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Gameplay Videos Released For Fallout 3

Posted by Soulskill on from the pretty-pictures dept.

Today Bethesda released walkthrough videos for their upcoming action RPG, Fallout 3. Joystiq has posted the trailers, which contain gameplay footage from the starting area and the city "Megaton," as well as combat scenarios and other features. One fight showcases the targeting system, which they demonstrate by targeting and then shooting off an enemy's arm. Another shows off the ability to create and use improvised weapons. Also shown are the lock picking and computer hacking mini-games, pickpocketing (or depositing something nasty in somebody's pocket), and general nuclear mayhem. Further detail is available at Shacknews.

11 of 97 comments (clear)

  1. Re:I know this will get me modded off-topic, but.. by ShadowRangerRIT · · Score: 5, Interesting

    More seriously, Fallout was one of the truly great RPGs, particularly in the level of freedom it afforded you. I spent the better part of a summer break playing Fallout 2, over and over, in different permutations. I know I still missed maybe 5% of the missions, including an enormous conspiracy tying New Reno, NCR and Vault City together which my friend found and I only saw the edges of. I'm simultaneously excited about the release, while dreading the possibility that Bethesda screwed it up.

    --
    $_ = "wftedskaebjgdpjgidbsmnjgcdwatb"; tr/a-z/oh, turtleneck Phrase Jar!/; print
  2. An intelligent game is you! by Bragador · · Score: 4, Interesting

    They mostly want to show the graphics and the combat. They are reviewing that everywhere but I don't care. I'm awaiting this game for its intelligent side. You can actually play it without having to shoot first and ask questions later. This is rare nowadays...

    A game that also rewards intelligent actions? Count me in Bethesda! And I hope other games like that will follow.

    1. Re:An intelligent game is you! by grumbel · · Score: 3, Interesting

      A game that also rewards intelligent actions?

      Well, I am currently a few hours into Fallout1 and I am still waiting for that one to reward intelligent actions. So far each and every quest (all three of them or so, quest seem to be incredible sparse in that game) has got me spawned right in front of the enemy with exactly zero choice to an intelligent approach, since the shooting starts instantly. Half the people and creatures I am supposed to fight are not even reachable via the worldmap, instead they exist in magical places that you can only reach when an NPC guides you there (aka. instantly teleports you there and when you exist you get teleported back). Reading through a few FAQs also left me rather puzzles, since most of their "tips" are based on pure try&error and abuse of the save system (save before you steal and if it doesn't work, load and try again..). And given how many times I died just because I tried to talk to the wrong person or asked a wrong question makes it clear that a save before pretty much every action is required for survival.

      So far I am not exactly impressed by Fallout1 and quite close to ditching it, since the gameplay just doesn't make a hole lot of sense and the time limit and constant threat of death even on the tiniest misstep of course makes exploration a pain.

    2. Re:An intelligent game is you! by nomadic · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I've been playing Fallout 1 for the first time as well, and while I like it I have some complaints too. The thing that frustrates me is the character conversation trees didn't make too much sense; I kept getting dialogue options to ask about things I've never heard of. The combat is definitely hard in the beginning until you get decent equipment, and most of the hard fights involve several saves/restores. I won't spoil anything, but I will say the exploration gets a lot better not too far into the game.

      Last RPG I played was Planescape so maybe I was just spoiled by that.

      There also doesn't seem that much to the game questwise; I think I'm almost done and I haven't really been playing that long.

    3. Re:An intelligent game is you! by Das+Modell · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Well, I am currently a few hours into Fallout1 and I am still waiting for that one to reward intelligent actions. So far each and every quest (all three of them or so, quest seem to be incredible sparse in that game) has got me spawned right in front of the enemy with exactly zero choice to an intelligent approach, since the shooting starts instantly.

      Not sure what this is about. One of the earliest quests you get is rescuing Tandi from the raiders, and it has the following solutions (taken from here):

      * Kill them all and break her out
      * Fight Garl in unarmed combat for her
      * Buy her from Garl
      * Intimidate Garl for her release
      * Quietly kill the two guards in back and pick the lock on Tandi's cell.
      * This one doesn't work 100% of the time, but if you enter the Raiders area wearing a Leather Jacket, have 10 ST and 10 EN and are male, the raiders will think you are Garl's father who Garl apparently killed to take control of the Khans. You can try and bluff Garl with this ruse and demand Tandi's release.

