Fallout 3 E3 Previews
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Until now, Bethesda has been tight-lipped about Enclave involvement in Fallout 3, except the mention of an Enclave radio station broadcast on your Pip Boy. But thanks to a spectacular entrance near the Brotherhood of Steel-occupied Pentagon (now called the Citadel), in which a dual-bladed helicopter called a Vertibird (a crashed one is seen outside Klamath in Fallout 2) deploys a squad of advanced power-armor-clad troops equipped with laser weapons, we can confirm that the Enclave presence in the Washington, D.C. area is very real, and very well-armed.
After the quick hands-off demo, I was let loose at the beginning of the game. The world, and all of its treasures and perils, was mine to explore. I skipped over character creation, since we've seen that in other previews, and set out on my adventure. The moment I set foot in the wastes I heard a familiar sound effect - the classic Fallout level-up chirp! I brought up my Pip Boy wrist computer interface, pumped all my skill points into small guns, and, after carefully looking over the list of available perks, couldn't help but choose Ladykiller - I felt confident that would come in handy down the line.
And a snip from GameSpot's article:
As for gameplay, Bethesda showed a new locale and some new weapons in its postapocalyptic action role-playing game, and all of the action was showcased in a ruined Washington DC (all set to a chirpy version of "Yankee Doodle Dandy"). The demo began with the character making his way past some dilapidated buildings, after which he pulled out a sniper rifle to scope out the territory in front. After spotting some raiders camped behind a car, the Bethesda rep playing the game switched to Fallout 3's VATS targeting system, aiming at the skull of one unsuspecting enemy. For the uninitiated, Fallout 3's VATS system is a way of targeting specific body parts on enemies, in which onscreen indicators show the percentage chance of a likely hit (depending on your character's attributes and weapons). Firing the rifle triggered the VATS system's slow-motion cinematic mode, and the raider's head exploded in a burst of bloody pulp as the bullet impacted. The player then switched to a shotgun to dispense with the other raiders, who had streamed from behind their vehicle hideout. One raider decided to take cover on a small bridge, at which point the Bethesda rep pulled out the in-game character's laser rifle, taking only two shots to completely vaporize the camping raider.
