PCZone has a huge Fallout 3 preview on issue 197, here's some thought about what's written, courtesy of Unitled:

I’ve just got my issue of PCZone here in the UK and there’s a TEN page FO3 preview. It’s written by their resident Fallout fan Will Porter and he seems generally happy with the build he’s got. I thought I’d give you a few quotes from the mag if you fancy using them (I can post scans up at some point if you’d be interested in those):

“Is Fallout 3 Oblivion with guns? No, not really. While it’s true that when you enter houses and watch people go about their business it instantly smacks of the last rendition of The Elder Scrolls, it seems that the old Fallout sensibilities and mannerisms are here as foundation and not lip gloss.”

“Having played the game for only five hours, and with many of the hang-ups people had with Oblivion only becoming apparent after 50, I can’t be definitive about this – but in terms of building a modern game on the systems of one that’s now 10 years old, it’s hard to think of how Fallout 3 could have been tied closer to what has gone before.”

He goes on to say it’s the best implemented FPRPG he’s played before; better than Vampire: Bloodlines, Oblivion, and (potentially) better than Deus Ex (which is big news in PCZ, as it’s one of their favourite games ever). He also mentions ‘The Family’ but describes them as Brahmin killers; there’s no talk of Vampires. He says the dialogue and voice acting, while not up there with Fallout, is “a bazillion” times better than Oblivion (he even name checks NMA at this point).

The biggest concern he raises is the house you get in Megaton:

“To me, this seems incongruous to the post-apocalyptic setting – it may have worked in the prosperous boroughs of Cyrodiil, but you honestly feel in Fallout you shouldn’t be able to order in much more than a rusty bucket and a blanket.”

Finally, he says what really stands out in the game is the exploration aspect, you really feel like you’re wandering a desolate, bombed out America.

Thanks Unitled, you rock.

A few more E3 previews, this time from 20P Gaming, OCRegister, Next Level and Game Informer.

Also there's another at IGN VN, saying:

It’s obvious to me that fans of the series will undoubtedly love the game and newcomers will easily relate to the FPS and RPG elements present in Fallout 3. This is definitely one to add to your watched games list.

While The Escapist has another take on this:

I only got to see a fraction of Fallout 3's possibilities, but I greatly enjoyed what I did see. That said, this is definitely a very different kind of Fallout. If you've never played the original games, you won't notice the difference and will undoubtedly enjoy the game. Die-hard fans of Fallout 1 and 2, however, may feel a bit out of place in this new world.

Most of this was spotted at NMA.

An editorial at Polish site Polygamia about Fallout 3, here on a translation by Ausir at NMA:

Those who think that Blizzard proved that you can do it differently with Diablo 3 forget about the petition saying that the colors shown in Paris are too bright. And the situation is pretty much uncomparable. Blizzard has been operational all the time, is in excellent financial condition and Diablo is a big financial hit. However, I'm far from saying that critique of Bethesda's work was unnecessary. It was very much needed, and only the makers know how much more Fallout there is in Fallout 3 because of it.[...]

I have only one grievance with Bethesda. This game should not be called Fallout 3. It could have any other name, like Fallout: Super Duper Mart, and it would take care of many of the issues. JoWooD was smarter. The new Gothic game, being made by a different company (Spellbound) than the previous installments (Piranha Bytes) will be called Gothic Tale. Maybe the change is not big, but it takes care of many problems. Besides, other problems like this will soon come up. How much Deus Ex will there be in Deus Ex 3? How much Beyond Good & Evil in Beyond Good & Evil 2? It's also worth looking at and comparing to Bethesda's Fallout.

Devo dizer que esta foi a primeira vez que tentei cobrir uma E3. Criei a NGM faz 4 anos, porém nunca fomos de cubrir o evento sabem? Como lá é um forum, era fácil se atualizar através de outros sites. Este ano foi a primeira vez que tentei cobrir tudo que fosse possível sobre a E3 aqui no Portallos. Isso na medida do possível é claro, afinal, eu não fui para Los Angeles. Sou um reles gamer espiando de longe como vocês, leitores.

Claro que muita coisa ficou sem aparecer aqui, mas eu acredito que o principal e o básico, nós conseguimos. As conferências ganharam seus resumos, os principais vídeos podem ser visto por aqui, os anúncios de novos games, as supresas, os problemas. Isso porque a E3 ainda não acabou. No fim de semana eu ainda pretendo trazer mais alguns textos reflexivos sobre o evento e outros acontecimentos desta semana.

