RockTheCasba
08-21-2008, 12:57 PM
well it is made by the same people who made my favorite games of all time BETHESDA so it should be good and sounds like its going to be awesome.
GC 2008: Fallout 3 Hands-on
We go off the beaten path on 360 and PC.
by David Clayman
August 20, 2008 - Without doubt, the best part of Games Convention so far was the hour I spent playing Fallout 3. I sat down with the PC version of the game for a few minutes and then spent the rest of my time exploring the burnt cinders of DC on 360. Nothing exudes confidence in a game like letting the press jump straight into the experience without a hand to guide them or direct the action. Clearly Bethesda thinks they have a winner.
In open world titles I'm not the type of person to tackle the main quest straight off. Instead I wander off the path and explore the nooks and crannies of the world before I deal with larger problems. After exiting the vault in Fallout I ignored the nearest town and instead headed toward a Raider enclave to bust some skulls and collect some loot. If you'd like to read about the main quest we've previously spent plenty of time in Megaton and you can read our impressions here.
My travels took me to Springdale Elementary School, a dilapidated but standing structure filled with enemies. It was here that I got my feet wet with the Vault-Tech Assisted Targeting System (VATS) system for the first time, and thoroughly enjoyed the results.
As soon as a player leaves the vault he's very quickly treated to a level-up where points are allotted towards skills and perks. Since I had a limited time with the game I decided to put all of my assets towards small guns and medicine. I was already in possession of a pistol and my early encounter with a Raider indicated that I'd need the most out of my stimpacks. I was also able to choose one perk, and went with Gun Nut, which also boosted my small guns and repair skills by 5.
Upon entering the school I was struck by just how many objects there are to pick up, search, or carry around pointlessly. As an obsessive collector in other RPGs I had to stop myself from loading up on burnt books, bottles, and other trash that would surely not come in handy down the road.
Early in combat I toyed with gunplay outside of the VATS system. Fallout allows players to jump to a third-person perspective that makes melee combat much easier, but for aiming with a pistol or rifle the first-person view is key. There is also a left trigger zoom on the Xbox 360 version that allows for more specific aiming. Considering the depth of your character's skills, armor, and weapon set, Fallout 3 plays like an incredibly familiar first-person shooter if you choose that approach. However, the targeting system is what makes the game shine. It allows the user to freeze the action and queue specifically targeted attacks.
Take my first encounter using VATS, for example. Having infiltrated the top floor of Springdale Elementary, I managed to obtain grenades and a good amount of ammo for my pistol. After entering one of the particularly dark halls I was confronted by a Raider with a growling dog at his side. Having hot-keyed my grenades to the D-pad I tapped the up button to equip them and then hit the right bumper to freeze the action. I targeted the dog and jumped back into the action. My accuracy was not perfect and the blast only injured the dog, but his owner was transformed into a sticky red vapor in a very stylish slow motion sequence.
As the dog charged forward and leapt for my throat I activated VATS once again and queued up a melee attack with my fists. I connected with the animal in mid-air and watched as I pounded his in his head for the kill. Having specific targeting options for melee attacks isn't just useful but it's a great deal of fun to watch if you can handle the gore.
After cleansing the school I wandered off towards Big Town. The struggling community consisted of dilapidated houses that were fortified with barbed wire and sandbags to form a sort of wall. The remaining citizens could be found milling about inside, with one sorry-looking guard standing at the only entrance, a makeshift suspension bridge.
I visited the medic station and, upon inspecting an ailing patient, I was given the option to heal or kill him. Seeing as my medic skills were too low to be of any use I chose to "put him out of his misery" by opening an artery. My karma was penalized and the game called me a bastard. Oh, well. Moving on.
Outside the doctor's quarters I ran into a man named Flash who was eager to brag about the amazing gun he was carrying. He also informed me that Big Town is constantly raided by Slavers and Super Mutants and that the former had just taken a few people hostage in German Town. I picked up the quest Big Trouble in Big Town when I offered to help out with the hostage crisis and had German Town added to my map.
Heading toward the waypoint I accessed my Pip Boy to get an overhead view of the terrain and see how long the walk would take. I only had to kill a few Raiders under a glowing moon before arriving at the German Town police station where I really got to put VATS to the test.
In my previous encounter I had dispatched of my enemies quickly without running out of the necessary action points required to queue up more attacks. The Super Mutants guarding the police station were a completely different story. I was able to land a few shots with my new rifle before one of the mutants barreled toward me to lay on some damaging blows. I had to change my grenade hot key to stimpacks and took to running away instead of charging forward. Unfortunately it was here that my time with the game ended, though I could've easily spent the rest of the afternoon entranced by Bethesda's latest.
So far the only apparent differences between the two games, besides the controls are that the PC version is slightly superior in the graphics department. Both versions were running well and suffered from none of the hang-ups that usually bog down unfinished games. You can be sure we'll have more on this game in coming months.
