have read/played them will hate us for life. But alas as stevenrrr said I have not read the article and just posted even know I made points from the article (oops there Steven). O and saying that making a game like the isometric fallout is a waste of time DUDE? Starcraft 2 is like the isometric fallout as u say but just improved and better graphics with some areas that are 1st or 3rd person but still has a majority in the old fashioned starcraft, why you might ask... It’s because it’s made by a company that cares about its players and they love the game more than just a quick money making avenue
I don't care about 1st person or iso-view at this point. I repeat: the writing sounds (and will be) horrible, as in hackneyed, adolescent, and just plain dumb. Devs: stick to what you are best at (building game engines) and hire some REAL writers (that is, some non-geeks).
Bzrker... Starcraft is a strategy game where I have to control dozens, if not hundreds of units. Can you do that from a first person perspective? No. However, controlling one person is much more fluid and natural from a first or third person view. Comparing strategy games with role playing games is foolish and irrelevant. Also they did make a 1st/3rd person Diablo - its called Hellgate London and it is awesome, you should go play it.
Mir i can see you have not played the fallout games much in all the fallout games u have had to control up to 5 units which is hard to do in 1st/3rd person but hell if you feel so strongly about it thats your thing not mine. Leave me to my opinion's and ill leave you to yours just i hate people that slate other people for there views
People, graphics don't make a game. Stories due. Every year developers spend tons of money and time into games to make them look pretty, but many of them still turn out like crap (Shadows of the Colossus, was really pretty looking but probably one of the worst games ever made). Fallout is just as fun as it was when it came out 10 years ago. The same is true of its sequel. Today 20 years after its development people still play nethack in its original form. Still it is possible that the writers at Bethesda will turn out a great story, my complaint is that its not their story. They didn't ask the original team for input and they original team didn't ask them to make it. If you ask me Fallout 3 is just a really expensive piece of fan fiction and fan fiction by definition is LAME.
If anyone wants to play a good RPG I recomend Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magic Obscura. The story is a little slow at first (and yes I realize this makes me a hypocrit so dont start posting what a hypocrat I am for saying this), but it has a very extensive world with good character development and many possible story lines. Its a great example of how you can make a good RPG with a giant map and strong character development, in contrast to say Oblivion.
Oh, and Arcanum's made by the guys who made the original Fallout not a bunch of wannabes
Hmm Reminds me of K0T0R. I am looking forward to more info.
tyvm, just my 2 cents ;-)
fps??? nice stupidity
is this somthing you call fallout?!?!?!? its looks like oblivilion...
Ty aspitz finally someone with a reasonable comment
This is not an FPS exactly... It would be pointless to create it as a strict FPS mainly because its already been done... S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is almost exactly the same as Fallout (in the sense that your wandering around a big post-nuclear wasteland), the main thing that I see going differently is that Fallout isn't going pure FPS, it has the classic(ish) turn based fighting, and your not running around shooting things. Personally I don't believe that using the style of Starcraft 2 or Supreme Commander would do this game any good. STALKER is a first person shooter, your run around shooting things, now I'm not an expert on this game as I haven't received it yet, but I'm not really expecting it to play like Fallout3 will.
Im looking forward to the new look at turn based gamesplay. It's not either style really, IT'S GOING TO HAVE A STYLE ALL IT'S OWN. My only concern really taking into thought the attention to detail. Capturing the fallout feel that I know Bethesda has been striving to do. PLOTLINE, STORYLINE whatever you want to call it. Im hoping for a game thats going to take forever to finish.
I have high hopes for this game. I can deal with imperfections and the learning curve of a new game, just make it long enough and have enough "Brian Fargoness" to make me play it more than once.
personally i think it is good that they are trying soemthing different... not to say that i won't be upset if they mess fallout up. also what is wrong with a mini-muke launcher...... how is that anymore ridiculous than a laser-minigun??? anyway, my point is... evolve damnit!! i agree that story is first and formost... but haven't we learned anything? or are we relying on the masses who just want the same game over and over and over again? instead of condemning a game (which none of you has played, or even seen actual gameplay) before it comes out, try to think of how it might be better now. maybe it wiull suck, but i know i am going to be waiting patiently to try this one out.
Well written jamelle.
