I was having a hunt through the forum and I was amazed that the newest thread I could find dedicated to Fallout 3 was from 2004. I'm sure there have been threads about it since then, if anyone can point me in the right direction, I'd be very grateful.
Anyway, to the point. Bethesda's take on the post-apocalyptic RPG franchise is due out in a matter of months (although I would not be at all surprised if it get's delayed).
Like it's two predecessors, Fallout 3 takes place in the near future following a devastating nuclear war. The world's population has been confined to underground cities, called Vaults, waiting for the radiation to die to a level where they can begin to rebuild their shattered society. Of course, in world of RPGs it's never that simple.
The main character is a resident of Vault 101, one of the main American Vaults on the site of Washington D.C. As the story begins, you father has defied the laws of Vault and left it. You must follow him braving a variety of nuclear mutants, slavers and others in an effort to discover the truth about the vaults.
The main features of the game include a massive open world for you to explore, complex character customisation (the UI of which can be seen
here), 1st and 3rd person views, open moral choices and an upgraded version of the Radient AI engine (as used in Oblivion).
The semi-turn based combat system is probably best left to Bethesda to explain:
Quote:
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Even the odds in combat with the Vault-Tec® Assisted Targeting System for your Pip-Boy Model 3000! V.A.T.S. allows you to pause time in combat, target specific body parts on your target, queue up attacks, and let Vault-Tec take out your aggression for you. Rain death and destruction in an all-new cinematic presentation featuring gory dismemberments and spectacular explosions.
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I've uploaded a heap of high res images to AN's Gallery. You can find them
here.
Some highlights (click for larger versions):
