Fallout 3 is an Action-RPG, and the first of the series to be developed by Bethesda Game Studios (creators of Elder Scrolls). The game picks up 36 years after the events of Fallout 2, in the year 2277. The setting is a post-apocalyptic America...
The main character is a member of Vault 101, a fallout shelter in the midst of the Washington D.C. outskirts. The character lives with his father (voiced by Liam Neeson) after his mother died in childbirth until he wakes up one morning to find that his father has ventured into the vast wastelands for unknown reasons. The Vault Overseer becomes suspicous of the character, believing that he had something with his father's dissapearence. The character decides therefore, to venture into the Capital Wasteland in search of his father.
Executive Producer Todd Howard claims that the game has almost 10,000 different endings, all depending on how you play through the game.
General Information
The box art:
The game will be released on PC, Xbox 360 and the Playstation 3. It is believed that it will have a christmas period release later this year, or earlier.
There are three versions of the game that will be for sale at release.
Standard Edition - Includes the game and the manual.
Collectors Edition - Includes the game, manual, "Making Of" DVD, Concept Art book, Vault Boy Bobblehead and will come in a Vault-Tec Lunchbox.
The Survival Edition - Includes everything in the Collectors Edition, with a model of PIP-Boy 3000 from the game which also functions as a digital clock. This edtion is limited only to Amazon.com and the US.
Fallout 3 will run on the Gamebryo Engine, which also supports games such as Morrowind, Oblivion, Civilization IV and Warhammer Online. Game Informer magazine revealed that the game would feature third-person and first-person perspectives throughout.
Third-Person Perspective
First-Person Perspective
Here are some of the stand-out features as claimed by the official Fallout site...
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.
V.A.T.S. in action:
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.
Concept Art
Screenshots
Teaser Trailer
2007:
2008:
Gameplay
Character Creation:
Main character creation is implemented by specifying the character's childhood.
The character's mother dies in labor in a Vault hospital, after which the player chooses the character's abilities and general appearance during the father's DNA analysis. Afterwards, the father removes his surgeon's mask to reveal a face much like the one chosen by the player for the character. As a child in the Vault, the character receives a book titled "You're SPECIAL," whereupon you'll set the character's seven primary aptitudes. The character receives training weapons and a PIP-Boy during childhood, and the player's performance in various tests determines the rest of the attributes. Additionally, there will be quests inside the Vault that influence the character's relationship with his or her father.
Skills and Abilities:
Skills and Perks are similar to those in previous games: the player chooses three Tag Skills out of 14 to be the character's specialties, and the character will gain a Perk every other level. Four skills have been cut out from the game (Fallout and Fallout 2 had 18 skills) but it is unknown which skills have been removed. The maximum level the player can achieve is level 21.
Weapons:
Firearms wear out over time: as a weapon degenerates, its rate of fire slows and it loses accuracy. However, worn out firearms can be combined to make more reliable and powerful weapons. Weapon schematics can also be found and used to create various devices such as rocket launchers or the clever shrapnel bomb, made out of a Vault-Tec lunchbox and bottlecaps.
Team:
The player will have a maximum party of three, consisting of himself/herself, Dogmeat, and an NPC. In addition to having Dogmeat in your party you will be able to send him out on his own to search for items such as arms and ammo, radiation medicine, and stimpacks. Dogmeat can be killed during the game if the player misuses him or places him in a severely dangerous situation and he cannot be replaced.
Previews
http://www.1up.com/do/previewPage?cId=3167330&p=4
http://pc.ign.com/articles/800/800570p1.html
http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=134466
http://www.shacknews.com/featuredarticle.x?id=411
Other sources of information:
http://fallout.bethsoft.com/index.html
http://xbox360.ign.com/objects/882/882301.html
http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/fallout3/index.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fallout_3
Disclaimer: King from Gametrailers compiled most of this, but I'll be doing the updates.
Updates:
Update of 8/29
Gameplay videos:
http://www.gametrailers.com/player/39282.html - Part 1 HD - Escape
http://www.gametrailers.com/player/39284.html - Part 2 HD - Megaton
http://www.gametrailers.com/player/39286.html - Part 3 HD - The Wasteland
http://www.gametrailers.com/player/39288.html - Part 4 HD - Super-Duper Mart
http://www.gametrailers.com/player/39290.html - Part 5 HD - Tenpenny Tower
http://www.gametrailers.com/player/41328.html - Museum of Technology
http://www.gametrailers.com/player/41323.html - Brotherhood of Steel
http://www.gametrailers.com/player/41332.html - Trench Warfare in D.C.
http://www.gametrailers.com/player/41330.html - Washington D.C. Underground
Achievement list for Xbox 360 and Games for Windows - Live:
http://www.xbox360achievements.org/game … ievements/
A huge compilation of everything you need to know about Fallout 1, 2, 3, and the Fallout universe in itself is located here:
www.fallout.wikia.com
Update of 8/30
Some stuff from the Penny Arcade Expo (PAX):
http://forums.bf2s.com/viewtopic.php?pi … 9#p2274959
Update of 9/1
Achievements added to the OP.
http://www.xbox360achievements.org/game … ievements/
Update of 9/23
Skills and perks preview:
http://pc.ign.com/articles/912/912819p1.html
Update of 10/06
First review - 93/100!:
http://fallout3.wordpress.com/2008/10/0 … view-hits/
Minimal DRM for the PC version:
http://arstechnica.com/journals/thumbs. … simple-drm
Update of 10/09
It's gone gold/PC specs revealed:
http://www.joystiq.com/2008/10/09/fallo … -detailed/
IGN launch center:
http://xbox360.ign.com/launch/fallout-3.html
Update of 10/12
New gameplay videos posted. Thanks Big McLargeHuge!
Update of 10/24
Fallout 3 available for pre-purchase on Steam!
http://store.steampowered.com/app/22300/
Update of 10/28
Fallout 3 released!
Update of 11/25
Modding kit and DLC missions announced:
http://www.xbox360achievements.org/news … 3-DLC.html
Update of 1/27
Operation: Anchorage DLC released for Xbox 360 and Games for Windows.
Last edited by Poseidon (2009-01-31 14:56:42)