Posted 12/26/2008 at 10:12 AM By GamingShogun
December is that special time of year when gaming websites all over the Internet begin to create their 'favorite games' and 'best of' lists and, as to not be left out in the cold we are doing the same thing. So read on for blatantly un-original content Shogunites! Our pick for the 2008 game of the year is...
Bethesda Game Studios began preliminary work on the third installment of Interplay's classic franchise in 2004, about a year after project 'Van Buren' was canceled. 'Van Buren' was the codenamed given to Fallout 3 when it was under development at Black Isle Studios. The game was set, like its predecessors, in the top-down isometric point of view.
Screenshot from 'Project Van Buren':
When Bethsoft began their work, they started from scratch and brought the game into the first-person using the game engine previously seen in their popular RPG, Oblivion. In keeping with the retro-1950's style mixed with a HUGE helping of dark-humour, they have created a post-apocalyptic world which is, in some ways, even better than what Black Isle created in the first two adventures.
Fallout 3 puts the player in a living and breathing (sometimes wheezing) 3d world where danger lurks just over the next scrap heap. The stories of the current residence of the D.C. Wasteland are not the only ones told as the player also gets a solid picture of life before the bombs fell. A pair of charred skeletons 'spoon' in the upstairs bed of a seemingly-intact suburban house. Nuclear-powered cars rust at a drive-in movie theater while a few are parked some meters away at what appears to be a 'lover's lookout'. Fallout 3 is a truly moving, engrossing game and will provide you with many hours of play and re-play (Bethsoft has designed the game so that you cannot possibly do everything in one sitting). In fact, after ten total replays of the game, exploring various character skills in each iteration, I still find new and interesting things to see in the Wasteland. My advice is to avoid spoilers of 'random' encounters and just explore for yourself. There is a wealth of content in them there irradiated hills!
So what's next for Fallout? Well, there is the constant rumble of a Fallout MMORPG from both Bethsoft and Interplay. In addition, there are three upcoming DLC packs scheduled for Fallout 3 we can look forward to. The future is truly bright for this franchise and it is with great pride we elect it our game of the year!
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