Fallout 3

[Imran Siddiqui]

True... at some level, having 3 or 4 followers plus Dogmeat got silly. With powered armor, you were basically like a God.

What I really hope is that the story is as good as Fallout 1 and 2 and it keeps similar level of humor.

[El_Cid]

Originally posted by FrostyBoy
Australia is becoming more and more like America's strongest Christian State.

do you know what - I find a fundamental chrisitan the same as a fundamental muslim. It makes baby jesus and baby mohamed cry.

Is it the christian lobby in australia that got fallout3 banned? or just the 'normal' classification body?
I haven't been keeping up with Australian culture shifts for the last 12 years or so, but i sure hope they aren't going the american route to fundamental damnation

As long as they keep the option not to fast travel in Fallout 3, that will be better than a poke in the eye. I just don't have a good feeling about the game, spider sense is tingling! It has, of course, been known to be wrong.....from time to time.

[Victor Galis]

Wait so is it like a FPS now?

[FrostyBoy]

Originally posted by El_Cid


do you know what - I find a fundamental chrisitan the same as a fundamental muslim. It makes baby jesus and baby mohamed cry.

Is it the christian lobby in australia that got fallout3 banned? or just the 'normal' classification body?
I haven't been keeping up with Australian culture shifts for the last 12 years or so, but i sure hope they aren't going the american route to fundamental damnation

As long as they keep the option not to fast travel in Fallout 3, that will be better than a poke in the eye. I just don't have a good feeling about the game, spider sense is tingling! It has, of course, been known to be wrong.....from time to time.

John Howard enjoys blowing Bush. The government follow, the Australian religious leaders follow, the nuts follow. The rest of Austrailia say fukitol and go surfing.


Btw, no Isometric view, and I am even more skeptical about this game than before. The game itself looks stupid, the cool stuff here and there (ads, post-apocalyptic world setting) put a veil over that.

[Qilue]

No matter how many times I try to explain this, Americans just don't seem to get it, but I'll try again.

"Refused classification" is not the same as "Banned".
We can still buy this and other games by mail order from other countries and they will not be stopped by customs.

When literature, movies, games or whatever is "banned", it becomes "Illegal" and subject to criminal procedings if found in possession of said materials.

[Asher]

Originally posted by Qilue
No matter how many times I try to explain this, Americans just don't seem to get it, but I'll try again.

"Refused classification" is not the same as "Banned".
We can still buy this and other games by mail order from other countries and they will not be stopped by customs.

Banned from being sold in Australia is accurate, you're spinning it.

Don't care if you can import this. This is stupid. So is anyone who defends it.

[Alinestra Covelia]

I loved Fallout1 and enjoyed Fallout2. This looks like it'll be good as well, even though it might not be the same thing as before. Provided my aging computer can play it, I'll be taking a look at it.

[Asher]

http://arstechnica.com/journals/thumbs.ars/2008/07/16/our-time-with-fallout-3-this-is-going-to-be-big

Our time with Fallout 3: this is going to be big

By Ben Kuchera | Published: July 16, 2008 - 10:21AM CT

Sometimes this job is great. For instance: Upon visiting Bethesda today, I was promptly placed in front of a nice high-definition television, told not to share any plot points in my write-up, handed headphones, and then set free to explore Fallout 3 at my own pace. We were supposed to only have a half an hour of time with the title, but after my thirty minutes were up and no one kicked me off, I decided to be somewhat rotten and continued to play. All in all, I put about fifty minutes into the game, and it's safe to say that gamers are going to be happy with the newest entry in this classic series.

My time with the game began when my character stepped outside his vault, and into the wasteland. The scope of environment was impressive, as were the graphics: this is a game that gives you the sense of a very specific time and place. That time and place, of course, happens after a lot of radiation, but let's not let that detract from the great design work done on the title.

I knew I wouldn't have time to build a rounded character, so all my points and perks went into my small-arms skills, and I started hunting scavengers and mutant creatures with my handgun. I looked around and saw other writers taking a more cerebral approach with social skills and speaking to some NPCs, but I wanted to try the combat. It's worth pointing that even with only a limited time to play the game, everyone attacked the experience in a different way, with different results in found weapons, armor, and skills. After our play time was over, the characters looked different, with different experiences in the game world.

The Vault-tec Assisted Targeting System (V.A.T.S.) was one of the things that stood out, and members of the development team were ready to make sure you understood how it worked. Whenever you entered into combat, you could hit the right bumper button on the 360 controller, and that caused the view to zoom in on the targeted enemy. You then could target specific portions of your target, such as the torso or right arm, with the UI showing you your chances of hitting each section. Cripple the arm, and they will drop their weapon. Take out a leg, and they can't walk. Put a few rounds through their head and... well, they die. After you choose your attacks based on how many action points you have, you lock them in and the game creates a few cool slow-motion animations showing the results of your actions. The real-time combat uses the same stats as V.A.T.S., the difference being that you have to actually aim at the head of your target instead of simply selecting it. Which style you choose is up to you, but V.A.T.S leads to some very cinematic—and grizzly—kills and maimings.

