Here's the article
Sorry I forgot the website for the game mag. Here is the article.
Fallout: Tactics
Taking Fallout to the strategy genre...
"What would make the ultimate
squad-based tactical game? Maybe a title
combining the best elements of Jagged
Alliance and X-Com with something like...
say… the tactical engine and character
detail from that famous RPG series,
Fallout? When we saw Fallout: Tactics at
this year’s E3 we did a quick check and
pinched ourselves. 14° East’s Senior Game Designer, Chris Taylor, was showing a Fallout design that traded most of its role-playing skin for a sleek new pelt of squad-level tactical combat. That design is Fallout: Tactics
The game’s framing story will take place between the events of the original Fallout and those of Fallout 2. The plot follows one of the wasteland’s various factions, the Brotherhood of Steel, in a new part of the country. The action will begin in the Chicago area and gradually expand to include larger sections of what once was the United States.
Taylor is careful to point out that the story won’t reach all the way to the West Coast, in order to avoid overlapping with previous titles in the series. However, he also admits, you might just encounter a few familiar characters you’ve seen in the other games.
Unlike previous Fallout titles, with their
open-ended gameplay, Tactics is primarily
mission-based. The single player version
includes 38 missions, of which 20 are
required, with 18 that are optional. The game
is divided into five chapters, and in each one
you’ll have some control over which missions
you wish to play. Your actions within a
mission will affect events later in the game,
possibly even activating one or more of the
optional missions. Negative consequences, for example, may occur if you annoy a faction in an early mission. Tick off the wrong folks, and they might be less likely to become your allies down the road.
Despite its new direction, this game seems to be a legitimate heir to the Fallout RPG dynasty. In place of the traditional role-playing party, you’ll be leading a squad of six heavily-armed characters into post-apocalyptic combat. While Taylor’s team has made some changes to the Fallout design to fit the new setting, Fallout: Tactics retains the incredibly detailed design that made the original title so appealing. It still uses the Fallout "specials" system. All characters will still have stats such as strength, perception, endurance, and so on. Skills, perks and traits will still define the characters you control.
More than anything else, the focus of the game has changed, from RPG exploration to small-arms tactics. Your characters may now go prone, crawl, or crouch for a better shot. The game introduces a host of new factors to combat, including height elevations—you’ll be able to hide on rooftops to snipe or drop grenades. Your team will have access to a variety of vehicles in battle, which one hopes will work better than the car in Fallout 2. Your characters can drive, serve as a gunner, or just catch a ride. When fighting other vehicles you can target your shots, aiming at things like the wheels or the driver. One of the perks of this new addition is the ability to mow down pesky armed jaywalkers on the battlefield. Just like in present-day LA.
Another interesting change is the addition of multiplayer support. Now six players can do battle, each controlling six characters in what is sure to be a massive excuse for mayhem. The game has also gone real-time… sort of. Fallout: Tactics uses a continuous turn based system.
Game play is real-time, but actions such as running or firing expend action points that are replenished over time. This should result in a less frenzied real-time experience more analogous to combat in Baldur’s Gate than, say, to that in Myth.
In most ways, Tactics tones down the series’ role-playing elements, although the game will still include dialogue and an involved storyline. Trading and bartering will also add some dimension to the overall experience. In addition, Taylor mentions plans to release a map and mission editor later, so you can make your own scenarios, though this will probably appear sometime after the game is done.
Will fans accept a Fallout title departing from its role-playing roots?
Or will the new branding just cause confusion? Can Interplay and 14° East blur genres and pull out another hit from a group dominated by Commandos and Jagged Alliance 2? Only time and the game’s release into discerning players’ hands will tell. Until then, we’re going to be tinkering with our Turbo Plasma Rifle just in case."
Plus some screenshots;
