Fallout 3 Hands-On Preview

Here's how we're dealing with nuclear doom.

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Frustrated, I decided to take out my aggression on a local. Quickly, I learned that that sort of behaviour won't fly in towns. The local men and Sheriff Simms stormed me, quickly overpowering me with their weapons. In frantic times like these, time slows down automatically, giving you a slow-motion step-by-step through the action. I watched in horror as I was felled by the rat-a-tat of non-stop fire, ending my campaign. I hadn't explicitly saved my progress yet but the autosave rescued me. Every time you enter a new area the game will save your progress in the background, so you'll never have to repeat too much should you succumb.

With no way to continue in my mission I went in search of another, ending up in a tool shop speaking to a woman who was trying to write a guide to the immediate area. The mission, Wasteland Survival Guide, would take me out of Megaton towards an abandoned shopping mall to see whether any food or medicines were still around. On my way to the mall I encountered the kind of small-fry enemies that players of previous games will remember well. Spiders, dogs and other mutated animals let me put aside the firstperson mode to try out the VATS autotargetting system. And really, once the action gets heavy, there really is no choice but to use it.

For a long time, Bethesda has suggested that Fallout 3 will play competently as a regular first-person shooter if you prefer not to use VATS. Unless there are major improvements still to be made, I don't see how that would be possible. The first- (or third-) person action feels clumsy and unwieldy and this is only exacerbated by the slow reloading times of the weapons I tried. It's a pity then that the limitations of the Action points system requires you to use firstperson mode from time to time. Moving, attacking and defending through VATS use up Action points and once these are spent you're left open to attack. Switch to manual control though and you're still able to hold off enemies, though at the expense of accuracy and control. It's a delicate balance that demands players put thought into how they use VATS and when it's best to not use it at all.

A perfect example of this came up while I was inside the abandoned shopping mall, which was swarming with patrolling Raiders. These humanoid characters are armed, organized and tough, and taking them on when you're low on ammo is an unwise decision. With my supplies running low I flitted between VATS and manual control in a desperate attempt to stay alive as the Raiders worked together to surround me. You can pick up weapons and ammunition from downed enemies, adding weight to your inventory. You won't mind the weight when it helps you stay alive though.

After clearing the first wave of Raiders I found a control panel that activated a droid. Originally created to maintain security in the store, the droid assisted me in taking care of the second wave of attackers as I struggled to conserve ammunition and avoid dying. After scorching the last Raider with a flamethrower I had picked up from one of its compatriots, I went about completing my mission, scouring the store for food and medication. And that, sadly, was where my Bethesda handler took the controller out of my hand.

So, what did I learn from my brief taste of Fallout 3? I suppose my most unexpected realization was that I am really, really eager to play the finished game. The overwhelming depth and fantasy setting of Bethesda's previous big game, Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, put me off that game, but the setting, story, and VATS system have won me over here. I wish that I could play Fallout as more of a shooter and less of an RPG but even still what I've played is exhilirating. The consistency of the gameworld is the biggest draw. The ambient soundtrack and omnipresent devastation combine to produce an unforgettable experience. I can't wait to play the full game later this year.

Fallout 3 is released at the end of October.

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