It's finished. Bethesda's little massive RPG that could, Fallout 3 has officially gone gold and development is officially complete. Just in time to make it's October 28th release! And, honestly, we don't have to hype up Fallout 3 any more than it already is. Truth be told, Fallout 3 is going to be your RPG crack for the foreseeable year or two. How do we know? Because Bethesda developed it and anything Bethesda does is pure ... well, gold.
Previously, Bethesda made it known that Fallout 3 was getting heat from various game ratings boards around the globe and just revealed that they've removed a drug reference in all versions. A change across the board that'll make the UK, Australia and U.S. versions all the same.
Bethesda's Pete Hines confirmed that they removed the real-world drug Morphine from Fallout 3 due to ratings board issues, opting to replace it with the not so real-world drug called "Med-X". Though, in a statement from Hines to Joystiq, he makes it clear that the drug reference was the only change made to the UK, Australia and US versions mentioning that Bethesda hasn't toned down the violence or bloody dismemberment effects. Just no morphine, because drugs are bad, kids, drugs are bad.
Those lucky sons of guns over at Joystiq got the chance to spend an entire hour with the full version of Fallout 3. Not only that, but they got to do it in a tricked out Airstream trailer at PAX. Remembering the half-hour we had in a crowded room at E3, we've decided that we're jealous. Anywho, the 'Stiq has recorded its impressions of said hour -- for the record, it chose the Evil route -- and listed some important and interesting facts about the experience. For instance, not every lock can be picked by any player. This is counter to Oblivion, in which any lock could be picked if you were good enough at the mini-game, regardless of a character's skill level. Oh, and character Karma is universal, so don't think you can stay Good just because nobody's watching.
Speaking to Shacknews, Bethesda's Pete Hines and Istvan Pely shed some light on the downloadable content plans for Fallout 3 (among other things). When asked about DLC, Hines noted that Bethesda was shooting for content that was "several hours." Hines elaborated, "Not just like a one-off thing, but something like where you can download it and play it for X number of hours," adding that it would be akin to Oblivion content like Knights of the Nine, "where it's like whole new quest lines, new stuff, that kind of thing." Reading between the lines, we're getting the message that Hines means not horse armor. While release plans remain in the dark, Hines does note that Bethesda is already "looking into" future DLC.
Hit the source link for the full interview, which contains talk about Fallout 3's design as well as how Bethesda feels about comparisons to Oblivion.
Xbox360Achievements has discovered the entire list of achievements for Fallout 3. There are a total of 50 achievements rounding out at the usual 1000 points. Most of them are fairly simple, awarded for completing certain chapters in the game. Bo-ring, right? Others are awarded for reaching a certain character level with a certain kind of karma, be it good, neutral, or bad. Then there are the skill based achievements awarded for hacking, picking locks, etc. Our absolute favorite, though, has to be Psychotic Prankster which is awarded for "Placed a grenade or mine while pickpocketing." We're guessing that one probably leads to bad karma.
Hit the source link for the full list of Fallout 3 achievements
Today, Bethesda dropped an OMG MEGATON release date announcement, confirming that the Fallout 3 will storm retailers on October 28th in North America and on October 31st in Europe. The same week Dead Space releases, don'tcha know. Also, along with the release date announcement, Bethesda sent us a couple of newscreenshots (galleried below) and (rightfully) gloated about their E3 awards. So, go plop down your Fallout 3 lunch box pre-order cash prior to October's release and make your way towards the break for the complete press release.
It was revealed last month that Bethesda's Fallout 3 was refused classification by Australia's Classification Board, which effectively amounted to a ban on the game. Good news Aussie gamers, Fallout 3 has been reclassified as MA 15+, which means it's not banned after all! There's a catch though, as the game had to be edited in order to be resubmitted to the Classification Board. According to the ratings body, "the reward and incentive" for in-game drug use -- Fallout 3 players can use "chems" to enhance certain stats (and lower others) -- has been heavily reduced. So, what? You get +3 now instead of +10?
We don't know the answer, but the upshot is that Fallout 3 will be available Down Under, and that's good news for everyone.