By the end of my time I had a sweet gas mask, some spiked armor, and I had taken to wielding a sledge-hammer instead of my gun. I killed all the scavengers inside a very creepy school, got into some extended combat against super-mutants, and was ready to keep playing by the time I was forced to leave. The game play feels solid, the graphics are very impressive, and the whole thing just feels right. While all plot details and spoilers from the loading screens are verboten to discuss, the experience was a grand. This is going to be a very popular game.

[Felch]

Originally posted by FrostyBoy
Btw, no Isometric view, and I am even more skeptical about this game than before.

I heard they kept the option of isometric view. You sure?

[Felch]

Originally posted by Qilue
No matter how many times I try to explain this, Americans just don't seem to get it, but I'll try again.

"Refused classification" is not the same as "Banned".
We can still buy this and other games by mail order from other countries and they will not be stopped by customs.

When literature, movies, games or whatever is "banned", it becomes "Illegal" and subject to criminal procedings if found in possession of said materials.

Can you sell the game in a store? If not, I'd wonder why you let your government treat you like children. There's no reason why an adult should have to buy something like this from overseas to dodge censorship.

In spite of the fact that you can work around the rule you still have several problems - delayed release because you have to ship from a foreign seller - increased cost because of overseas shipping - and limited return option. If I don't like Fallout 3 I can trade it in at EB or Gamestop for a bit of store credit. You won't be able to. So while it's not a true prohibition, it is needless meddling by a bunch of government losers.

[Alinestra Covelia]

What's more surprising is that it's happening in Australia, which I thought had a stronger tradition of personal freedoms free from gov't control.

Although it is also generally more conservative than the UK so that may swing the other way.

[DrSpike]

Originally posted by Asher

http://arstechnica.com/journals/thumbs.ars/2008/07/16/our-time-with-fallout-3-this-is-going-to-be-big

Our time with Fallout 3: this is going to be big

By Ben Kuchera | Published: July 16, 2008 - 10:21AM CT

Sometimes this job is great. For instance: Upon visiting Bethesda today, I was promptly placed in front of a nice high-definition television, told not to share any plot points in my write-up, handed headphones, and then set free to explore Fallout 3 at my own pace. We were supposed to only have a half an hour of time with the title, but after my thirty minutes were up and no one kicked me off, I decided to be somewhat rotten and continued to play. All in all, I put about fifty minutes into the game, and it's safe to say that gamers are going to be happy with the newest entry in this classic series.

My time with the game began when my character stepped outside his vault, and into the wasteland. The scope of environment was impressive, as were the graphics: this is a game that gives you the sense of a very specific time and place. That time and place, of course, happens after a lot of radiation, but let's not let that detract from the great design work done on the title.

I knew I wouldn't have time to build a rounded character, so all my points and perks went into my small-arms skills, and I started hunting scavengers and mutant creatures with my handgun. I looked around and saw other writers taking a more cerebral approach with social skills and speaking to some NPCs, but I wanted to try the combat. It's worth pointing that even with only a limited time to play the game, everyone attacked the experience in a different way, with different results in found weapons, armor, and skills. After our play time was over, the characters looked different, with different experiences in the game world.

The Vault-tec Assisted Targeting System (V.A.T.S.) was one of the things that stood out, and members of the development team were ready to make sure you understood how it worked. Whenever you entered into combat, you could hit the right bumper button on the 360 controller, and that caused the view to zoom in on the targeted enemy. You then could target specific portions of your target, such as the torso or right arm, with the UI showing you your chances of hitting each section. Cripple the arm, and they will drop their weapon. Take out a leg, and they can't walk. Put a few rounds through their head and... well, they die. After you choose your attacks based on how many action points you have, you lock them in and the game creates a few cool slow-motion animations showing the results of your actions. The real-time combat uses the same stats as V.A.T.S., the difference being that you have to actually aim at the head of your target instead of simply selecting it. Which style you choose is up to you, but V.A.T.S leads to some very cinematic—and grizzly—kills and maimings.

By the end of my time I had a sweet gas mask, some spiked armor, and I had taken to wielding a sledge-hammer instead of my gun. I killed all the scavengers inside a very creepy school, got into some extended combat against super-mutants, and was ready to keep playing by the time I was forced to leave. The game play feels solid, the graphics are very impressive, and the whole thing just feels right. While all plot details and spoilers from the loading screens are verboten to discuss, the experience was a grand. This is going to be a very popular game.

Looks good.

[Spaced Cowboy]

Huge preview in PC gamer and this looks to be the same story IIRC.

[Imran Siddiqui]

I be excited .

