Fallout 3 Preview Overload, Part Five
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And the new Fallout 3 world keeps all the humor and flavor of the original series. You will find broken down nuclear cars (that will still explode if shot up), crazy robots like Mr. Handy, and a host of sometimes quirky wasteland dwellers. At one point we set one of the exploding nuclear cars on fire and then hopped into a portable nuclear shelter (which costs a quarter to use and looks like a phone booth) to avoid the blast. It's set after the events of Fallout and Fallout 2, and takes place on the opposite coast. The level we previewed was set in and around what was left of Washington DC.
The second is at Global Gaming:
At its heart, obviously, Fallout 3 is an RPG. No matter how much it may look like a shooter from the outside, deep down, this is an RPG. Besides the V.A.T.S. system and dialogue branches, the player will get their role-playing fix by earning experience and distributing points to various skills needed as you progress through the world. Of course, how you want to play will determine where you place those skill points (of which, you have 14 different areas ready for distribution).
And besides skills, you'll also get awarded different titles based on your "karma" of playing within the game. Not only can you be evil or good, but also play neutral -- something of which the developers were sure to make a full-featured and working role.
And the third is penned by Desslock of GameSpot and PC Gamer fame in the Quarter to Three forums:
You also won't be a jack of all trades, as in Oblivion - you have to make real choices that matter, and which dynamically change the fortunes of other characters. Aside from enhancing replayability, since you obviously won't be able to do competing objectives, those choices deepen the roleplaying. To elaborate more on the "Megaton bomb quest" -- when you arrive at that town, you can greet and be friendly with the sheriff. When you get the quest to potentially blow up the bomb, you can instead inform the sheriff that these dudes are trying to blow up the town. Or you can decide to blow up the town, but actually be unable to because you lack the mechanical skills to activate the bomb. Or you could just decide to blow the sheriff away when you meet him, in which case you'll likely be attacked by his buddies when walking through the town. Or you could, after blowing him away, decide to put on his sheriff's uniform, in which case some NPCs may attack you for killing the sheriff, but others may actually defer to you as the new sheriff. In short - meaningful options and real choices, and interesting characters to interact with - in that respect, I think Bethesda is appropriately emulating some of Fallout's best and most distinctive features.
