Fallout
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Real life Pip-Boy or wacky geek clock? You decide
Bethesda must really have faith in Fallout 3. Not only are they doing a "normal" collectors edition, but now they're actually going for the coveted Cat-Helmet Award® by actually creating some sort of uber-collectors edition. Available only through Amazon, the only difference between the "Survival Edition" and the normal CE is the replica Pip-Boy, which is actually a digital clock. Maybe some of the Fallout faithful out there will be willing to shell out $129.95 plus shipping for this, but frankly, we already have an alarm clock. We hate it, we don't need another one. Still, it'll be interesting to see how its sales pan out. Even though it's an Amazon exclusive, could it eventually see the price drops that the Halo 3 one did?
Amazon offering Fallout 3 'Survival Edition'
As if Fallout 3's Collector's Edition wasn't enough to make you frantically type "DO WANT" in our comments section, Bethesda and Amazon have announced an even grander package, the Fallout 3 Survival Edition. In what's essentially the special edition of the collector's edition, Amazon's offer includes all of the latter item's goodies -- a Vault Boy Bobblehead doll, a hardcover book of art and a behind-the-scenes DVD in a Vault-Tec lunch box -- as well as a "life-size" replica of the Pip-Boy 3000, the wrist-mounted contraption worn by in-game apocalypse survivors.Of course, being a replica, the Pip-Boy 3000 doesn't offer the full functionality enjoyed by those wandering Bethesda's wasteland. This one's just a cool digital clock, we're afraid. It's already available for pre-order on Amazon (but not to Europe, sorry!), with the console and PC versions listed at $129.99 and $119.99, respectively. DO WANT ... ?
Fallout 3 Collectors Edition lunch box and contents
Twenty dollars more for a collector's edition eh? Well Bethesda looks to be making this one as worth it as they can, by cramming it full of creative extras. This isn't just a simple "Making of" DVD (though there is one of those too). There's also the bobble head, the 100 page hardcover art book, and the nuclear-devastation ready lunch box to hold it all in. Plus, y'know, the game. That is the most important part after all, but to tell the truth this looks like a great example of how to do a CE right. As long as the game is the at the level of quality we hope it is, we might just have to knuckle under and shell out the extra money ....[Via Big Download]
Fallout 3 Collector's Edition gets visualized
Click to embiggen As if you needed more incentive to pre-order the game, the Bethesda Blog has now revealed "representational images" of the Fallout 3 Collector's Edition. Based on the above design, the Vault Boy bobble head will likely be the same vertical size as the Vault-Tec lunch box, and the hardcover art book about the same diameter as a DVD. Alongside the game, it all looks like it will fit neatly into the carrier, which should be sturdy enough to block its contents from our drool.%Gallery-3507%[Via Big Download]
New Fallout 3 screens show Pip-Boy statuses, leg dismemberment
Click to embiggen Meet. Albert. Poor Albert has a wounded right leg, and an extremely wounded left leg. He's also got some major issues with his head. We haven't seen Albert before, mind you, but we do have an image from his Pip-Boy, one of three new images that Bethesda has released for Fallout 3. The image also gives a good indication as to how menu navigation will work. Another new screenshot released shows the Vault dweller literally shooting off the leg of a mutant adversary. Come to think of it, we really hope that wasn't Albert he just hurt. Rounding out the trio of new images is a landscape portrait of what we believe is the first town you visit in the game. Fallout 3 is due out this Fall.%Gallery-3507%
New Fallout 3 screens are more than just exploding heads
Click for high-resolution image. Fallout 3 is more than just exploding heads. It's more importantly about the balance of all body parts being equally destroyed to itty bitty pieces. That sort of gritty imagery is well-suited for a dystopian adventure such as the post apocalyptic Fallout 3. From the landscape to the technology, you can see every bit of gloom seeping out and turning this virtual world evermore life-like. To get a better picture, check out the new screens in our gallery below.%Gallery-4357%
GameTap to add Fallout titles to its Interplay library
After last month's announcement of Interplay catalog titles coming to GameTap, we surely weren't alone in wondering where the Fallout games were. Sure, MDK and Earthworm Jim are great additions but, with Fallout 3 coming out later this year, the absence was enough to make us reach for the bottle. Now, just a few weeks later, the 'Tap has announced that those previously announced Interplay titles – as well as the "widely successful Fallout titles" – will be available not only through the subscription service but also for free play on the ad-supported website.And just like that, put another check mark on Interplay's ongoing quest to monetize their stable of properties and turn all that red ink black. Next step: sequels and that Fallout MMO they keep talking about.