Uma das coisas mais bacanas que fiz essa semana, foi o podcast na segunda, com meus amigos da NGM, o Dioges, Roberto, João Hit e Diogo Miranda sobre a conferência da Microsoft. Debatemos por 2 horas todas as novidades reveladas, aproveitamos e também falamos um pouco do console, sua situação atual, seus defeitos, a assistência técnica nacional. Este podcast é realmente especial, pois se você tem dúvidas quanto ao X360 é 99% de chances de que ouvindo este podcast de que iremos esclarecer suas dúvidas.

Infelizmente, não conseguimos gravar na terça outro podcast especial sobre a Nintendo e a Sony. Mas não vamos esquecer delas. Segunda-feira está marcado mais uma gravação e iremos sim, debater sobre elas. Aguardem então! Enquanto isso, baixem o da Microsoft!

DOWNLOAD PODCAST E3 2008 MS Conference

Alguns assuntos:
* Fallout 3
* Resident Evil 5
* Gears of Wars 2
* Fable II
* Banjo & Kazooie 3 e Remake
* Nova Dashboard e Avatares
* Geometry Wars 2, Galaga Legions, Portal Still Alive
* Guiter Hero e Rock Band 2
* Final Fantasy XIII e a perda da exclusividade da Sony
* O que estamos jogando?
* O fantasma das 3rls e a assistência técnica Nacional.

Entre outras coisinhas. Não deixem de ouvir e comentem para que possamos melhorar a cada edição nosso Podcast!!

During the Microsoft Press Conference at E3 2008, Todd Howard of Bethesda demoed Fallout 3 and mentioned that the game would have "extensive" downloadable content, exclusively for Xbox 360 and Games For Windows.

No word yet on if the Play station 3 will have its own exclusive content or if the 360 and Windows content is just a timed exclusive.

Fallout 3 was the first cab off the rank at Microsoft's E3 press conference, with the big news being that Bethesda is planning some future downloadable content for both the Xbox 360 and PC versions of the game. No further details were unveiled about what form that content may take, but there has been rumors about potential new weapons and maps. It was also confirmed that it would be exclusive to Xbox Live.

As for gameplay, Bethesda showed a new locale and some new weapons in its postapocalyptic action role-playing game, and all of the action was showcased in a ruined Washington DC. The demo began with the character making his way past some dilapidated buildings, after which he pulled out a sniper rifle to scope out the territory in front. After spotting some raiders camped behind a car, the Bethesda rep playing the game switched to Fallout 3's VATS targeting system, aiming at the skull of one unsuspecting enemy. For the uninitiated, Fallout 3's VATS system is a way of targeting specific body parts on enemies, in which onscreen indicators show the percentage chance of a likely hit (depending on your character's attributes and weapons). Firing the rifle triggered the VATS system's slow-motion cinematic mode, and the raider's head exploded in a burst of bloody pulp as the bullet impacted. The player then switched to a shotgun to dispense with the other raiders, who had streamed from behind their vehicle hideout. One raider decided to take cover on a small bridge, at which point the Bethesda rep pulled out the in-game character's laser rifle, taking only two shots to completely vaporize the camping raider.

Once past the bridge, a huge Enclave helicopter appeared, dropping off a few soldiers several hundred meters in front. Instead of duking it out with conventional weapons, the Bethesda rep pulled out a missile launcher to deal with the situation. After softening up the Enclave soldiers with a couple of rounds, the character then switched to Fallout 3's BFG variant, the Fat Boy portable nuke launcher. The Bethesda rep aimed directly at one soldier's chest using the VATS system, and the slow-mo cinematic tracked the mini-nuke's curving path as it descended. We've seen the Fat Boy before, but it's still cool to see the small mushroom cloud that it leaves behind as it explodes.

Finally, the Bethesda rep playing the game confirmed that it would have plenty of single-player content, boasting of more than 100 hours of playtime. Fallout 3 ships this October on the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC. The demo quelled any fears that I had about the game being too Oblivion like and I feel this may be the best RPG released this year. We'll see how it all pans out after it's released.

Fallout 3 Trailer at Gametrailers.com

Gamekult didn't quite adore what they saw of Fallout 3, here on a translation from NMA:

But the problem is that V.A.T.S seemed to be too efficient in the build we have played, in which one could easily defeat entire groups of enemies by using these "aimed shots" while the first person view condemned the player to a certain death. This impression partly comes from the lack of precision and agility of the FPS gameplay, which looks rather dull when compared to recent games of the same genre which have invaded the console market during the end of the last year. One can imagine that raising certain skills might improve that feeling while you shoot, but the heaviness of the character will certainly make us choose the slow motion carnage, despite the fact that it soon becomes very repetitive. [...]