Ask the same question why even flame the game before you have tried it? By the looks off it, the preview video, the have a really good setting and have captured the feel of the fallout world, atleast i think so. I am one that will judge more deeply when i first laid my fingers on the game and actually played it!
If Mass Effect does the fps with inplemented rpg elements well then this has a chance as well.
i have for a long time hoped that fallout would become a FPS game :D
i think it will make tha players come much closer to the fallout world... and with the VATS combat system i think it actually might work just fine :D cant wait...
as long as its better than that brotherhood of steel crap game that came out :P
every1 wants to be a hater.. Fallout.. if at all kept in the remarkable storytelling tradition of the other 2 main line stories, will be great. Mini nuke launcher?? Who cares what they name the weapons. I bet the game will be awesome like the other two.
I'm sure Fallout 3 will be as good as
Oblivion and hopefully it will have alot of
things to do.
Personally i just hope the game will be nice.
I mean sure i will miss the good 'ol isoteric view and the turned based combat but like some one said originality is a good thing
i just hope for 2 things motley
1)generous amounts of (dark)humor and pulp
2)that its not "oblivion with guns" i know they keep claiming it wont be but i wont believe it till i see it
if i was in a power position this is where i would threaten murder arson and making the developers otherwise uncomfortable if they f**k up but im going to give them the benefit of the doubt and not even bother with the threats because i just miss this series so much
remember to prey to *insert deity name here* tonight that the game will be good
as for me im off...
dear cthulhu please make fallout 3 a good game and.....
JUST make it LIKE Fallout I and II (Some change in graphics CAN be welcomed :D)
I loved fallout! The thought of the next game coming out is really exciting. I remember smiling @ the airport when I first saw a mag with power armour on it. The series strikes a nerve with me because its a grimm place like no other. Play as bad,good or in your own little grey area depending on how you feel at that very moment, perfect. Alot of other games do that now but not with the grit of the post apocoliptic.If you like the old fallouts for the way they made you feel then cheers to the new one in hopes that it will be long and tough,yet have the same dark humor as before. I think what most other players are worried about is that fps games are too easy and that wouldn't feel right.
F##@$@!! awesome! I can't wait to see this one released!!
You all have horrible spelling and grammar.
Fallout should never have been a first person shooter. Not in any way. WTF?
kk
im quite interested in how this will turn out, either way i'll probly b happy, massive fan of oblivion, and ive started playing FO again...
for those of u who think "u cant control 50 units from a 1st person/3rd person view" i direct u to go play battlezone 2...imo its an awesome game, and for those who didnt like the commanding from 1st person view...u get a birds eye view option aswell, excellent game right there...
ur all dum!
Fallout3 will be the best game that ever lived!
ur all dum!
Fallout3 will be the best game that ever lived!
ur all dum!
Fallout3 will be the best game that ever lived!
You will all buy it!!
You will all love it!
Fallout3 will be the best game that ever lived!
You will all buy it!!
You will all love it!
Fallout3 will be the best game that ever lived!
all buy it!!
all love it!
well i have good thoughts and bad thoughts but mostly good. i like the new PA btw :D
well the bad stuff are kinda that it looks much like oblivion. and oblivion was fun and all but not THAT great. the good things are...i can run it!!! i mean if its for xbox 360 then hell yes the only new game i want that i can run. unless microsoft makes xbox 370. also i hated the combat in fallout. sure the aimed shots were kinda cool but they get old and all u do is click and shoot balls of booger at ppl and watch em blow up. its too slow paced and repetetive for me. and sum ppl say theres strategy involved but when i play all i need do i go in with guns blazing. The 3rd person/fps will be cool too i mean u cant expect a new rpg game to be isometric or sumthin. Also its not completely like an fps. They said it was more based on character skill than ur ability to move the camera fast enough.
also mirr, i dont find having 5 ppl following me around and just randomly shooting ppl (and yes i know u can make them shoot anyone,ur attacker,etc.,) "CONTROLLING" anything. Besides even if u do it doesnt have to be isometric especially with only 5 ppl to command. Just look at Republic commando!
mirr i dont think having 5 ppl follow u around helping u out (and not directly controlling them) is a good comparison to starcraft. I mean seriously u dont control ur teammates.
fallot 4 life
Great, the old turn-based system of fallout was BORING, now i can really feel into atmosphere of post-apoc:)
I haven't seen it yet but can't wait. Every new RPG is an experience all its own.