New Fallout 3 screens and a crying Vault Boy
Visually impressive, artistically refined and X3F approved new Fallout 3 screenshots have just been released thanks to the folks over at Bethesda and we're in love all over again. The three new screenshots (added to the gallery below for your convenience) show exactly what Fallout 3 has to offer including nuclear wastelands, physical violence and technology. Health monitoring technology that can tell you your health status using a crying and crippled Vault Boy. We heart Vault Boy even if he only has one functioning leg.%Gallery-4995%
Don't panic: Fallout 3 concept art linked to terrorism
US-based monitoring group SITE said there has been a video released on Islamic militant forums encouraging terrorists to detonate WMDs in America. According to Australian-based News.com.au, "SITE also released a computer-generated image, showing Washington DC in the aftermath of a nuclear attack, which reportedly appeared on an Islamist forum." If that released image, featured in the article and reprinted above (sans kangaroo, we added that), looks familiar, that's because it's concept art from Fallout 3, released back in May 2007 (a high-resolution image is available here). To be clear, we're not faulting SITE or anyone else involved in this story -- after all, it's an unmarked piece of concept art that does illustrate the terrorist's goal, and SITE doesn't make any claims as to the origins of the image. It's more of an oddity than a joke, but it's interesting to see how a simple thing such as concept art can be interpreted in different ways.%Gallery-3507%[Via A Post Nuclear Blog; thanks, Andy]
Crysis composer Inon Zur scoring Fallout 3
No matter what platform we choose to take on Fallout 3's radioactive wasteland, we will be doing so to the musical styling of seasoned game music composer Inon Zur. If Zur's name isn't familiar to you, it's likely you've hummed along to some of his more notable tracks heard in games like Crysis as well as each of the three expansions to Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War. And speaking of three, a trio of the songs Zur created for Bethesda's hotly anticipated RPG are available to listen to on the official Fallout 3 website, from in-game tracks "Megaton" and "Into the Wasteland," to a bass-heavy title track that has us climbing the walls in our underground shelter in the march up to the game's release this fall.
Bethesda: There will be no demo for Fallout 3
click to enlarge Cake, pizza, fabric, all things you can take a chunk out of to judge the quality. But Fallout 3, it's more like a Jenga tower or a baby: Taking a sample slice out of it won't end up well for anyone. To that end Eurogamer reports that Bethesda's Pete Hines says there will be no demo for the sprawling action RPG. "When you build it as one thing, there's no way to portion off a section and have it stand on its own without putting the whole game in the demo, which we're just not going to do," Hines told the publication. But honestly, if at their heart demos are to help consumers make wise buying decisions, do you really need one for Fallout 3? We'll be fine waiting to have our minds blown by the whole package. In the interim, enjoy these three new screenshots Bethesda released today, to take the edge off. Gallery: Fallout 3
Bethesda confirms no Fallout 3 demo planned
Speaking with Eurogamer, Bethesda's Pete Hines confirmed that there is no Fallout 3 demo planned leading up to or after the game's release. Hines pointed to Fallout 3's open and expansive world being the reason for not doing a demo saying that "when you build it as one thing, there's no way to portion off a section and have it stand on its own." So, pretty much, Bethesda feels that offering only a chunk of the Fallout 3 world wouldn't do the game justice, ultimately giving gamers the wrong impression of what Fallout 3 has to offer. Good enough reason, just make the game super enjoyable and you won't here us complain.
Fallout 3 Collector's Edition now with Vault Boy!
Information extracted from a GameStop mailer brings details about Fallout 3's Collector's Edition and what fans will receive for their extra $20. Yup, $20 extra for this Collector's Edition, but we have to say that it does include some pretty nifty items. Fallout 3 Collector's Edition items including a Vault Boy bobblehead (w00t!), a 100 page hardcover art book and a making-of DVD all carefully placed in a Vault-tec lunch box that is said to withstand radiation. Though, we're not sure how we can test that. We have a feeling only the diehard Fallout fanboys will be willing to pay an extra $20 for this beefier edition, but that said, we know we'd love to own a Vault Boy bobblehead. He'd be our "yes man".[Via IGN]
Details on Fallout 3's Collector's Edition
It looks like yet another triple-A title will be getting the special edition treatment. This time, it's Fallout 3's turn to join the high-end club with its Collector's Edition set. Revealed through an advertisement on GameStop's website, Fallout 3's Collector's Edition will include the following: Vault Boy bobblehead 100-page hardcover art book Making-of Fallout 3 special DVD Metal Vault-Tec lunch box It's a pretty standard set of goodies for this sort of thing. The lunch box will surely be interesting as it'll double as both a game case and an actual lunch box. Imagine the look on people's faces when you show up to work/school with such a thing in your hands. The price for the PS3 Collector's Edition: $79.99. The extra cost compared to the regular version: $20. The comforting feeling that only a gamer's lunch box gives after being beaten up in the school cafeteria (or co-worker ridicule): priceless.
