Fallout 3

YOU LOOK FAMILIAR

Following an initial “dungeon” where you create and define your character through stat-tweaking and some virtual cosmetic surgery, you’ll emerge into the outside world for your first “holy cow” moment — the scenery.

“Destruction is the new trees,” Howard claims, revealing the new post- Oblivion motto of Bethesda’s art team. Some things are obviously different between these RPGs — such as the hollowed-out buildings replacing 100-foot redwoods — but Fallout 3 looks and feels like a game built on the lessons learned from Bethesda’s 2006 juggernaut.

While Fallout 3 is at its most basic level very similar to Oblivion in that both are large, free-roaming RPGs where you can go where you want and do whatever you like in a number of camps, towns, and cities, Bethesda is cramming Fallout with fewer NPCs — around 300 compared to Oblivion’s 1,000. Still, it’s paying more attention to each of those 300 NPCs, and Oblivion’s Radiant A.I. system has evolved, making their actions and routines feel more natural and less random. Better still, Bethesda’s hiring 30 to 40 voice actors to breathe life into their personalities — a clear step up from Oblivion’s cast.

The graphics have also undergone the developer’s knife, yielding much more natural faces for each of the NPCs, a seemingly better framerate, and improved loading times.

SPARE ANY CHANGE?

One key element of Fallout 3’s gameplay should definitely strike a chord with roleplayers raised on Oblivion — a distinct ending. Though Fallout 3 harbors multiple conclusions — likely between nine and 12 — “it’s crystal clear when it’s about to end,” promises Lead Designer Emil Pagliarulo. Bethesda is targeting 20 hours for the main quest and another 20 in side quests, albeit with a large amount of replayability thanks to the wealth of good, neutral, and “jerk” dialogue choices.

Strangely, it’s the “neutral” option that you should pay attention to. Bethesda insists that Fallout isn’t some mere riff on Knights of the Old Republic — don’t expect clear-cut light- or dark-style campaigns. Instead, sometimes you have to play nice, sometimes you have to be a tool, and sometimes you just have to take the middle ground in order to survive the harsh game world. Your choice of words will affect your reputation and, ultimately, which ending you get.

Oblivion and Fallout show other differences in Fallout 3’s creature-leveling system. In Oblivion, any monster you faced would scale within range of your character level, meaning you could enter the same dungeon at level 1 or level 30 and face different foes each time, having an equally challenging time either way. Some fans complained that this never allowed you to feel like you were clearly in a place you didn’t belong, and conversely, you never got to savor the fruits of your level-grinding labor.

Bethesda was listening the whole time. Fallout 3 sports a more traditional monster-level system, where a rad-scorpion will always have the same amount of hit points no matter what level you are when you fight one. Why the change? Because, Howard admits, “kicking ass is fun.” And your hero will earn a new perk for every two levels gained (the level cap is 20), gifting you with the occasional new ability — for instance, we’re told the icky “corpses eaten” stat we saw on a loading screen ties into a perk.

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