Here is the Gamespot preview:

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/fallo...tag=newlyadded;title;1

The world of Fallout 3 is ugly. When you leave the dank vault for the very first time, the place that served as your home and your only vision of reality, you are greeted to a blinding sun spreading light on a desolate wasteland. The trees that still stand have crooked limbs with no leaves, your Geiger counter will tick when you approach disgusting pools of water, and the terrain is littered with broken rocks and toxic-waste pools. There is still life in this world, but it's pretty sickening. Two-headed cows with enlarged udders and peeling skin lay lifelessly next to corroded buildings. A decomposing mutant cow isn't even the most disgusting thing; there are giant mole rats that snarl and leap with ferocity, along with all sorts of mutant/human hybrids. Fallout 3 is a hideous world, but after playing the game for a half hour today, we weren't ready to leave it yet.

The demo started at the doors to the vault. The final room separating you from the contaminated outside world is so dark that it's hard to even find the switch to open the hatch. After the door to the world opened and the blinding flash of sunlight faded away, we were treated to the same type of ever-expanding environment that Oblivion presented when you left the underground tomb for the first time. Of course, the fertile forest has been replaced by a stinky cesspool, but the feeling of awe still remained. There is a road immediately in front of you, leading you through a broken city with odd inhabitants. But we decided to veer off the beaten path to see what horrors would exist after the bomb changed life forever.

As we slowly made our way through the rocky terrain, twirling the camera to see a broken highway bridge that seemingly defied gravity, it seemed that this world was completely devoid of life. There were no deer running away in fright or birds circling the skies. Our only companion was a determined bee that continually circled our head. When we crested a hill and looked down at a small lake, a fight broke out in the distance. Two wolves were walking around a metal droid, lunging at it and then jumping back just as quickly. After a minute of battle, there was a small explosion and the wolves turned toward the hill in search of a new enemy.

Though combat in Fallout 3 can take place in real time, it's far more satisfying to go into VATS mode and target specific sections of your foe. Given that you're armed only with a weak pistol, it would take more than one shot to take down these beasts. Instead of risking a serious bite wound, we stopped time to contemplate the best way to handle this attack. In VATS, you are given the percentage chance of actually hitting specific parts of the body along with the amount of damage that would be dealt if you are successful. With the animals only a few feet away, a shot to the head was all but guaranteed, but it wouldn't do enough damage to instantly kill it. Instead, we targeted the front two legs of each wolf, a lower percentage chance of success but one that would cripple them if successful.

When an extremely powerful shot is landed in Fallout 3, the camera often slows down to show the full weight of your actions. In this case, we were treated to a few slow-motion bullets, a tortured yelp, and two wolves that could only lamely limp in our direction as we slowly finished them off. The wolves are pretty easy compared to the other enemies in the wasteland.

As we continued along our path, cutting over hills and through pools of water, we came to a crumbling church. Here we found out that it's not fun to be picked on by those stronger than you. The church was full of supermutants and centaurs who laughed off the tiny wounds that our weak pistol doled out. One grotesque being wore a protective shell, so the only way to deal damage was to shoot it in a tiny eyehole, making for a low-percentage shot. After shooting one club-wielding freak in the left leg 10 times, we finally crippled him. He was no longer able to perform a lunging strike, but he still endlessly limped after us. When he got too close, he landed an off-balance blow directly on our arm. It caused the right arm, the one carrying the gun, to be crippled. You can continue to fight in this state, holding a wobbling gun and hoping for the best, or you can go into your Pip Boy screen and heal specific mangled parts. Even with a healed arm, the onslaught was too much, and we found out the hard way that veering off the beaten path in Fallout 3 can lead to quick, painful deaths.

The death and the mutants are probably expected parts of Fallout 3, but one element that surprised us was the fully functional third-person view. We were able to position the camera at an optimal angle and distance behind us, and then it closely followed our every move. Fighting was just as easy and satisfying in this view, and moving around the terrain felt just as natural as in first-person mode.

Time with the demo was short, so we were not able to try out the dialog system (our insistence to travel uncharted lands prevented that), nor could we see how the relationship with the dog will function. A dog companion is not in this version, but we were told that you would be able to issue rudimentary commands (such as find or attack) or just ignore the thing if you would rather roam the wasteland alone. The game is still scheduled for release this fall and seems to be shaping up nicely. Action is certainly slanted toward the time-stopping VATS style (though you can still simply fire at will if you prefer), and there are plenty of places to explore and quests to conquer. We were told that roughly 80% of the world and its missions are optional, so that leaves a lot of extra content for people itching to see all that Fallout 3 has to offer.

I bolded the part of the 3rd person view, for those who want the isometric view (I do).

[FrostyBoy]

Ah good, so there is some form of ISO view then.

Battles certainly do seem fun and interesting.

Is this game XBox only!?!? ****, I won't be able to play if so, I don't want to play it on the Xbox!

edit: nevermind, cool down everyone, there will be a PC version *rejoices*, Asher can play his Xbox version...