Fallout 3, Previewed

Hidden somewhere under appropriately post-apocalyptic shades of grey and brown, there’s a deep Role Playing Game in Fallout 3.  Somewhere.

Granted, it’s hard to demonstrate the intricacies of a naturally long game in such a lamentably short period of time, I’m confident that somewhere, somehow, Bethesda has the ingredients for next great blockbuster western RPG. So how is one to tackle the inherent difficulties of demonstrating RPG elements without sufficient time?

I dug deep for the hints, and was willing to hazard speculative conjecture on what’s in store.  Your character’s appearance and class is designated by the player, and you’re asked to confirm “is this how you really want your dude to be before embarking on this massive game” upon leaving the vault (much like Bethesda’s 2006 RPG Oblivion, when exiting sewers, bound for the open world).

In a game where restoring health induces radiation poisoning, and turning to drugs leads to your character  becoming addicted and potentially suffering withdrawals… well, look forward to getting banned in Australia.

Pivotal story moments aren’t easy to showcase either, but I witnessed one early on.  A mysterious gangster-esque suit (think G-Man from Half Life meets Salvatore Leone from Grand Theft Auto) tasked players with leveling the city of Megaton — with a nuke.  The people of Megaton are living in a radioactive wasteland, but manage to enjoy a few drinks at the local bar – nevertheless, Lead Designer Todd Howard pressed the big red button, and in the process all of the objectives coming out of Megaton were delisted from the quest log.

To cap our analysis off, fans of Oblivion’s alchemy will dig Fallout’s more lethal version: scrap parts will come together to build homemade guns – and our guess is as good as anyone’s as to what ammo you can load up on.  So, back to the initial question of how to tackle the inherent difficulties of breaking down RPG elements without sufficient time: the blend of all these things – the ingredients in Bethesda’s recipe – should unite to create one heck of a deep game.

Then came a time for hands on.  Of all the things I played at PAX, this was the most difficult to conjure meaningful analysis on – take that as you wish.

From a control point of view, Fallout 3 controls similarly to Oblivion.  You can play in first or third person, but again like Oblivion, third person animation bears resemblance to hovering, and will have your character gliding over obstacles.  From the first person, weapons can be fired like a First Person Shooter, or using the VATS system – aiming is sensitive, and lining up headshots is a skill – Bethesda isn’t trying to make an FPS here.  On the flipside, VATS is unique, and the Bloody Mess perk makes things exponentially messier.  In VATS, you cycle through which individual body part you would like to hit; it’s not very effective with the 10mm pistol I was using, but it’s an effective alternative to manual aiming, and doesn’t slow down the game’s pace.  Melee combat paralleled Oblivion’s up-close combat, as a baseball bat induced gore and brought death to a creepy subhuman akin to BioShock’s splicers. With an emphasis on never leaving the game world, all your options (e.g. inventory, save games) are on a pseudo-futuristic wristwatch called a Pip Boy.

Role-play, guns, gore, drugs, licensed 1940s music, Pip Boys, and more… the recipe of Bethesda’s RPG ingredients will be available for public consumption when Fallout 3 comes out of the oven on October 28th.