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Fallout 3

Everything lies in ruins, nothing is as it used to be. You ask yourself what it was like? Look outside, then you will know. Do you see the trees and plants out there, the birds on the roofs, the sun behind thin clouds? Do you see the people on the street, the cars at the traffic lights and the workers on the building sites? Since the year 2077, the nuclear war between the USA and China, we have seen nothing like that. Remember it well, because in Fallout 3 all these are only hazy memories of a better age...

Fans of the series have been waiting ten years for a "real" successor to Fallout 2. Expectations and anticipation are accordingly high. With developer Bethesda, the creators of Oblivion, the signs indicate that Fallout 3 will be a gigantic hit. For one thing, they tried to develop a game which will bring tears of joy to their fans’ eyes. On the other hand, Fallout 3 is supposed to increase the fan community with numerous "young" players. If the game turns out to be as good as the screenshots appear, it should be difficult even for Starcraft 2 to claim first place.

328 hours of gaming time as of my last saved game in Oblivion. Pretty sick, huh... It is exactly for this reason that I am a little afraid of Fallout 3. It seems to have a lot of what made Oblivion an unforgettable experience. Based on an improved Oblivion engine, you get a large, freely explorable game world, divided into different areas. Instead of lush meadows however, you will only find wastelands - where a flourishing culture once stood, only ruins now remain. The game is played from the first- or third-person perspective. Your story begins where the story of every human starts, in your mother’s womb. In a manner of speaking, you slip from one cave to the next, because you are born in Bunker 101. This bunker protects you from the radioactively contamination of Washington D.C., which lies outside the solid steel door.

Of course, you can soon create a character according to your wishes. Based on a kids’ book called “You’re SPECIAL”, you allocate aptitudes as you wish. SPECIAL stands for the typical Fallout values of “Strength, Perception, Endurance, Charisma, Intelligence, Agility”, and “Luck”. You can also determine your look, name and gender yourself. Even your virtual father, an important protagonist in the game, will not only have his features defined by you, but will also be the cause of your daring venture out into the contaminated lands. But first you will have to familiarise yourself with a certain watch. We are talking about the Pip-Boy 3000. The Pip-Boy 3000 is nothing else than a device which allows you to change your character. You receive this useful wrist-computer for your tenth birthday in the cave. With it, you can manage your inventory, orders or your character and his values. Yes, you can even listen to the radio! After you have gotten to know and love the Pip-Boy, tried out the sophisticated communications system and completed a few initial combat exercises, it is time for you to put the Geiger counter to good use.

Outside of the familiar bunker, a few surprises await you. You are going to meet some different factions, such as the ‘Brotherhood of Steel’ or the burly ‘Super-Mutants’. And you are sure to be happy when you see the first Ghouls or Giant Ants again. The fights are in real-time now, but they can be paused and become a tactical conflict with the so-called VATS. VATS stands for ‘Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System’, another of the bunker’s technical achievements. By pausing the fights, you can use VATS to determine where the opponent is supposed to be attacked. Every opponent has several hit boxes. VATS shows you your chances of success with an attack on legs, arms, body and head in percentages. Action points, which you collect and regenerate in the real-time fights, allow you to combine a series of VATS attacks in a row. That way you first shoot a nasty mutant in the legs to stop his onslaught. Then you deliver a salvo in his arm, to hamper his planned attacks. And finally, you aim at his skull, to put him six feet under. Besides VATS, you also receive further fighting and gaming, if not even moral, support. Dogmeat, our four-legged friend, is once again with us. This time, he helps you in the fights and searches for objects, weapons and medicine for you. Take good care of your mutt, for once he is dead he will stay that way. Also bear in mind whether you welcome your dog after a longer foray with open arms or the carpet beater. Your dealings with him won’t affect the animal’s loyalty, but it will affect your own general disposition.

Fallout 3 offers you a lot of freedom. Learn new abilities, for example how to repair broken weapons or become a feared marksman. Chat as you like and unlock new missions by beguiling or intimidating non-player characters. Many of the quests can be solved in different ways. Do you stalk your objective or go berserk? There are supposed to be 200 different endings to the game. Which one you enjoy depends on your way of playing. A high replay value is therefore guaranteed. The main quest is supposed to take 20 hours and another 20 hours are probably needed for the side quests. The nice visuals, music from the 40s and narrators such as Liam Neeson don’t make the wait until the release any easier.

EB