GC 2008: Fallout 3 Hands-on
We go off the beaten path on 360 and PC.
by David Clayman
August 20, 2008 - Without doubt, the best part of Games Convention so far was the hour I spent playing Fallout 3. I sat down with the PC version of the game for a few minutes and then spent the rest of my time exploring the burnt cinders of DC on 360. Nothing exudes confidence in a game like letting the press jump straight into the experience without a hand to guide them or direct the action. Clearly Bethesda thinks they have a winner.
In open world titles I'm not the type of person to tackle the main quest straight off. Instead I wander off the path and explore the nooks and crannies of the world before I deal with larger problems. After exiting the vault in Fallout I ignored the nearest town and instead headed toward a Raider enclave to bust some skulls and collect some loot. If you'd like to read about the main quest we've previously spent plenty of time in Megaton and you can read our impressions here.
My travels took me to Springdale Elementary School, a dilapidated but standing structure filled with enemies. It was here that I got my feet wet with the Vault-Tech Assisted Targeting System (VATS) system for the first time, and thoroughly enjoyed the results.
As soon as a player leaves the vault he's very quickly treated to a level-up where points are allotted towards skills and perks. Since I had a limited time with the game I decided to put all of my assets towards small guns and medicine. I was already in possession of a pistol and my early encounter with a Raider indicated that I'd need the most out of my stimpacks. I was also able to choose one perk, and went with Gun Nut, which also boosted my small guns and repair skills by 5.
Upon entering the school I was struck by just how many objects there are to pick up, search, or carry around pointlessly. As an obsessive collector in other RPGs I had to stop myself from loading up on burnt books, bottles, and other trash that would surely not come in handy down the road.
Early in combat I toyed with gunplay outside of the VATS system. Fallout allows players to jump to a third-person perspective that makes melee combat much easier, but for aiming with a pistol or rifle the first-person view is key. There is also a left trigger zoom on the Xbox 360 version that allows for more specific aiming. Considering the depth of your character's skills, armor, and weapon set, Fallout 3 plays like an incredibly familiar first-person shooter if you choose that approach. However, the targeting system is what makes the game shine. It allows the user to freeze the action and queue specifically targeted attacks.
Take my first encounter using VATS, for example. Having infiltrated the top floor of Springdale Elementary, I managed to obtain grenades and a good amount of ammo for my pistol. After entering one of the particularly dark halls I was confronted by a Raider with a growling dog at his side. Having hot-keyed my grenades to the D-pad I tapped the up button to equip them and then hit the right bumper to freeze the action. I targeted the dog and jumped back into the action. My accuracy was not perfect and the blast only injured the dog, but his owner was transformed into a sticky red vapor in a very stylish slow motion sequence.
As the dog charged forward and leapt for my throat I activated VATS once again and queued up a melee attack with my fists. I connected with the animal in mid-air and watched as I pounded his in his head for the kill. Having specific targeting options for melee attacks isn't just useful but it's a great deal of fun to watch if you can handle the gore.
After cleansing the school I wandered off towards Big Town. The struggling community consisted of dilapidated houses that were fortified with barbed wire and sandbags to form a sort of wall. The remaining citizens could be found milling about inside, with one sorry-looking guard standing at the only entrance, a makeshift suspension bridge.
I visited the medic station and, upon inspecting an ailing patient, I was given the option to heal or kill him. Seeing as my medic skills were too low to be of any use I chose to "put him out of his misery" by opening an artery. My karma was penalized and the game called me a bastard. Oh, well. Moving on.
Outside the doctor's quarters I ran into a man named Flash who was eager to brag about the amazing gun he was carrying. He also informed me that Big Town is constantly raided by Slavers and Super Mutants and that the former had just taken a few people hostage in German Town. I picked up the quest Big Trouble in Big Town when I offered to help out with the hostage crisis and had German Town added to my map.
Heading toward the waypoint I accessed my Pip Boy to get an overhead view of the terrain and see how long the walk would take. I only had to kill a few Raiders under a glowing moon before arriving at the German Town police station where I really got to put VATS to the test.
In my previous encounter I had dispatched of my enemies quickly without running out of the necessary action points required to queue up more attacks. The Super Mutants guarding the police station were a completely different story. I was able to land a few shots with my new rifle before one of the mutants barreled toward me to lay on some damaging blows. I had to change my grenade hot key to stimpacks and took to running away instead of charging forward. Unfortunately it was here that my time with the game ended, though I could've easily spent the rest of the afternoon entranced by Bethesda's latest.
So far the only apparent differences between the two games, besides the controls are that the PC version is slightly superior in the graphics department. Both versions were running well and suffered from none of the hang-ups that usually bog down unfinished games. You can be sure we'll have more on this game in coming months.