Xbox 360
War, it's fantastic. We love it; we can't get enough of it. It's all over the media, film, art and especially videogames. Despite the horror, destruction and poverty it causes, we're all over it like barbarian invaders, crazed emperors and Republican presidential candidates. The Fallout series takes its influence from 1950s cold war culture, an aesthetic more recently found in Bioshock. Fallout told the tale of some idiot actually nuking the planet, forcing humanity into vaults, deep below the earth, away from the irradiated surface. The first two games revolved around survivors leaving their own vaults to explore the land above in a 2D isometric RPG tale of discovery. The world was filled with small communities of survivors, mutants and 'radscorpions'. What made Fallout stand-out, however, was its scalpel-sharp sense of black humour, creating a game simultaneously hilarious and self-aware. It showed how, in the face of annihilation, all one could do was laugh.
Fallout 3 is set to bring this into the new millennium and is looking awesome to boot. After old owners Interplay went bust, the rights to the series was bought by Elder Scrolls developer Bethesda. They've since taken their own first-person RPG model for Oblivion, and twisted it for the world of Fallout, providing potentially the most immersive post-apocalyptic gaming experience to date. Once again, you'll find your character in a vault with a number of other survivors; but when you begin this time, you are also beginning your life, and will spend the first few segments of the game experiencing different points in your childhood. Your actions during childhood will reflect themselves in your skills and 'perks'. This has the potential to provide one of the most realistic and interesting character creation methods to date. Indeed, at birth you are analysed by a doctor, at which point you choose your facial features and physical attributes. Moments later, the doctor reveals himself to be your father, and sports a face not unlike your own. It is the disappearance of your father that will finally push you from the vault and into the wilderness above, at which point Fallout 3 will really begin.
Much like Oblivion, Hollywood actors have provided the voices for key characters in the game, with Liam Neeson filling your father's shoes; others include Ron Perlman and Malcolm McDowell. Again, like Oblivion, the world above is vast with the potential for hundreds of hours worth of exploration. Only this time, rather than a generic fantasy setting, the game takes place in the burnt out shell of Washington, D.C. You won't be alone of course; dozens of settlements are dotted around the map, including Rivet City, a civilization built around and within the wreck of an Aircraft Carrier, brought to land by a tsunami long before. Exploring the lands in between will see you battling it out not only against other survivors, but mutants too, and all sorts of other B-movie style monsters such as Giant Ants.
To help with such sticky situations, Bethesda plans to provide you with a large number of weapons. You'll also be able to construct your own customised guns with random appliances, often to hilarious effect. Fallout's trademark O.T.T. gore is also back with the potential for all sorts of limb removing, head-exploding frivolity. A personal favourite has to be the power glove, which gives your punches enough force to send an opponent's head flying off of his shoulders (hopefully into a nearby, conveniently placed net). There's also the V.A.T.S. system, a sort of turn based combat overhang from the previous games. This will allow freezing of the game, and the ability to choose a target on your opponent's body to produce a more accurate, devastating shot with large sprays of Claret guaranteed. Moreover, you won't be alone. You are allowed to drag one NPC around with you to soak up bullets, but even more fun is Dogmeat, your own canine friend. He can be used to find hidden items or be sent on errands, but be careful not to let him die because he's the only one you're going to get.
As you progress through the game, you'll be posed with a number of moral decisions. Your response affects your 'karma', and in turn, how NPC's react to you. From what we've seen already, Fallout has the potential to be constantly engaging and enthralling. You'll sneak through mutant-infested wastelands, scrape a living from nothing, meet a host of varied and darkly humoured characters, mow down entire armies of villains with a minigun and even set off a nuke, what more could you ask? Coming out within the next month, Fallout already has the potential to top many game of year lists, so before you get all concerned about economic problems or the 'festive' season, give a thought for good ol' war. Pick up your red button and head for the wasteland because Fallout's looking apocalyptically good.
