Fallout 3 - Preview Deluge

Right, the Fallout 3 preview wave has started, so let's get straight into it.  First up, here's GameSpot with an overview:

First, here are some key basics about Fallout 3. Yes, it's a first-person game, but it also has a third-person camera if you like to play that way, and the camera can be moved so that it almost mimics the perspective of the original Fallout games. No, it's not a pure action shooter, though it can be played like a shooter in some ways, if you want. However, the game does rely on role-playing statistics to determine whether you hit or miss. More intriguingly, you can pause the combat at any time and target specific parts of an enemy's body, just like you could in the original Fallout games. And, yes, it's very much a role-playing game with hundreds of quests. While it only has a few hundred characters as opposed to the 1,500 in Oblivion, each of the characters in Fallout 3 will have his or her or its own distinct identity and dialogue. But we'll cover all of this in a bit.

I'll take a bit on NPCs from 1Up:

That third-person view makes it possible to appreciate the almost unbelievably improved character models -- one of the most striking enhancements to the Oblivion engine. And this is significant, because Fallout 3 will place a much greater emphasis on conversing with non-player characters than Oblivion did. Sure, you could talk to all 1,500 or so NPCs in Oblivion, but few of them have anything interesting to say; here, NPCs will behave much more like individuals. "It's not just people walking around, eating or sleeping, or things that you don't see [anymore]," says executive producer Todd Howard. "We found lots of good ways to get [unique] behaviors all on-screen. Plus, the conversation system -- what they do and what they say -- is very unique, for almost every character. So, focusing on characters is a very big priority to us."

IGN on VATS:

On the Xbox 360, you'll enter VATS by pressing the right bumper. The game will pause and the camera will zoom in on the enemy you're currently targeting. Each area of the enemy that isn't behind cover will be outlined in green, showing both your chance to hit that particular area as well as how damaged the area already is. Naturally, trying to hit a smaller target, like a head or a pistol, is going to be more difficult than aiming for a torso or a leg.

Using a pool of action points determined by your Agility, you'll queue up fire actions to the targets you want to hit on your enemy. You can even switch enemies to queue up a series of shots against different members of a large group. Critical hits can result in cripplings, knocking the gun out of someone's hands or even causing a head to explode and send eyeballs rolling down the street. Some enemies even have particularly vulnerable areas. Take out a giant ant's antenna, for instance, and they'll go berserk and attack whoever happens to be closest to them.

...Eurogamer on VATS:

The Vault-tec Assisted Targeting System is how Bethesda are going to confuse everyone, especially those who wanted to burn them on stakes for abandoning the turn-based nature of the others in the series. While the combat can be simply approached as first-person shooting, this is inaccurate, and not taking advantage of the elaborate skills you possess. VATS is the love-child of bullet-time and turn-based combat. During a fight you can freeze time, then depending upon how many Action Points (yes, they remain too) you have available, you can zoom in and target specific regions of your enemy/enemies. So you might select to fire your shotgun at his right leg, then have a reload, then target his head. Use up the AP you have, and then let it fly, with the camera following the bullet toward its target, stopping in time to witness the grisly impact. Which might be, depending upon the roll of your hit, the demolition of the leg and subsequent collapse to the ground, or perhaps his head blowing up, sending an eyeball to the ground, rolling until it stops at your feet. This latter event took place during our demonstration, causing the developers to hoot with delight. "Is that his EYE rolling? It is! It's HIS EYE!"

...GameSpy on the opening:

While Pagliarulo looks around the Vault, Howard notes, "The first game said 'you lived your whole life in the Vault' and then promptly kicked you out. For this time, we want to make the player feel like he's lived his whole life in the Vault." He estimates that players will spend about an hour inside of Vault 101, starting with birth and going all the way until the player turns 19 (Howard says that the only hardcoded characteristic of the player is that s/he is a 19-year old human, everything else is completely customizable). In discrete segments, players go through birth, your first birthday, your tenth birthday, your sixteenth birthday, and finally the nineteenth. Right at birth, you pick your character's gender and general looks; in fact, after doing so, the game will map your basic look onto your father, who will reveal a "family resemblance" after taking his surgical mask off.

...Next Gen starts from the very beginning:

He claims that Bethesda was initially simply tossing around the idea of doing a Fallout game, but over time, the studio became more and more serious about developing a new Fallout title.

It was a Post-It note left on his desk reading “Fallout is yours” that revealed to Howard that Fallout 3 was a go.

Bethesda licensed the franchise from Interplay in 2004, when development actually commenced, and an April 2007 SEC filing revealed that Bethesda bought the rights to the entire Fallout franchise for $5.75 million.

Bethesda VP of PR and marketing Pete Hines reportedly did a celebratory sprinkler dance upon confirmation of the deal.

...Hardware from Worthplaying:

Fallout 3 features both new and old robots, including the handyman. It will also boast many new weapons, like the "Rock-It-Launcher," which is basically a toaster which can fire numerous items at your enemies. Fallout 3 also includes the ability to create your own items using a crafting system, as well as combine two weapons to make one stronger or more durable. Another cool new weapon is the "Lunch Box Explosive," which consists of a simple lunchbox from the pre-war days that is loaded up with explosives and can send your enemies soaring. Oh, and no, there are no drivable vehicles here — just explodable ones.

...GameDaily on the gameworld:

As they progress through this gorgeous world, players make numerous decisions, some of which significantly impact the game. The first town they come across, Megaton, sits atop a giant bomb that fell and never detonated. Its inhabitants, who believe it’s dead, worship the device, believing some higher power spared their lives. Unbeknownst to them, the bomb lives, and just needs a little prodding to heat up. While in a bar, gamers run into a man named Mr. Burke, a shady guy that not only divulges this information, but also makes a deadly proposition, the chance to activate the bomb and blow Megaton to hell.

Joystiq continues this bit:

Howard said the story outside the vault will focus on themes of sacrifice and survival. What you choose to sacrifice and how you choose to survive has a big effect on how the game turns out. At one point in the demo, a mysterious man offers you money to detonate an unexploded nuclear bomb in the center of a ramshackle town where you believe your father may be hiding. Turning the town into a crater cuts off one branch of the storyline but opens up a new world of possibilities as your relationships with the mysterious man grows.

This is getting too long, so here's a miscellaneous mix of other sites and other related news:

• VoodooExtreme
• Game Revolution
• Destructoid
• Critical Hits
• IGN video interview with Todd Howard
• Gavin "kathode" Carter video interview at Gametrailers
• Interview with Todd Howard on Critical Hits:

Q: Do enemies scale to the player, and what is the leveling system based on?
A: The leveling system for the player is based on Fallout 1. Not all enemies scale to the player, there are definitely areas of the game where if you venture alone or without protection of some kind you will easily die. The example used was that all Super Mutants are basically the same difficulty throughout the game, but that equipment like armor and weapons in different areas will make some tougher or some easier. You will not be encountering a mutant early on that takes one shot to kill and some later on that take 30 unless one is wearing 50 tons of armor.

Thanks Briosafreaks's Fallout 3 Blog and NMA for some of the links.