Die hard Fallout fans are a strange, rabid bunch. Unlike other popular franchises, when Bethesda announced that the third installment to one of the best RPG franchises of the 1990’s was on its way, back in July of 2004, a massive segment of the fans freaked out in a very non-happy way. We’re talking running through the streets naked, “heralding the end of days” type mad.

To be honest, I was one of them. That was until I watched the 360’s E3 Stage Demo!

Find out why the new Fallout game is shaping up to be everything fans (old school and new) could have asked for after the jump!

Now, at first, I was running through the streets naked, cursing the video game gods (and Bethesda specifically), for two reasons. One, I like the feel of the cool night air on my skin *cough* and TWO, I knew in my heart that the top-down, turn-based, tactical RPG awesomeness that had been Fallout 1&2 was going to be replaced by a first/third person, Oblivion-ish type game.

Much to the horror of a good chunk of Fallout fanboys, that is exactly what happened. So began the battle between old-school purists and those who thought a new version of Fallout could still be fantastic. Since I have never been a big shooter fan, and never truly enjoyed Bethesda’s previous games (Oblivion and Morrowind), I was put on the fast track towards hate.

For the life of me I just could not picture this “new” version satisfying my ravenous addiction for post-apocalyptic RPG mayhem. Well, thanks to the recent 360 Stage Demo at this years E3, I now have a very clear picture…and it looks like a BLOODY MESS!

In a very good way.

Set in post-apocalyptic Washington DC in the year 2277, the first thing that struck me about the STAGE Demo was “damn, does this ever LOOK Fallout.” The game looks great. The game world has all the war-torn, 1950’s (with a hint of advanced technology), bombed to hell type visuals one would expect.

Right off the bat we get to check out the PIPBoy 3000. This simple tool was the major turning point for me as far as truly believing that this may indeed be a great, albeit different, Fallout title. The PIPboy lets you scroll through stats, skills and perks just like it did in the previous games. Not only was it done in the style of the old PIPboy, it seemed easy to use and concise. The radio stations you can listen to are a nice touch.

Now, the guy playing the demo went straight up FPS combat (would have liked to see more Third-person) rather than show off any sort of stealth or conversational skill. I admit, I worry about the storyline and just how true to Fallout the RPG aspects of the game will turn out. Still, the combat instantly drew me, both because again, it really was how I would picture a Fallout gunfight to be and because it seemed smooth and intuitive.

Tweet This Post

CONTINUE TO PAGE: 1 2