Joystiq attends the Fallout 3 Launch Party

Joystiq attended the celebrity-filled Fallout 3 launch party last night, and although we were weren't allowed to bring in a camera or a recorder, they didn't have a lock on our eyes and brains. The game-branding was minimal, with a few signs and recycled booth setups doing double duty at the party, but they did have a lot of hands-on stations, staffed by a bevy of scantily clad ladies who ... actually knew the game. Check out the highlights after the break.

Bethesda had filled the LA Center Studios (where Mad Men is filmed, woot!) to the brim last night, supplying not only a lot of L.A. hipsters, but also 12 playable Fallout 3 stations, all on giant Radiation King retro televisions. Each station was staffed with a girl, dressed in cocktail attire, giving instructions to gamers. We would have liked to see the training session for that. It had to be intensive, because they definitely knew what they were talking about. We ran into both Geoff Keighly of GameTrailers TV and Kevin Pereira of Attack of the Show who both said it was a truly bizarre, albeit fun, party. Granted, they were drinking at the time. Bias!

Also on offer: "Fallout 3 cocktails," which were disappointingly just like regular cocktails (were they irradiated?), and a lot of Fallout-branded Jones Cola. Of course, they also brought out the Fallout 3 Airstream trailer, and the accompanying torched mannequins clad in 1950s-wear.
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Later on, Bethesda's Todd Howard and Pete Hines welcomed the crowd and introduced a band -- The Foo Fighters. We would have guessed Fallout Boy. Geddit? Fallout ... because of the ... oh, forget it.

Overheard@Fallout 3 launch party

Hipster girl: "This is Fallout 3? What was Fallout 1?"
Hipster guy: "I have no idea."

You've got a little more than a week to find out about it, Hipster Girl, because Fallout 3 comes out on October 28th.