Fallout 3 Previews are up

[poo poo head]

Check 'em out

Gamespy (http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/fallout-3/800771p1.html)
Shacknews (http://www.shacknews.com/featuredarticle.x?id=411)
Gamespot (http://www.gamespot.com/pages/gamespace/updates.php?pid=918428&sid=6173397&tag=topslot;title;1&om_act=convert&om_clk=topslot)

[Hazar]

too bad they all have the same screenshots

[Gunner]

Is that a super mutant in the last page? God...

[Sloth]

The Pip-Boy looks massive...Good luck getting it on over Power Armour?

[VictimOfScience]

Just read the big Game Informer article on it too. I was a little nervous about it previously, but I am feeling much more interested now. Still, I am a little annoyed that it is smaller than Oblivion (in terms of land area).

[Stigmata]

Sounds like it could be awesome.

[Laivasse]

Hmm, I don't find these previews encouraging.

I don't share a lot of the opinions of some of the ridiculous whingers at NMA. But somehow everything I've heard about Fallout 3 so far has felt like Bethesda trying desperately hard to convince us that 'It's really awesome, honest, and doesn't betray the franchise!', rather than them just leaving us to judge for ourselves based on the strength of what they have so far. Subtle difference, but I always find it unsettling. It kind of resembles the spiel that bands use about their new material after having replaced a really important member, you know? Those 'it'll be just as good as in the old days!' promises that are always hollow.

I guess I just don't have confidence in Bethesda's writing ability. Oh well. (And that super mutant looks a little dodgy).

[Absinthe]

Sounds promising to me. The changes they're making can either make or break it, so we'll have to see. But it's not like the original games were perfect either. Combat was slow and tedious, and never felt particularly challenging (assuming you didn't wander into an area too high for your level). So I'm all for a revamp in that area. Others may disagree, but my concerns over Fallout 3's aesthetic have been soothed, so I don't worry about that any more. My main hope at the moment is that they keep the combat proportional to the exploring/role-playing elements similarly to the first two titles. It's sad to hear that groin shots are out :(, but they better keep in the ability to kill children and the prostitution.

I don't see why Beth bothers trying to assure people it stays true to the franchise. They just keep getting more bile thrown back in their faces for it, and a lot of fans seem to have already made up their mind as to whether they like it or not.

[DEATH eVADER]

For some reason, he reminds me of a random character from Deus Ex: Invisible War



http://pcmedia.gamespy.com/pc/image/article/800/800771/440Dialogue_1183161567.jpg

[Warbie]

Looking good to me.

[Mikael Grizzly]

There's not really much in the previews. VATS remains a complete mystery as to how it actually works, Fallout aesthetic remains to be truly seen, supermutants remain orc-like (although the general look is quite faithful), nuclear catapult still a moronic feature of unbelievable proportions. Plus, GameSpy, as usual, fails to provide anything of value, as we get a deathwish from them.

If you want actually something that provides a good summary of what we do know, click here: Fallout 3 FAQ (http://www.nma-fallout.com/article.php?id=37329).

An upside is that FOT and FOBOS are indeed not canonical, THANKFULLY. Downsides include exploding nuclear cars (yeah, right, a micro fusion engine explodes like a fission nuke), the nukular katapult and a gravity gun rip-off.

EDIT: P. Hines: "I think people can look at how we've treated the Elder Scrolls and know that we'll give the same care to Fallout."
FAIL.

[DEATH eVADER]

nuclear catapult still a moronic feature of unbelievable proportions.

Its not as moronic as you think, you just need to homework in the right areas. The Davy Crockett is one of those, ftw weapons :)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davy_Crockett_(nuclear_device)

One of the smallest nuclear weapons ever built, the Davy Crockett was developed in the late 1950s for use against Soviet (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_Union) troops in West Germany (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Germany). Small teams of the Atomic Battle Group (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Atomic_Battle_Group&action=edit) (charged with operating the device) would be stationed every few kilometers to guard against Soviet attack, using the power of their nuclear artillery shells to kill or incapacitate advancing troop formations and irradiate the area so that it was uninhabitable for up to 48 hours, long enough to mobilize NATO forces.

[Sloth]

But Nuke Cars? Where the hell are they going to get the Ur. from? They don't have any contact with down under, I'd assume.