"The gigantic world promised by Bethesda Softworks looked actually quite narrow, with ceaseless and pretty long loadings once you get out of the vault, when you enter a town or when you enter a building. Even though the outside world we have had the opportunity to explore looked rather open at first sight, you get around the idea quickly without discovering anything really worth of interest. When you finally come across a derelict building that looks a bit interesting, you have to endure a long minute of loading before being able to eradicate its aggressive inhabitants. One might also want to notice that a pacific approach of the game was almost impossible during that fist hour of hands-on since we were a lot more the attacked than the aggressor." [...]

"And if the developers of Bethesda usually manage to compensate their lack of artistic cohesion by a high-end engine, Fallout 3 was this time disappointing at all levels with its dull characters evolving amidst poor textures and low-poly models." [...]
"If it's too soon to give a final judgement about this game, one has to admit that our first hour with the game at the E3 made us rather think of a somewhat clever Fallout mod for Oblivion than a real sequel of the Black Isle series. Whether it is at a design level, gameplay or the general feeling of the game, we are having a hard time making the link with the previous episodes of the post apocalyptic franchise. It does not mean that we did not enjoy Fallout 3, which should probably find an audience among Oblivion fans, probably growing tired of perpetual heroic fantasy universes...However, among fanatics of the "good era", it seems rather unlikely that Fallout 3 could manage to make them forget what could have been if Black Isle did not fall at the end of 2003."

Also in Europe Gry-Online is a bit disappointed with what they saw, here in a summary by Ausir:

"I spent a bit more than half an hour with the newest Bethesda production. I walked through the Wasteland, I looked through the Pip-Boy and caused lots of trouble in the town of Megaton. What are my impressions? Hm. I was asked about it by Todd Howard. I lost my tongue for a moment, and, with a feeling of guilt, I mumbled that I expected something more."

Some new bits and comments on the old ones:
* Our items are divided into 5 categories - weapons, clothes
(including armor), chems, misc and ammo. He found a baseball cap, in
which the PC looked a bit silly.
* The only radio station he was able to cath was Enclave Radio - the
patriotic music sounds atmospheric, but do not fit the convention too
well.
* The Pip-Boy also has a list of achievements, such as "corpses
eaten", "Mysterious Stranger visits" and "Bobbleheads found"
* He finds a road sign to Megaton and a moment later encounters the first NPCs
* The dialogue engine is 100% the same as in Oblivion. We walk up to
the character, press the action button and the game world freezes. We
see the stiff interlocutor in the middle of the screen and select our
sentences. The facial movements are lifeless, the voices are
"theatrical", it all looks artificial and "turn-based". It's not about
mechanics, it's about the presentation, especially compared to Mass
Effect.
* The first character encountered is Micky - a beggar begging us for
water. The previewer refuses.
* The next one is a merchant named Crow. Aside from bartering goods
for bottlecaps, he can also repair items.
* The next NPC has nothing to say. When approached, he only has a
generic line. Just like in Oblivion.
* Next he finds a brahmin with some trunks, and a dead giant ant. He
can't find a living one, but encounters a group of mole rats.
* Time to enter Megaton. The PC is greeted by shreriff Lucas Simms.
He's not nice, so the previewer selects the most aggressive answers.
It eventualy leads to him being threatened and then to combat. He
kills the sheriff using VATS.
* He notes that if EVERY opponent killed in VATS will have a
five-times-too-long death scene then it's not his thing. By the way,
he doesn't think he's seen a game at E3 that did not include Bullet
Time. Heh.
* After killing the sheriff, all the people of Megaton take out their
weapons and go after the PC. There are too many enemies, so he goes to
a nearby building. The locals go after him. He goes upstairs, taking
someone's possessions from his closet on his way up. They get him and
he doesn't have much of a chance in a 4 to 1 combat. He runs out of
VATS action points quickly and he doesn't have enough space to
maneuver in RT. He dies.
* He repeats the above a few times. Turns out that the only way to
make peace with the locals is to leave the town for some time - the
more serious the crime, the longer it takes for the townsfolk to
forget it.
* He finishes with trying real time combat with some mole rats. For
him it's too much of an FPS, and depends on the player's skills too
much. The most effective technique is to run backwards while shooting
at the rat. It will probably be more difficult with stronger
opponents, but there's lots of opportunities to cheat the AI.

"It's too early to give my final opinion on Fallout 3, but you know my
personal feelings. There's lots of cool little things and solid RPG
craft, but... I lost all illusions I had. Fallout is no longer Fallout
- it's a post-nuclear version of Oblivion. For good and bad, as
Oblivion is a great game and Bethesda is one of the best RPG
developers on the market."