      Half the people and creatures I am supposed to fight are not even reachable via the worldmap, instead they exist in magical places that you can only reach when an NPC guides you there (aka. instantly teleports you there and when you exist you get teleported back).

      This isn't the norm.

      Reading through a few FAQs also left me rather puzzles, since most of their "tips" are based on pure try&error and abuse of the save system (save before you steal and if it doesn't work, load and try again..).

      You don't have to steal things, it's just one option. Obviously getting caught has to have some consequences, so reloading becomes an issue. However, the higher your steal skill is the more likely you are to succeed, and there are also perks that will make it easier to steal. Approaching your target from the side or the rear increases your odds, and the size of the object you're trying to steal is also a factor.

      And given how many times I died just because I tried to talk to the wrong person or asked a wrong question makes it clear that a save before pretty much every action is required for survival.

      So far I am not exactly impressed by Fallout1 and quite close to ditching it, since the gameplay just doesn't make a hole lot of sense and the time limit and constant threat of death even on the tiniest misstep of course makes exploration a pain.

      This is what happens when a game isn't dumbed down for the lowest common denominator. You have to be careful and think about what you're doing.

    4. Re:An intelligent game is you! by grumbel · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Well, it is ten years old. Games age quickly and you'll never feel the magic we did when it was fresh and new and we'd never played anything quite like it before.

      I got addicted to XCom:UFO pretty quickly and that is even older, same with RAMA, Gabriel Knight and quite few other older games that I played recently. I mean, sure, it might never feel like back in the day, but I don't care as long as it still plays well. Graphically I actually like Fallout quite a bit, sure 256 colors make it look a little grainy, but other then that it looks perfectly fine, sound is fine too. Its the gameplay part that gets annoying, since it seems to be based much more around just trying everything till you by chance find something that works, then exploring the world and acting intelligently and well this "How the heck am I supposed to know that?" feeling is just not exactly very motivating.

    5. Re:An intelligent game is you! by FishWithAHammer · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Ergh. Everyone always says "but Wasteland!" I've played Wasteland. Wasteland is a favorite of mine. And Fallout, sir, is not Wasteland. (Okay, I completely butchered that quote.) Seriously, though--Fallout is a spiritual successor to Wasteland (though far superior in most respects, including the most important one--usability); the developers have said as much. Complaining that they co-opt the background (not the story, the setting) is kind of silly.

      I played Wasteland for the first time in 1993 or so. I think Fallout beats it all hollow. And I stand by my previous statement--there was nothing like Fallout before. Nothing with the same sense of panache, humor, and style in a playable package. Not even Wasteland, fun though that was.

      --
      "You can either have software quality or you can have pointer arithmetic, but you cannot have both at the same time."
  3. Re:I know this will get me modded off-topic, but.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Sorry I don't have an account.. so AC.

    Anyhow I watched all the vids and the game looks like a nice bioshock/oblivion cross. Doesn't much look or feel much like fallout. Have to play it to see, but in fallout a fight with 3 equally armed and skilled people was hard... this looks like its just a FPS where you knock out thousands if not millions of enemies for no reason at all.

    Also not sure how you can do it all without killing people when its just mini dungeons linked all together (like oblivion) that you have to kill * in etc.. just like oblivion..

    In fact it looks like its a dumbed down version of oblivion.

    Sigh.. hate seing the best strategy games in the world turn into FPS nightmares. Even if it mkaes for a great FPS game.. its sure as shit no turn based strategy game anymore.
    (I would kill 5 children and eat 3 live skunks for one of those).

  4. FPS players by Caboosian · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I think a lot of FPS players are going to be tricked into buying this ("Wow! Look at those graphics/setting/review score/whatever"), and be very distraught once they learn that it is not an FPS. Sure, there will be those who will like the fact that your shooting skills/power are based upon your stats, but I can see those who are used to guns doing a set amount of damage with a set amount of accuracy being very turned off by this game.

    Regardless, I think it looks fantastic, and moves a classic series in the right direction (the isometric viewpoint no longer feels right for this series, IMO). Hopefully it can shake off the "Oblivion with guns" moniker - and properly execute the setting. The new viewpoint/gameplay coupled with the classic Fallout setting/themes (very dark, lots of black humor) looks really promising. There's a lot of ways to mess this one up (especially with regards to the setting!), but it looks like Bethesda did their homework. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

    1. Re:FPS players by blackirish · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I think a lot of FPS players are going to be tricked into buying this ("Wow! Look at those graphics/setting/review score/whatever"), and be very distraught once they learn that it is not an FPS. Sure, there will be those who will like the fact that your shooting skills/power are based upon your stats, but I can see those who are used to guns doing a set amount of damage with a set amount of accuracy being very turned off by this game.