I am somewhat dissapointed that it is not more traditional to the series in presentation. I am not sure how I am going to like the first person mode. I really enjoyed the fallout series thus far and hope I am not disappointed with this game.
bethsoft is trying to take a large leap in style of gameplay... lets hope they do it well.
I just hink we should trust the people behind the game until it is released come on give it a chance!
Bethesda bought the rights of a potential game of the Millenium but is going to do something that is only fair. I think they will miss this great chance by scaring all fallout fans away - which have thirsted so long for a sequel. But why!? i don't understand that. Does Money smell bad!???
I would rather wait 2 jears longer (maybe there will then be some mods??) for a good Fallout game than play something as boring as Oblivion again.
I don't know about the quests, humor, gameplay, gamehandling and balance but i'm sure, the original games won't be topped by bethesda because beth had shown to be to stupid to implement the heart of Fallout: The ACTION POINTS and the "chessboard" where tactics can take place to be worked out and to DEFEAT the enemys.
The gameplay of Bethesda will surely be based on some feats of the main caracter and every other NPC in your Party will just disturb a clean an fast kill.
I hope at least that mass effect and kotor1 will effect some features of Fallout3, just if the don't want to learn from the good old games.
The next problem will be the inability of beth to make a good handling of the things around the game. Just see oblivion and so dont look forward to a good structured and clearly arranged inventory to find things fast and comfortable. After finishing the console-game beth will make a fair pc game and then do something completly different not looking back to their own s*.
At the end i must confess, that fallout 1&2 transfigured over the years to something bigger than it was. There where more elements of fighting than roleplay. Much brutality and a not too deep story with some more or less cheap sidquests. The humor was hefty but therefore good. So i hope the dialogs and quests and most of all the post nuklear atmosphere will make playing fallout 3 worth anyway.
it sounds a bit of. im not sure your gonna pull this one of. still im looking forward to trying the game ... and being a fallout fanatic ill probably end up buying the game anyway,even if it gets bad reviews! so cross your fingers and hope for a good game
Seriously, I don't see a problem on FPS. Oblivion was awesome, and I expect great things from Fallout 3.
There are mini nuke lobbers...look them up if you like. They were 1st made in the 50's. If you want to see ridiculous weapons look up thermobaric weaponry or the Metal Storm system out of Australia...them's neat!
We have seen this trend for years, they make the games "prettier" at the cost of depth of play and world size. Let's hope Bethesda won't go down this path. Let's hope we can play this game without having to buy a $1000 videocard and a quad processor computer. I guess I am old school when it comes to RPGs. Sure immurse me in the game but don't sacrifice content.
this game is far from broken, people who think it's, should remeber that it is exactly what they said when they had to change from boardgame to textbased computer games, and so on. And they are the one who are saying it's broken, when the truth is that they should spend more time with their girlfriend and family and less time on their computer now that they are obviously old and make room for those actually embrace great graphics with sweet gameplay.
boldeyrussell or no
OMFG itza 1st persun shoota?!
Who the hell gives a rats ass what pov its played from? I'm sure demos will be released for you all to try out and see if you like it before divorcing your hard earned cash.
Movies of comics? Games to film? If reviews say its tat I'll avoid them. If they seem intriguing enough I'll give them a view. Most of you sit here moaning about the kind of game Fallout 3 MIGHT end up being, yet I bet a significant number of those hating will actually buy the game. Still, if you don't actually like the evolution of the franchise, you could always choose to avoid it and stick to playing Fallout 2, no?
Of course, this might end up being average or a total flop, but I have faith in what Bethesda can do for Fallout. IE give it a good kick back to life.
BTW to whoever said Fallout 2 is still played alot; stop moaning then and stick to playing it. Troll. ^_^
I think they should publish it as a new serie, `cause i don`t think that this thing belongs to fallout. For god`s sake just because of fallout I &II , I had become addicted to junkworld ambienced games. So i`ll be gratefull for this game to come but in the name of fallout.