Some things must be made clear. One, I played Bethesda's Fallout 3 today. Two, I have never played a Fallout title before, so I can't judge it based on the merits of the series. Joystiq will detail the differences between Fallout 3 and its predecessors in its hands on preview llater this week. With that out of the way, let me just throw this on the table: Fallout 3 is Oblivion with guns. It's a short analysis, but I stand by it. If one were to expand upon this analysis, one might say that Fallout 3 is a post-apocalyptic Oblivion with guns. Having said that, allow me elaborate that this is a compliment. Oblivion fans will understand this. Upon hearing my analysis, our own Xav de Matos noted, "I think I need a cigarette.... that sounds awesome."
See that? Yup, it's Fallout3's Nuka Cola. Yes, it's super awesome and cool. Sitting right next to it is the SimTek 1000 Holographic Archive, which bears a striking resemblance to the common View-Master. So striking, in fact, that it even carries the View-Master name. Contained on the View-Master are 3D screenshots of Fallout 3. Will this delectable swag be given away at the reader meetup in Santa Monica on Thursday? Yes, yes it will.
Oh, and we did play Fallout 3. Expect impressions later today.
Coming to us from the developers of Oblivion and Morrowind, Fallout 3 is the post-apocalyptic role playing game featuring the 1950's styled world and based on the classic PC series. After the preview in the press conference with it's faux "informational video" advertising Vault-tec Microsoft brought out Fallout 3 producer, Todd Howard, and he played the game live in front of the crowd. The newest trailer (shown to the crowd before the gameplay) will be on XBLM soon.
The demonstrated gameplay definitely shows off how far the Oblivion tech has come, showing of vehicles, robots, dismemberment and more. Also, Fallout 3 will have substantial exclusive DLC for 360 and GFW.
GameTrailers TV debuted a new Fallout 3 teaser trailer last night featuring a television, burnt skeleton and some Nuka Cola. We don't want to spoil the teaser fun for you, so you should just just watch. Well, to be honest, there isn't much to spoil really, seeing that the trailer is more weighted towards a tease than any actual information or gameplay. But it's still Fallout 3 and that means it's still an uber sexy trailer. Got that? Fallout 3 and a new uber sexy teaser trailer ... that is all.
In a second fan Q&A over at Bethesda, Todd Howard has answered a collection of fan questions taken from the forums. The questions asked range from armor and inventory to children, non-human creatures and more. Check the list below for a quick run down. Oh, and Todd also released a fewnewscreens too.
Armor sets come in two pieces, body and head
Inventory limit is based on weight
Children and essential NPC's are unkillable
Good/Evil karma system relating to in-game choices
Crimes committed against specific groups are known to all in the group throughout the game world
NPC's navigate via a mesh instead of via a point to point system like in Oblivion and Morrowind
Like Oblivion the game uses a skill list and those skills determine maximum possible effectiveness in battle
Bethesda must really have faith in Fallout 3. Not only are they doing a "normal" collectors edition, but now they're actually going for the coveted Cat-Helmet Award® by actually creating some sort of uber-collectors edition. Available only through Amazon, the only difference between the "Survival Edition" and the normal CE is the replica Pip-Boy, which is actually a digital clock. Maybe some of the Fallout faithful out there will be willing to shell out $129.95 plus shipping for this, but frankly, we already have an alarm clock. We hate it, we don't need another one. Still, it'll be interesting to see how its sales pan out. Even though it's an Amazon exclusive, could it eventually see the price drops that the Halo3 one did?
Twenty dollars more for a collector's edition eh? Well Bethesda looks to be making this one as worth it as they can, by cramming it full of creative extras. This isn't just a simple "Making of" DVD (though there is one of those too). There's also the bobble head, the 100 page hardcover art book, and the nuclear-devastation ready lunch box to hold it all in. Plus, y'know, the game.
That is the most important part after all, but to tell the truth this looks like a great example of how to do a CE right. As long as the game is the at the level of quality we hope it is, we might just have to knuckle under and shell out the extra money ....
Visually impressive, artistically refined and X3F approved new Fallout 3 screenshots have just been released thanks to the folks over at Bethesda and we're in love all over again. The three new screenshots (added to the gallery below for your convenience) show exactly what Fallout 3 has to offer including nuclear wastelands, physical violence and technology. Health monitoring technology that can tell you your health status using a crying and crippled Vault Boy. We heart Vault Boy even if he only has one functioning leg.