      You know, I've heard crap like this before and I'm tired of it. FPS players play games from other genres too. We're not all obnoxious 13 year olds who think Counterstrike is the end all, be all. Most of us have longer attention spans than you give us credit for. We can read where it says 'RPG' on the fucking game box and comprehend that it isn't going to be like CS or Quake. Stop looking down at FPS players like we're retards just because we like twitch games. Very few FPS players are going to be "tricked" into buying Fallout 3.

      Personally, I think the game looks great and I hope that it plays great. The post-apocalyptic wasteland looks awesome and I think they captured most of the "feel" of Fallout. I loved Fallout 1 & 2, and while I know this game won't be like those, I'm optimistic that this game could be just as excellent. I see a lot of complaints about the new AP system and the character modeling/animations, but we won't know how much those affect the fun and immersion without actually playing the game. After reading a few message boards, I feel like I'm one of the few Fallout fans that are willing to give Bethesda a chance.

  5. Re:An FPS with stats is still an FPS by CronoCloud · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Let's see, maybe it's the fact that, through 99% of the quests, you have a great big arrow pointing at your next objective, and can basically complete it without even looking at the game world (except to kill monsters).

    Complex 3D worlds, especially those with lots of scenery, are easy to get turned around/lost in. It was either have a compass with objectives and fast travel or have players constantly complaining about getting lost trying to find tiny little dungeon entrances. I'm glad the feature is there, because I hated getting turned around/lost in games without maps/waypoints, some people might consider map making with graph paper fun, I consider it drudgery.

    Maybe it's the fact that, each time you complete an intermediate objective, a dialog box pops up with your thoughts ("I have found the door that leads to the secret base." - How the hell do "I" know that? The door looks like any other door! Shouldn't I have to actually explore to see if the secret base is there or not?).

    Well if an NPC tells you they think the Bandits have a secret base somewhere NW of town and if you head NW of town and find bandits and a cave/fort, wouldn't you think that was the secret base?

    Because I already have a "103-tab interface" sitting in front of me (called a keyboard),

    Yes, but you cannot use them all effectively. If your left hand is on WASD and your right on your mouse, can you hit "\" or "=" without taking moving a hand from either position? Can you easily walk slowly, in a diagonal direction, and then jump, or do you run out of fingers or find the position required cramps your hand.

    I have more than one finger, and would like to be able to get to the screen I want without having to move the cursor, look at several virtually identical icons, and click 4 or 5 times each time I want to change a spell or look at the map.

    Hell, the game won't even let you add a description to your saved games or add comments to the map (even Ultima Underworld let you do that, and UU came out in 1992), that's how "anti-keyboard" it is.

    Perhaps you should play it with a dual analog controller, as the Nine Divines intended. The keyboard is optimized for text entry, not as a game controller. The keyboard sucked as an action game controller back in '83 and it sucks now. Sure, they had to put keyboard controls in because all those cheap-ass PC gamers (meaning not just DOS/Windows, but Apple, Commodore, and Atari as well) without joysticks, but it's not optimal.

    Oh, if it's a "greatest hit" it must be good.

    On the PS3, a game has to be on the shelves for 11 months and sell 500000 copies to be considered for Greatest Hit status. Now that's not a 100% guarantee of a non-sucky game, but in my personal experience, PS1/PS2/PS3 games that reach Greatest Hits tend to be pretty good games.

    And thanks to the auto-levelling enemies and loot, you can be sure that the experience you're having now will be exactly the same experience you'll have through the next 400 identical quests of the game. Never too easy, never too hard. Why feel vastly superior to an enemy or why feel afraid of a big monster when they can all feel exactly the same? There's nothing quite like improving your magical abilities by 10% and knowing that all the enemies just had their magic resistance increased by 10%, too.

    If they didn't scale the enemies, it wouldn't be so free-form. And then you'd hear other people complaining about the linearity. "Even if you can walk there, You can't truly go to the fortress of brouhaha right away because there's high level Daedra there" They made a valid design decision to make the game as free-form and non-linear as possible: Any quest at any time. That said, perhaps a bit more testing was in order.

    The fact they used the same 5 voices for all