Fallout 3 – 360 – Preview 2

E3 2008 Preview

Bethesda’s games are nothing if not hugely expansive adventures that present
players with a very open-ended gaming experience.

Fallout 3 is no different. Shown at the E3 event in the Los Angeles Convention
Center Tuesday morning, the team merely sent the media to game kiosks, shoved
controllers into their hands and walked away. The adventure, in this case, began
by walking through the doors of the bomb shelter community and into the
devastated world outside the town of Megaton.

There was a lot that could not be discussed but also a fair amount that count be
– mostly centering on the Pip Boy, the interface device that players carry and
is the user interface that controls your abilities and skills, among other
things. The controls were very intuitive on the system show (360), with the
elements very similar to other first-person shooters. But while the game is an
FPS in many regards, the experience can be tailored to suit the gamer’s play
style. You can go into third person, if you prefer, and as you level you can put
points into various skill sets and provide bonus point allocations to various
attributes.

The Pip Boy interface actually has several areas that you can work through in
building your character – there are 13 skills, and seven S.P.E.C.I.A.L.
attributes (which include strength, endurance, perception, charisma,
intelligence, agility and luck). Additionally, as you level, there are PERKS you
can apply to your character, with seven of those to select from. Daddy’s Boy at
five points to science and medicine; Gun Nut drops five points into small guns
and repair skills; there is also Intense Training, Lady Killer (10% damage buff
to females), Little Leaguer (five points to melee and explosives), Swift Learner
(10% experience points buff), and Thief (five points to sneak and lockpick).

You can save at any time and the NPCs are very interactive. One of the first you
will see outside of the city of Megaton gives you the choice to walk on by or to
pick his pocket. That is another facet of the game. What you do will result in
how others within this single-player world react to you. Actions have
consequences.

The control scheme was very intuitive, and the sound, played at a lower level
through headphones captured the wasteland perfectly. The graphics could be a
little bloody at times. As the created character (Bethesda had stations with
pre-created characters on it) walked through the wasteland, he was beset by a
wild dog. Taking the typical first-person shooter route, he backed up while
emptying his clip on his 10mm gun into the dog. He literally blew the head off
the animal. Anything destroyed or killed in the game does have the option of a
loot drop, which can be placed into inventory and then sold later.

The characters are very customizable and players will be able to select the way
they wish to journey through this incredible world.

Fallout 3 is typical of Bethesda in many ways. It is immersive, and full of eye
candy, with a grand adventure waiting to be revealed layer by layer. The session
in the Bethesda meeting room only lasted 30 minutes and while it gave a hint of
the game’s flavor, it was enough to tantalize and wish for much more.

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Previews