Black Isle set the bar high 10 years ago with the original Fallout series. Now Bethesda has to fufill the challenges left by the last game with their latest, Fallout 3. And while this is not exactly what the next Fallout is envisioned to be, it is certainly a solid game in its own right. It takes a ton of elements from previous titles that are influenced in its opening scene to the PIPboy menu.
First thing comes the dialogue. The dialogue was integral to the Fallout series as you can converse with apocalyptic survivors that lead to some genuine classic moments. And the most encouraging aspect of dialogue is the number of options available. From there you can utilize dialogue to learn more about the environment, obtain quests, and your typical Fallout objectives. The writing is not quite on par with the expected Fallout nature as the use of vulgar language pervades the dialogue and the voice acting came off as rather scripted.
Second thing comes the combat. Tactical combat as described to be VATS – Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System – is optional to use. By utilizing the VATS, the player slow down gameplay in order to target bodily parts by allocating Action Points to them. Once done, you sit back and watch as your player induces violence upon the enemy in various camera angles to the various parts you selected. Aferwards you switch back to real-time gameplay and your Action Points slowly regenerate. While the system works well, it is actually more reminiscent of tactical bullet-time and is far easier to play the game in real-time as opposed to running around and waiting for your AP to recover. It varies on your situation though since VATS becomes more useful for picking off enemies from a distance or when you’re in trouble.
Third thing is the environment, which is beautifully portrayed as a post-apocalyptic Washington D.C.. The streets are barren wasteland and the player has a massive viewing distance to explore this world.
One encounter with surroundings includes exploring a run-down elementary school, once inside a swarm of crazed mutants attack the player and the bodies hanging down give the feeling of something from a horror game.
Additional details coming soon.