Thanks Ausir and NMA.

Now it's the turn of GamerNode, a Q&A at Joystiq, some interesting pictures and a preview at Gaming Nexus, Action Trip warning old Fallout fans that:

Now, I have to say right that the game could be a bit harder to swallow if you are a diehard fan of the Fallout series. Why? Well, primarily because it's a whole new experience, fundamentally different from earlier Fallout games. The good news is that, from what we've seen, Bethesda is still on the right track in terms of creating a truly interesting sci-fi world, in addition to a unique gameplay concept, offering what promises to be a rewarding single-player experience.

And Wired Gamelife agreeing with that:

The key problem with the game though is in the writing. It really feels like someone wrote a fanfic based on the Fallout universe and somehow got the funding to create a game based on it. Though the story and characters are suitably gritty and conflicted, none of them are terribly likeable and the entire thing simply feels like it's trying too hard to adhere to the tenets of its predecessors.

I predict a heavy backlash from long-time fans. At best Fallout 3 will be the blacksheep of the series: An oddity played only for completion's sake by those who absolutely adore the original games.

Luckily for Bethesda, the game will sell tons of copies to those gamers less in love with the series' past if only for its gorgeous graphics, entertaining gameplay and ridiculous levels of gore.

Again spotted most of this at NMA and through numerous anonymous messages on Meebo.

Some miscellaneous Fallout 3 info from many sources, starting with a collection of gameplay videos at GameSpot, some impressions at IGN, a hands on preview at AtomicGamer, more thoughts on PSU, and yet more at GameZone, and finally Gamespy returns to the scene with more impressions.

You can find most of these links in the excelent NMA Fallout 3 at E3 coverage.

And the world is large. The whole of post apocolyptic Washington DC is up to explore, with many different factions and organisations struggling to survive.

I'm genuinely excited about Fallout 3. It has atmosphere, it has grit, it has action, suspense and consequences. And it's being worked on by one of the most talented teams in the industry.

In other news, the fallout to the announcements of Black Friday are now becoming apparent. Countless bloggers have talked in detail about their thoughts of the announcements, but my initial fury has subsided somewhat. If you haven't done so already, see Syp's silver lining piece, it raises some good points and it is true that too many people were expecting too much of WAR. I'm still excited about it, still locking away my beta codes in the safest place in my house. All in all, I look to the fall.

Din prezentarile anterioare facute de catre Pete Hines, producator executiv la Bethesda Softworks, in cadrul Games Convention 2007 din Leipzig, aflam ca jucatorul va intra in pielea personajului principal care s-a nascut in Vault 101. Se spune ca nimeni nu a parasit Vault 101 de mai bine de 200 de ani. Producatorii spun ca obiectele din inventarul personajului vor fi separate de Pip-Boy in categorii. Acestea vor fi Weapons, Apparel, Aid, Misc si Ammo. In ceea ce priveste personalizarea fetei personajului, aceasta va putea fi modificata in functie de preferintele jucatorilor, care vor putea sa ii schimbe forma, culoarea, insa nu vor putea aplica cicatrici sau tatuaje.
Sursa: Bethesda Softworks

via neatorama

-Josh

So says ShackNews:

"You so much as breathe, and I'm gonna fuckin' end ya."

The words may as well have been coming directly from Bethesda. It felt like the company was challenging me, daring me to write anything negative about their new sequel to Black Isle's classic RPG series. I was very skeptical of whether the company could match the tone and content of the original titles. As good as Bethesda is, the bar was set very high ten years ago.

But based on what I just played--and I had free reign to explore the world at whim--I came away feeling good about the game. Fallout 3 is not Fallout 2.5, and that can be a little disappointing at first, no matter how irrational of a feeling that is. But Fallout 3 is undoubtedly shaping up to be a solid game in its own right, and one that clearly takes many significant cues from the previous titles--from the opening scene, to the wonderfully realized PIPBoy menu. Oblivion: Fallout 3 this is not.

The first thing I wanted to hit with my hands-on time was a load of conversations. Dialogue is half of what made Fallout so engaging--the freedom to piss off and be pissed on by any number of disgruntled apocalyptic survivors spawned most of my favorite Fallout memories.

After wandering out of the Vault, through the traditional cave--no rats to be found--and out across the wasteland, I managed to locate the town of Megaton rather quickly. Greeting me outside was a tall 50s-style robot, waving its stiff arms toward the town in greeting. Upon entering the town, Sheriff Lucas Sims gave me a gruff hello, and I engaged him in verbal combat.

