Shacknews previews Fallout 3, and they are impressed!<blockquote>Bethesda Softworks has a lot to prove with Fallout 3. Not to regular hardcore gamers like you and me, of course, nor the millions of fans who have enjoyed the company's previous work with the Elder Scrolls series. It goes without saying that Bethesda's record for quality is proven.
I'm one of those people [for whom this Fallout will be their first], and as a big fan of Oblivion, it looks like Fallout 3 has enough of the same hooks--the open world, the freedom of choice, the action-based role-playing--to really pique my interest. Except this time around, you get the added benefits of handheld nuclear bomb launchers and grisly exploding mutant heads.
Abandoned vaults and bombed-out buildings are to Fallout 3 what the generic caves and decrepit Elven ruins were to Oblivion [...]</blockquote>What will those game makers think of next? Here's a little bit on the plot:<blockquote>Not only does [using D.C. for a setting] give the writers a chance to start over with a fresh storyline grounded in Fallout's familiar milieu, but it also lets them address questions that never came up in the original games. For instance, what's been going on in the nation's seat of power since the first bombs dropped? What happened to the governmental infrastructure?</blockquote>I don't know... did they move to oil rigs and start radio stations?<blockquote>Early in the game, you'll find a courageous dog named Dogmeat and his master under attack, and when the master meets his inevitable end, Dogmeat will quickly become your loyal companion. [..] Of course, Dogmeat won't have lines of dialogue, per se, but you can still hold branching conversations with him, punctuated by barks and whimpers, that will let you build a rapport.</blockquote>And of course, the combat system is impressive.<blockquote>As it turns out, you don't gain a bonus to damage or anything else (except maybe thinking you're cool) by shooting from the hip with steady aim and fast reflexes. In fact, your damage and chance to hit are governed by your character's and gear's stats even when you're shooting in real time, so when you're fighting multiple enemies at once, you really ought to be pausing with the V.A.T.S. and setting up your shots. If anything, the real-time combat sounds like a good way to keep from needlessly interrupting your movement when you only have one or two weak enemies to deal with at a time.</blockquote>Toss in mentions of the "outright fanaticism" of the "hardcore audience", psychic flashes from ghouls, and 500 ending variations for completitude. In other words, there is a little new stuff here.
Link: Shacknews Fallout 3 Preview
I'm one of those people [for whom this Fallout will be their first], and as a big fan of Oblivion, it looks like Fallout 3 has enough of the same hooks--the open world, the freedom of choice, the action-based role-playing--to really pique my interest. Except this time around, you get the added benefits of handheld nuclear bomb launchers and grisly exploding mutant heads.
Abandoned vaults and bombed-out buildings are to Fallout 3 what the generic caves and decrepit Elven ruins were to Oblivion [...]</blockquote>What will those game makers think of next? Here's a little bit on the plot:<blockquote>Not only does [using D.C. for a setting] give the writers a chance to start over with a fresh storyline grounded in Fallout's familiar milieu, but it also lets them address questions that never came up in the original games. For instance, what's been going on in the nation's seat of power since the first bombs dropped? What happened to the governmental infrastructure?</blockquote>I don't know... did they move to oil rigs and start radio stations?<blockquote>Early in the game, you'll find a courageous dog named Dogmeat and his master under attack, and when the master meets his inevitable end, Dogmeat will quickly become your loyal companion. [..] Of course, Dogmeat won't have lines of dialogue, per se, but you can still hold branching conversations with him, punctuated by barks and whimpers, that will let you build a rapport.</blockquote>And of course, the combat system is impressive.<blockquote>As it turns out, you don't gain a bonus to damage or anything else (except maybe thinking you're cool) by shooting from the hip with steady aim and fast reflexes. In fact, your damage and chance to hit are governed by your character's and gear's stats even when you're shooting in real time, so when you're fighting multiple enemies at once, you really ought to be pausing with the V.A.T.S. and setting up your shots. If anything, the real-time combat sounds like a good way to keep from needlessly interrupting your movement when you only have one or two weak enemies to deal with at a time.</blockquote>Toss in mentions of the "outright fanaticism" of the "hardcore audience", psychic flashes from ghouls, and 500 ending variations for completitude. In other words, there is a little new stuff here.
Link: Shacknews Fallout 3 Preview