Joystiq impressions: Fallout 3 (360/PC/PS3)
click to enlarge var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gaming_news/Fallout_3_impressions_new_details_images '; In a hotel conference room, Bethesda's Pete Hines recently demoed the latest version of the Fallout 3. He trudged through a collapsed building, firing a machine gun at ambling, radiated mutants. The gore made me wince a little, with blood gurgling from zombie limbs. Earlier, he shot the head off another enemy, and blood arced straight out of the neck, as if it was trying to reach the brain one last time. Only minutes earlier, he'd shown me how the player's character grows up in an underground bunker, with those moments acting partly as tutorial and partly as a character creator. Your father, for example, stays hidden in the shadows after your birth until he checks out how the infant will look grown up. Players use a medical gadget to see (read: design) their appearance, then he emerges with roughly similar, paternal features.We've covered the game a few times before, so in addition to my general impressions, I talked with Hines about some recently revealed features.%Gallery-3507%
Interplay reaffirms Fallout MMO; Earthworm Jim, MDK sequels
It's been awhile since we've had an update on Interplay's long-promised Fallout MMO. To get some of you up to speed: plans for a Fallout MMO that could revive the ailing company were teased out of a November 2006 SEC filing. In April of the following year, Bethesda – already hard at work on Fallout 3 – bought the rights to the series from Interplay for $5.75 million. The deal allowed Interplay to be a licensee, paying Bethesda a 12% royalty on net sales of the still-vaporous Fallout MMO. In August, Interplay's CEO stated in an earning statement that "Fallout Online will play a key role in the future of Interplay" and in November the company revealed ambitions to rekindle franchises like Earthworm Jim, MDK, Descent, and Dark Alliance. Now, in yet another earnings report wrapping up their 2007 fiscal year, Interplay reaffirms its ambition to secure funding for the Fallout MMO as well as "creating sequels to some of its most successful games," notably the four listed above. To that end, it's hiring developers and will be launching a new web site "imminently." Regrettably, we won't be seeing any of these games as "imminently."[Via MCV]
Fallout MMO still alive
It's never too late to create an MMO from an already-established franchise. Heck, movies recycle content more and more frequently these days, so why not games? Sometimes we wonder if anyone has had an original idea since 1990, but this time it's a good thing.Remember Interplay? Yeah, they're still alive and kicking. Well, they're alive anyway, and they plan on following through with their original plans to make an MMO based on their highly-successful Fallout series. Not only that, but they also mention plans to create sequels for such successful games as Earthworm Jim, Dark Alliance, Descent, and MDK. You may be aware of the sale of the Fallout name to Bethesda in 2007, who are set to release the single-player Fallout 3 later this year. Part of that business deal was the agreement that Interplay would eventually create a Fallout MMO. Finally, 4 years after the original announcement, it's coming to fruition. Currently Interplay is hiring developers and revamping their website in preparation, so we certainly look forward to what they have in store for us.
New details, 'over 200 endings' for Fallout 3
Fallout fans can look forward to over 200 different endings with the upcoming Fallout 3, according to Executive Producer Todd Howard. Speaking on the OXM podcast (interview starts at 37-minute mark) Howard said, "Being that we are Bethesda, everything gets a bit big. So as of last week, we're over 200 endings. That is not an exaggeration, but it deserves some descriptions."The clarification is that, like other Fallout games, choices you make in the game will affect aspects of the ending, so that figure is really a combination of many sub-endings. The real question, then, is how many times do you have to beat the game to see every sub-ending?Howard also confirmed that Fallout 3 is twice the size than anticipated and close to the size of Oblivion. "The game is easily 100 hours," he said. Howard also goes into detail about the dog companion. Fallout 3 is still on track for release this Fall.[Via Shacknews]
Fallout MMO rumors persist
The Fallout MMO continues to bounce around as a rumor, and unfortunately nothing more than that. The big impetus this time seems to be the Fallout-looking concept art on Interplay's new teaser page (we've conveniently marked it above), but there's a whole host of evidence, including a job posting for a "next-generation MMORPG," and various "coming soon" hints dropping around.We're supposed to hear more in two weeks if there is anything to hear. Look at it this way: even if there is a Fallout MMO on the way, it's not going to be done and ready to play for a long, long time. We may all be sitting in Vault 13 by the time this thing makes it out of beta and on to store shelves.[Via CSG]
Interplay resurrection report: new website
Well, calling it a "website" might be a bit of a stretch. It's more of a digital poster really. Still, it looks like the rebirth of Interplay is officially underway. Fastidious X3F readers will recall that the company submitted an SEC filing late last year that detailed plans to return to the video game development business, largely in thanks to the profits made in the sale of the Fallout IP to Bethesda. Said plans included the revival of several of Interplay's well-known franchises including Earthworm Jim, MDK, and Baldur's Gate. It seems that Interplay is moving forward with its plans, as the new website will attest. Consisting solely of the image seen above, Interplay.com clearly references all three of the franchises mentioned above as well as Fallout (most likely the MMO Interplay has been talking about since 2006). Let's hope we see some details sooner rather than later.[Thanks, Boff]
