Fallout 3 - New Teaser Art, Liam Neeson Leads Voice Cast

Bethsoft's Fallout 3 teaser page has been updated with a new piece of concept art. I think this one will spark some debate, so do check it out.
In a more surprising release, Bethsoft has announced famed actor Liam Neeson will provide a leading voice over role for Fallout 3. Here's the news, courtesy of Worthplaying:

Bethesda Softworks announced that actor Liam Neeson, known for Schindler's List, will lead the cast providing voice work in Fallout 3. Neeson will play the role of the player's father and will appear prominently throughout the game.
"This role was written with Liam in mind, and provides the dramatic tone for the entire game," said Todd Howard, Executive Producer of Fallout 3. "Liam is absolutely amazing to work with."
Neeson is known for starring roles in blockbuster films such as "Schindler's List," "Star Wars: Episode I," "The Chronicles of Narnia," and "Batman Begins." Throughout his illustrious career, Neeson has been the recipient of numerous honors for his work in film and theater, including Academy Award, Golden Globe and Tony Award nominations.
"It's been a pleasure bringing the father to life and working with the wonderfully talented people at Bethesda on Fallout 3," said Neeson. "I hope the fans of the franchise and the game will be excited by the results."

Thanks, r3dshift!
More information.

I love the new art … but the Liam Neeson thing is just 'off the hook'! I have always loved his stuff, and find his voicing has tremendous depth. Can't wait to hear it - hopefully it will be more than Patrick Stewart did in Oblivion …

I love Liam Nesson, but if they blow their voice acting budget and then have to fill in the rest of the game with four people doing the same voices over and over again, then I'd much rather have regular voice acting talent. Getting big names to do voices seems more like a marketing thing than anything, since big name actors don't usually do a better job.

The new art looks pretty cool. It looks like those rumors about the game taking place on the East Coast were true. The music still rubs though.

Picture looks pretty good if you're asking me…

Originally Posted by Dhruin
I think this one will spark some debate…

[StartDebate]Well, I'd say that the capitol building is in need of major renovation, don'tcha think?[/EndDebate]

Originally Posted by Moriendor
[StartDebate]Well, I'd say that the capitol building is in need of major renovation, don'tcha think?[/EndDebate]

Hey, *I* didn't say that, Dhruin did … but along those lines, perhaps it is the aftermath of the 'full of crap' level in the White House staff reaching critical levels

Originally Posted by txa1265
Hey, *I* didn't say that, Dhruin did … but along those lines, perhaps it is the aftermath of the 'full of crap' level in the White House staff reaching critical levels

Whoops, weird. I just clicked on "Quote" on the newsbit and it came out with txa1265 (you) as the author. Must be a forums bug (maybe it inserts the first person that commented on the thread (=thread creator) instead of the newsbit author?). Sorry, I'll see if I can edit that .



Edit: k, it worked. Edited it .

In the second picture on that link, it looks like a cave entrance underneath some fallen rock. I wonder if that's where I can find a radscorpion den

Liam Neeson w000t. Let's hope that not 80% of their voice acting budget, right there, I'm not paying $50 dollars just to hear Liam say "The force is strong in you, my son."

As for the artwork(s), they're awesome. I wish I'd see more of Fallout-related concept art like the E3 poster and not just this PA-related concept art.

Picture is awesome, as is Liam Neeson! I'm starting to get my hopes up for this title. Especially so as I'm not a Fallout fanboi, not having played the previous two installments (tried FO2 a few weeks ago but found it boring) — yeah, go ahead, throw yer stones on me!

Liam is a good choice.

I have a suspicion that we will soon hear they have got Ron Pearlman on board as well.

I may just be a crotchety old man, but I'm apprehensive. Of course Bethesda was going to go big-budget anyway, but Liam F-ing Neeson big budget? What that means is that, in order to make back all the bucks they're clearly planning on spending, they have to, positively have to make a game that will appeal to everyone.

I submit to you that the first two games were not made with that sort of goal in mind. Just something to think about.

I like Bethesda, so I'm not despairing. But I'm apprehensive.

I'm with doctor_kaz. Seems more of a marketing ploy to jump-start the hype wagon to me…

We'll just have to wait and see.

How much do you think it would cost to get Liam Neeson to do some voice acting? If he is the lead voice actor he could have up to an hours worth of dialogue possibly even more. I am guess it would go into the 10's of thousands? Maybe if Liam is a fan he might do it on the cheap

"Vince, I am your father." Meh.

Liam's a good actor, but is he any good as a voice actor?

I scanned through IMDB, but didn't see anything that looked like prior voice acting work, only a few references to being a narrator.

I for one have never liked "face" actors showing up in animated movies or games. It feels wrong and is distracting with Cap'n Picard's voice is coming out of that weird looking toupee, much like it's wrong and distracting to hear Jaheira's voice in every bloody Bioware game I've ever played.

I'd rather see them stick with professional voice actors who can provide a variety of voices, and who can act using only their voices. Like Stephen Russell — he could voice-act a dozen different characters and you'd never know it's the same guy (unless one of them sounded like Benny).

Cool idea.. Liam neeson is a terrific choise, i'm sure he will deliver his best. However I''m more worried of the quality of dialog, not to mention its more than sad if 70% of their voice budget burns hiring those famous actors..I hope the miscellaneous cast is more diverse and numerious than in oblivion.

Odd, that picture. Wouldn't anyone nuking the US make sure nothing remains of THAT building and its neighbourhood but a nice gaping crater? And does this mean Beth is going to let us play this one in their own east-coast neighbourhood after all?

Originally Posted by Moorkh
Odd, that picture. Wouldn't anyone nuking the US make sure nothing remains of THAT building and its neighbourhood but a nice gaping crater? And does this mean Beth is going to let us play this one in their own east-coast neighbourhood after all?

That sounds like naive/liberal/commie/terrorist talk to me. Are you implying that the billions (trillions?) we've spent on our missile defense system would fail to work in an imginary video game scenario? Hogwash. No nuke is ever going to come within a hundred miles of that particular building, and we've got mister Reagan to thank for that. God bless him.

I like the art. I like Liam Neeson. I've got no idea if either will work well in a finished Fallout.

I've got no problem with celebrity voiceovers if it doesn't impact anything else but I'm a bit wary of developing a major character specifically written for Liam Neeson - that sounds like writing to assist the marketing team rather than writing the best character and then going and finding the best actor for the role. It also makes me wonder if the role will be so central as to force a more linear story.

Waaaaaay to early to tell, but that would be my concern.

As for the art….it's nice. Is it representative of the current game timeline or just a nice piece of art? It looks a bit straight-after-the-bomb rather than 80 years down the track to me but we obviously don't know how it fits together.

Originally Posted by Yeesh
That sounds like naive/liberal/commie/terrorist talk to me. Are you implying that the billions (trillions?) we've spent on our missile defense system would fail to work in an imginary video game scenario? Hogwash. No nuke is ever going to come within a hundred miles of that particular building, and we've got mister Reagan to thank for that. God bless him.

Actually there is absolutely no defence in place for a short range surface to surface missile and I believe last time a US missile based interception technology was tested it was effective about 10% of the time.

Besides there clearly wasn't a direct hit anywhere near that building and you have no idea of the megaton rating of the nuke used (if it even was a nuke).