Dhruin
SasqWatch
I'm not sticking to the E3 days very well, am I? Oh, well, here's another collection of Fallout 3 links.
Let's start with a GameSpot video of Todd Howard (linked via the Bethblog) doing a demo. It's starts off with familiar footage but over the 21 minutes, also includes questions from GameSpot readers.
Next is Games Radar's 11 Ways Fallout 3 will Kick Oblivion's Ass. Examples include better gore, twice as much going on (yeah, sounds like they mean events but they mean twice the on-screen graphic detail), actual dialogue and so on:
More information.
Let's start with a GameSpot video of Todd Howard (linked via the Bethblog) doing a demo. It's starts off with familiar footage but over the 21 minutes, also includes questions from GameSpot readers.
Next is Games Radar's 11 Ways Fallout 3 will Kick Oblivion's Ass. Examples include better gore, twice as much going on (yeah, sounds like they mean events but they mean twice the on-screen graphic detail), actual dialogue and so on:
Shack has Mixed Impressions from a Fallout Fanboy:7. Moral decisions actually carry weight and relevance
In Oblivion, your moral "choices" largely amounted to "do this task and get a reward" or "ignore this task and get nothing." While you could wander off and follow completely different plotlines for as long as you wanted, ultimately you didn't have any real effect on the game's plot - you just chose how you wanted to follow it.
Fallout 3, meanwhile, will enable you to approach major events in different ways, and the choices you make will determine how they play out. In the early parts of the game, for example, a creepy guy named Burke will ask you to destroy the struggling little town of Megaton by detonating a dormant atomic bomb at its heart. You can do as he asks, report him to the authorities or try to kill him yourself. For that matter, you can kill just about anybody, depending on how much of a bastard you want to be. (Child-killing won't be a possibility, however, which probably comes as sad news for any longtime Fallout fans out there.) Just be prepared to deal with the consequences of your actions - life in the wasteland is harsh, and retribution is harsher.
...and then on to standard previews:After reloading the game, I had a long chat with my murderer. The dialogue engine is indeed reminiscent of Oblivion, but after noticing this, I never gave it a second thought. Instead, I was focused on learning about the town, looking for quests, and more typical Fallout goals.
Overall I would say that the demo area dialogue clearly eclipsed Oblivion's writing, but did not quite match the effectiveness of Fallout. There was certainly an edge to it all, as evidenced by the wanton use of vulgar language and themes--see the opening quote from the Sheriff. A few mildly humorous moments were produced by said vulgarity. But none of the characters caught me off guard or engaged me in the same way that Fallout did, and the voice acting was sometimes rather wooden.
It was a short demo, and an early area, and the game is not finished, so I can not judge it based on this first taste. Suffice it to say, the tone of dialogue was close, but not right on. I was entertained, but not surprised.
More information.