Fallout 3 Preview Overload, Part Four

The massive dose of Fallout 3 previews continues, as more websites offer up impressions of what they saw at the press event Bethesda hosted last month. The first is at Shacknews:
At age one, you'll learn to walk. At age 10, you are granted a BB gun and the classic Pip-Boy 3000 accessory, a wrist-mounted device that allows access to character stats, quest goals, items, and an in-game radio. At 16, you take the G.O.A.T., or Generalized Occupational Aptitude Test, which serves as the last main round of character creation and allows you to select your specialized abilities.

The second is at Games Radar:
We watched as executive producer Todd Howard demonstrated V.A.T.S. in action on an early build of the 360 version of the game. Zooming in on the head of an enemy charging toward him, Howard activated the targeting system slowing things down to a crawl with style that would make both John Woo and the Wachowski brothers jealous. He aimed for the head, causing it to explode like a melon - sending bits of bloody flesh and an eyeball flying wildly from the socket to the floor. The shooting looks like gruesome fun. We can only hope that combat feels as good as it looks when the game releases.

The third is at TeamXbox:
When you finally hit your sixteenth birthday in the Vault, you'll need to take the G.O.A.T. test, which will help determine your 14 core skills and abilities. Like some of the other stuff we've mentioned, it's been designed to keep you in the game world, as your answers to the questions on the test will set your levels. You'll also be able to pick a few skills that will improve more quickly as you level up, so it pays to choose ones that are aligned with your style of play. As you progress through the game, you'll be able to earn Perks every other level, which will give particular boosts to your abilities. It sounds like a very interesting system, and we can't wait to spent time getting to play with it.

And the fourth is at Kotaku:
The main storyline of the game will run around 20 hours, with side quests fleshing the total out to around 40. The game currently has 9-12 endings in place, and the devs seemed to suggest there could be even more down the line. The story is highly mutable, meaning you can make choices that destroy entire quest lines and or open new ones.