A note to all you Fallout purists. Fallout 3 is being helmed by the boys and girls who gave us Oblivion. Probably one of the most visually impressive, expansive, story-driven, sandbox style games to date. Yes, its not your pappy's Fallout, but in a world of recycled ideas and the same old same old, it's nice to see a quality entity giving new life to a quality title. Let's see how this bad boy plays out on on our respective consoles before you boo-hoo the changes. A poorly written review about an unfinished pre-alpha-demo is not enough to get the torches and pitchforks out. Relax, man. Everytings gon' be irie.
Im keen to see the technical specs for a PC for this to run. I've not got a great PC, no SLI etc, im not even using a dx10 card. So from hearing about the glorious graphics, draw distances im thinking. Xbox360. This saddens me as i love fallout and love my keyboard and mouse, patches, game addons etc. Yes i could buy a new gfx card etc, but thats all £££, i dont have, backhand 2 that is they're not going to releace the graphics with something found 10 years ago.) I can only hope that they haven't tried to make it a fps too much and have left enough of the old feel in the game to make this a great title.
bethesda should step down and let black isle do it. black isle was a much better game designer team. i still play fo2
it´s all about money... no more, no less
Some things look good just keep the witty sadistic shoot monsters in te groin humor and none of the boring never ending oblivion game play and should be ok... i mean yea a few people finished oblivion...but everyone ? it got borrriiinnnnngggg
Im happy there is a Fallout 3 at All! If you can still control combat like the old ones Im happy. If you dont like change then I hope you all are still playing Wasteland on your C64's, and not bitching here.
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I really hopw that fallout 3 doesnt turn out to be just another FPS, the like of which have been churned out since the beginning of the next gen consoles. (Timeshift, Jericho, Blacksite etc). Hope it has appeal, like The Darkness did. Now that was a kickass game!
The darkness was rubbish though, so what if it has new developers, i found nothing to moan about with oblivion, and completed it.
This sounds brilliant and will definately look to get it when it comes out, if you don't like change go back to living in the sea, idiots!
Aspitz' judgement has been compromised. Shadow was a beautiful game in ALL respects.
Anyway...
Personally, i think this looks brilliant. Yeah, the graphics are pretty, but lets not hate it because it looks good. Would you turn down a girl because she was TOO attractive?
No.
Everyone seems really narked about the whole perspective thing...It's about immersion. When you play an isometric RPG, you aren't the character. You'r the character's player. Yeah, you make decisions etc, but you're still totally detatched from the action. But here, you're seeing the world the way the character sees it. Hell, you ARE the character. People talk to YOU. You're in the world. Immersion.
I agree with bambi. it would be EASY to control a squad from first person. They could even throw in voice commands. That would be cool. Just look at games like rainbow 6, or anything like that. Squad control is easy.
Why is everyone acting so butthurt about the whole idea of revolution rather than evolution?
Iso rpgs are old hat, now. They've pretty much been done to death. And the old style of turnbased is getting old, to. Hell, even Squeenix got rid of that with FFXII. I'm really looking forward to it, and hope that i'll have upgraded my processor by the time it's out!
At first i wasn't too sure about this game, with the turn based combat system and not knocking the story. But after reading in detail that you can chose to use turn based or feal time action to fight enemies, i was pleased. And also the player can switch between first and second person view also excited me, now the player can see the game in different views, and therefore see the story in detail. Can't wait to get this game, i believe this could be the game of the year
At first i wasn't too sure about this game, with the turn based combat system and not knocking the story. But after reading in detail that you can chose to use turn based or feal time action to fight enemies, i was pleased. And also the player can switch between first and second person view also excited me, now the player can see the game in different views, and therefore see the story in detail. Can't wait to get this game, i believe this could be the game of the year
this will be my first fallout and i cant wait for it to arrive
i don't know why people are pissed this game seems like its gonna be a triple a title
I think it looks brilliant. I've never bothered with the Fallout series before as I'm not a great RPG fan but having seen how Bethesda have crafted this game it has now become one of my most eagerly awaited titles, bravo to all involved...
this game looks amazing and the 28th cant come soon enough
lol. its a good thing you guys arent stuck in the past otherwise you could sound like every other winging fallout 1-2 fan.
Best Ever! :P
hnn
nothing