Fallout 3

Previewed by Tim Miller

One of The Gamer’s Hub most anticipated games, Fallout 3 looks to be a sure fire winner. Brought to you by the same developers who have brought us the expansive and beatiful world of Elderscrolls: Oblivion this game looks to follow the same recipe, but with a lot more spice.

Quite a few of the early details sound very familiar to any fans of Morrowind or Oblivion:

Key Features:

(Sandbox Gameplay, Create a character, 1st and 3rd person views, character interation with NPC’s who react to you, great AI, outstanding graphics)

Limitless Freedom! – Take in the sights and sounds of the vast Capital Wasteland! See the great monuments of the United States lying in post-apocalyptic ruin! You make the choices that define you and change the world. Just keep an eye on your Rad Meter!
Experience S.P.E.C.I.A.L.! – Vault-Tec engineers bring you the latest in human ability simulation – the SPECIAL Character System! Utilizing new breakthroughs in points-based ability representation, SPECIAL affords unlimited customization of your character. Also included are dozens of unique skills and perks to choose from, each with a dazzling variety of effects!
Fantastic New Views! – The wizards at Vault-Tec have done it again! No longer constrained to just one view, experience the world from 1st or 3rd person perspective. Customize your view with the touch of a button!
The Power of Choice! – Feeling like a dastardly villain today, or a Good Samaritan? Pick a side or walk the line, as every situation can be dealt with in many different ways. Talk out your problems in a civilized fashion, or just flash your Plasma Rifle.
Blast ‘Em Away With V.A.T.S.! – Even the odds in combat with the Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System for your Pip-Boy Model 3000! V.A.T.S. allows you to pause time in combat, target specific body parts on your target, queue up attacks, and let Vault-Tec take out your aggression for you. Rain death and destruction in an all-new cinematic presentation.
Mind-Blowing Artificial Intelligence! – At Vault-Tec, we realize that the key to reviving civilization after a global nuclear war is people. Our best minds pooled their efforts to produce an advanced version of Radiant AI, America’s First Choice in Human Interaction Simulation. Facial expressions, gestures, unique dialog, and lifelike behavior are brought together with stunning results by the latest in Vault-Tec technology.
Eye-Popping Prettiness! – Witness the harsh realities of nuclear fallout rendered like never before in modern super-deluxe HD graphics. From the barren Wasteland, to the danger-filled offices and metro tunnels of DC, to the hideous rotten flesh of a mutant’s face.

The core story evolves around your character waking up one day to find that his father has left the fallout shelter which has provided safety for the past 300 years after the global atomic war destroyed the world in 2077. Obviously your character goes on a quest to find his father and to find out why he left.

The game promises a Sand Box style game in which you can roam around post atomic war Washington DC and sightsee monuments and tourist areas from the previous world which now lay in ruin. Throughout you will encounter radiation and the twisted creatures that have mutated over the previous 300 years into different kinds of mutated creatures including Super Mutants. The world has issues with drugs and addiction, slavery, and rival factions you will have to work around or with.

The game includes some 40,000 lines of dialog with the initial conversation usually being iniated by the gamer who will decide whether to be nice, direct, polite, or a jerk. The developer mentions one example as in the first conversation with a ghoul one option is, "What the F... are you?"

If your wondering how the game will work considering the dungeons involved in the Elder Scroll games... Fallout 3 promises plenty of "dungeon like" areas including the need to get around DC areas by traveling through several Metro Tunnels. Not to mention any office building, school, or hospital serving this very purpose but matched to this world and time.

The world map will work much like Oblivion as far as fast travel, what is different is that when you start out you will not know where anything is until you discover it by exploration.

Your weapons and skills will of course start out not doing as much damage and in poor condition. As your level increases and you can use better weapons they will do more damage, be in better condition, and will be easier to aim.

Many traits from Fallout return, but as perks. And many perks return, as.... perks. The good news is that there are a ton of perks, around 100 if you include the multiple ranks. And with a level cap of 20, you still have only 19 times you get to pick one, so you need at least 5 playthroughs of the game to use them all.

Character creation will allow you to choose whether to be Caucasian, African American, Hispanic, or Asian. You can create your face or use a preset one. You can also customize your hair and facial hair. In a interview the devoloper has stated the artist went crazy with beards and that they considered creating a pre release video titled, "The Beards of Fallout 3"

There will be companion NPC’s but they are a very limited number of them and they are hard to get. Not only do you have to find them, you often need significant money, and you also need to have the correct karma for many of them. Some won’t come with you if you don’t "match" with them.

The game sounds great and we can not wait to get our hands on it. I plan on dropping a nuke on Megaton early on to get that out of the way so my curiosity will subside and I will be able to enjoy the rest of the game.