The most encouraging aspect of Fallout 3's dialogue is the number of options available. Oblivion's simple approach to dialogue trees would not suffice here, and as a result, I often had up to five or six options at any given time. With the Sheriff, I had enough choices to easily pick a fight with him, and did so immediately. Bad idea.

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.

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.

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.

There's more, worth checking.

John Gaudiosi interviews Todd Howard for Venture Beat:

VB: What’s the role of big game franchises today in the game industry?

TH: I see a lot of developers and publishers really trying to milk their franchises. I can’t say whether that’s good or bad because some of them are doing it really successfully in terms of giving fans what they really like. For example, I’m a nut for “NCAA Football” and I don’t buy that thing every year and I think they do a great job. There are other games, too, where I look at them and say, “That’s the same. I don’t want to do that every year.” I think it’s good for people to miss things. Ten years between “Fallout” is a bit long, but I think there’s this nostalgia factor. People like seeing something, at least I do, being redone again like, “Oh, I remember that, and now look at it.” If there was a new “Fallout” every other year, this wouldn’t have the same impact. Even with our “Elder Scrolls” stuff, which take a long time to make, we don’t rush sequels out. I think franchise fatigue can set in with consumers and sometimes with developers, as well.

VB: What is a good timeframe for “Fallout.” Would you wait another 10 years for “Fallout 4”?

TH: No, that’s too long. I think it depends on the game. Sometimes you just know that the time is right. If they’re big games, I think three years is a good timeframe. But at the same time, the “GTAs” on the PS2 were big games. “GTA III” came out and “Vice City” came out 10 months later and I liked that game more. You can argue both sides of it. I think for us, we’d rather take our time with them and let people miss the last one or forget the other one a little bit, because we also like to change things a lot.

At least for GamesRadar, that finds eleven reasons why:

Fallout 3 is more than just a sequel to one of the most beloved PC RPG series ever - it's also a spiritual successor to The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, probably the single most ginormous game of the current console generation. Created by Bethesda, the same developer behind that sprawling fantasy epic, Fallout 3 has some pretty huge shoes to fill - but judging by what we've seen so far, it took one look, scoffed and is currently at work on an even bigger pair.

While it could be described as Oblivion with guns, Fallout 3 mutates that game's first-person RPG experience into something that - while its DNA is still recognizable as Oblivion's - is wholly distinct. In fact, the small chunk of Fallout 3 that we've played through so far essentially takes everything that was great about Oblivion and retools it into something better - here are 11 of the best examples we could find.

That's the thesis developed by XBox360Fanboy:

Some things must be made clear. One, I played Bethesda's Fallout 3 today. Two, I have never played a Fallout title before, so I can't judge it based on the merits of the series. Joystiq will detail the differences between Fallout 3 and its predecessors in its hands on preview llater this week. With that out of the way, let me just throw this on the table: Fallout 3 is Oblivion with guns. It's a short analysis, but I stand by it. If one were to expand upon this analysis, one might say that Fallout 3 is a post-apocalyptic Oblivion with guns. Having said that, allow me elaborate that this is a compliment. Oblivion fans will understand this. Upon hearing my analysis, our own Xav de Matos noted, "I think I need a cigarette.... that sounds awesome."

Game-Ism goes back to this preview with an interesting perspective.

Tomorrow if you go to the Joystiq/XBox360Fanboy gathering in Santa Monica you can win some Fallout 3 shwag like what is featured in the pic above.

L’arrivo dell’E3, la fiera mondiale sui videogiochi che si tiene annualmente a Los Angeles, genera una pioggia di notizie su tantissimi videogiochi attesi. Dopo aver parlato qui su oneGames dei contenuti di Fallout 3, viene oggi pubblicato il trailer del gioco realizzato da Bethesda Softworks e pubblicato da Interplay.

Il video, prima di tutto, ci catapulta nello stile retrò dell’emergenza atomica e poi ci lascia vedere interessanti sequenze di gameplay, circondate da una grafica d’eccellenza.

Secondo gli stessi sviluppatori:

Fallout 3 è il sensazionale nuovo gioco post-apocalittico di Bethesda Game Studios, creatore del pluri-premiato The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. Fallout 3 rappresenta il tanto atteso ritorno di uno dei più popolari franchise di tutti i tempi che si caratterizza per la presenza di avvincenti combattimenti, visuali eccezionali e da un gameplay assolutamente libero. La sua storyline affascinante è arricchita da influenze dark humour e da scelte reali in grado di influenzare in maniera diretta il percorso intrapreso dal giocatore durante le fasi di gioco. Fallout 3 è previsto per l’autunno 2008.

FONTE: onegames.it