Posted 7/21/2008 at 12:58 PM By GamingShogun
On the last day of E3 this year, we got our chance to sit down with Fallout 3 for a half-hour. We were jazzed, we were stoked, and we were out of our gourd with anticipation. Upon passing by the giant BoS in power armor statue we were escorted into a room lined with Xbox 360s. Each of us grabbed a console and the timer began.
My expo-mate, Pfgonzo took the console reigns as I scanned everyone else playing to gather as much info as possible. Aside from the seemingly open world and having people all experiencing different things at their own speed, the thing that struck me most was the combat system.
I was one of the purists who believed that a Fallout FPS would not be nearly as effective as the isometric games we are used to. Well, I am man enough to admit when I am wrong and I tell you now: I was wrong. During that half hour, not only did the first or third-person perspective increase immersion into the Fallout universe, it also gave the new combat system a much more approachable interface.
Which leads us to V.A.T.S., or, the 'Vault-tec Assisted Targeting System'. This is the portion of combat which is the biggest nod to Fallout fans, an action-queuing system which takes the real-time combat and not only makes it turn-based-like but also EXTREMELY cinematic. You build action points (AP) while in real-time which you then spend in V.A.T.S. performing actions. Once you queue up your actions, you are treated to a dynamically-generated cinematic (all in-game) which shows you the outcome of your attacks, etc. The cinematics are shown in a slight slow-mo and fully illuminates every grizzly deal, every giblet, every spray of blood. Combat is violent. Combat is gritty. Combat is over the top. And, it is fun. Not only is combat a blast in V.A.T.S. mode, but the more standard FPS-style action works very smoothly as well, so it will suit whatever game style you like nicely.
The graphics are even better than screenshots let on, and are actually a bit overwhelming when you are presented with the wastes in front of your eyes. The despair of the landscape, twisted and raked from nuclear fire leaves you with a sense of, 'Where do we go now?'. 
That feeling is soon overtaken by the quests you happen upon, of course, and the couple that we saw definitely had more than one way of completing it (we can't talk about the quests themselves unfortunately, but suffice it to say they were cool). Weather effects were very appropriate, with dust and tumbleweeds blowing about the landscape. When we descended into a nearby cave we happened upon, the 'wet' cavern walls gave a suitable humid look to the below ground action (and what we found inside was...well, you'll see). Also, a little easter egg for you hardcore fans of the series, listen for a familiar noise when activating your V.A.T.S. system. ;)
In this gamer's opinion, if you have not pre-ordered the Fallout 3 Survival Edition from Amazon, you are wasting precious time. Fallout 3 is as addicting as Jet sprinkled on iguana-on-a-stick!
Screens After the Break!
Bookmark & Share:
