Take a revolutionary, genre-defining series of games. Put it into legal and developmental limbo for a decade or so as the rights get juggled around like a hot potato. Then try to update it for a new generation of hardware and players as an obsessive, tight-knit group of fans watches your every move.
No pressure, right?
Since Bethesda Softworks got the rights and started work on the next Fallout game in 2004, Executive Producer Todd Howard has been well aware of the expectations bearing down on him and his team. "The myth of Fallout has grown over those years that people haven't played it," he said at a demonstration of the game at the company's Maryland offices. "I think the game is great, but each year it gets better and better and better in people's minds. I'm not saying the game isn't awesome, but it's that myth of it. ... I think the expectations for Fallout 3 came back in a big way."
So does the early build of the game live up to the lofty expectations? Continue reading to find out.
Well, it's somewhat nigh. In fact, it's very close to almost bordering on the status of being considered nigh. If the just released teaser trailer for Bethesda's foray into a world wrecked by nuclear catastrophe is any indication, Fallout 3 is set to leak out of a suspicious cannister in Fall 2008. Alright, so not particularly nigh then.
The trailer (which is currently creating a bandwidth apocalypse on Bethesda's site) doesn't give away much along the lines of gameplay, but provides some assurances that obliterated cityscapes and dilapidated vehicles will be completely represented in all their glorious, err, incompleteness. Perhaps Fallout's new caretakers really do care about the revered RPG franchise.
Bethesda's Pete Hines even cares enough to offer some answers to questions you were just about to ask: The trailer is in-engine, those are the Ink Spots you hear and yes, that's Ron Perlman's gravelly voice.
Given the miasma of secrecy emanating from Bethesda's Fallout 3 camp, many fans of the post-apocalyptic RPG franchise have expressed concern over its impending return. Will it be Morrowind with Mutants? Final Fantasy with Freaks? Short of naming Liam Neeson as the game's father figure, the Elder Scroll-keepers have barely offered up any information regarding the nature of the game, a situation which has ardent followers worried.
Enter Todd Howard, Fallout 3's self-proclaimed "person-in-charge." Responding to fans in a "Meet the developers" thread on Bethesda's forums, Howard provides a lengthy and heartfelt commentary on the developer's thoughtful approach to the game... without giving anything away. "To say we care about Fallout would be an epic understatement," says Howard. "We are excited/humbled to be the ones to bring it back. I know we don't have all the right answers, or the one's you would make when it comes to how it should be or look. We can only do what we think is right and what makes us the most excited, and that's what we've done. We've left no stone unturned in trying to find Fallout's 'soul', but those decisions are ours, not yours. I just hope you give the game a look and decide if that soul is there for you."
Though fans will surely focus their attentions on more specific items once the game is fully unveiled, Howard's sentiments provide interesting insight into a developer tasked with meeting expectations within an established and loved universe. He likens Fallout 3development to the adoption of a child which one steadily grows to love -- 7 glowing arms and all. We're sure to see more of the game "very soon."
Though our schoolyard arguments and childish vendettas have long since shifted to the blogosphere, we have always been profoundly confident in our father's ability to physically lay waste to your meager sack of paternal meat. In other words, we thought our dad could beat up your dad. That is, until we learned today that your dad is, in fact, Liam Neeson. Bethesda Softworks has announced that the famous actor and thespian will act out and, err, thesp the role of your father in post-apocalyptic RPG, Fallout 3.
Our father stands little chance against the might of the man who trained Batman, gave Darth Vader his training wheels, exhaustively researched sexuality and is destined to become the president of the United States. Neeson's also "absolutely amazing to work with," according to Fallout 3's executive producer, Todd Howard. "This role was written with Liam in mind, and provides the dramatic tone for the entire game."
Neeson, who hopefully survives a bit longer than Patrick Stewart did in Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, adds that it was a pleasure sharing his voice with Bethesda and that he hopes "the fans of the franchise and the game will be excited by the results." If not, we'll just have to beat up your father ourselves.
After Bethesda Softworks acquired the rights to make Star Trek games last year, they hired famed screenplay writer D. C. Fontana (Trek, Babylon 5, Earth: Final Conflict) and her writing partner Derek Chester to script the storylines for Star Trek Legacy and Star Trek: Tactical Assault. Fontana's participation in these projects underscores a growing trend in game development, where top writing talent is being brought in to supplement next generation production values. She believes this is healthy for the industry: "Today, the games have to have more going on in them--story, character, crisis or conflict, goals. Because of that, I believe writers will begin to see the possibilities in this form of storytelling."
Fontana also penned Activision's well-received Bridge Commander, and Legacy has promising previews. However, the valuable experience that Hollywood writers and bestselling authors bring to the table doesn't always guarantee a successful game. While R. A. Salvatore's Demon Stone may have been a decent platformer, not even Chris Claremont could save X-Men: The Official Game, and Dungeons & Dragons writer Keith Baker's efforts weren't enough to overcome the uninspired gameplay of Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom. Still, it's refreshing to see a focus on narrative that has served companies like BioWare so well.
Star Trek Legacy will be released next week for the PC and Xbox 360, and will feature the voice talent of all five starship captains from Archer to Janeway. Hopefully, it will fare better than its handheld sibling Tactical Assault, which has suffered a Khan-like wrath from gaming critics.
Bethesda's Oblivion download site is listing Dec. 4 as the availability date for Knights of the Nine, the latest mini expansion for Elder Scrolls IV. However, RPGDot is reporting that Knights is now available on Xbox Live. A sneak attack to be sure, given today is the busiest travel day of the year and many 360 owners are away from their precious console. Anyone download it yet? If not, you can still scope out over 20 new screen shots at ElderScrolls.net.
PixelRage has assembled a collection of 13 Oblivion mods that they feel Bethesda Softworks should have included as in-game features to begin with. Some of them may seem trivial, but they add to the game's realism and overall usability. In addition to map, inventory, and environmental enhancements, your inebriated hero will now have blurry vision after boozing it up at the local tavern. And if you need a moment of silence from Jeremy Soule's brilliant score, there's a mod for inserting pauses in the soundtrack. My favorite on the list is the extended death camera, which suppresses the load screen and gives you the pleasure (or pain) of watching your character get beaten to a bloody pulp.
A recent editorial at GamersInfo suggests that RPGs featuring vast, open-ended worlds are produced with only hardcore gamers in mind. The author argues that with RPGs such as Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, there are no mechanics in place to attract more casual gamers, and keep them interested for short periods of time. These types of RPGs are intended to provide dozens (if not hundreds) of hours of gameplay, but because they fail to offer "accessible distractions" within the first few hours of exposure, gamers with less time on their hands may quickly abandon the adventure -- and never return.
What this person is looking for are more minigames that still allow you to progress through the main game, but can be digested in periods of a half-hour or less. To illustrate, the author points out the limited utility of horses in Oblivion and wonders why developer Bethesda couldn't have mixed in gameplay elements from other genres: "Why couldn't I collect and corral other horses (Pokemon)? Why couldn't I breed different horses together in order to cultivate desirable traits (Jade Cocoon)? Why couldn't I use my horse to plow a field outside of my house so I could grow my own Alchemical resources (Harvest Moon)? Why couldn't I cross breed my horse with another creature in the game (Monster Rancher)?"
The author's self-admitted rant might be just that, but it raises an interesting point. Should the value of a role-playing game be measured in number of quests, map square miles, and other "super size" features? Or, should open-ended environments present immediately accessible minigames each time you load up your last save point?
Here's an interesting nugget from the Elder Scrolls forums, posted last week. Bethesda employee mburg responded to the most recent thread discussing Oblivion expansion packs: "We have no plans to make an expansion for Oblivion. Should that change, we'll make an announcement on Elder Scrolls.com."
The steady stream of downloadable content Bethesda has been providing only adds incremental enhancements to the best selling RPG. However, you can still get lost in Tamriel for months. So do we even need an official expansion, or are mod communities such as The Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary enough to extend the Oblivion experience for years?
Bethesda Softworks has announced the availability of a new plug-in for Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. PC users can download Mehrunes' Razor at the Oblivion download store for $2.99, while it will cost Xbox 360 owners 250 Microsoft points at the Xbox Live Marketplace. This new, "fully-featured quest" enables you to explore the largest dungeon in Cyrodiil, in search of a weapon that has the ability to destroy enemies instantly. With a weapon like that, who needs horse armor?
Bethesda Softworks (Elder Scrolls: Oblivion) and Mad Doc Software have released 10 new screens from Star Trek: Legacy, which will combine strategy and squad-based shooting elements across all the Trek settings. Take the captain's chair of Federation, Klingon, Romulan, and Borg vessels this holiday season.
If you're an RPG gamer, there's a good chance Ken Rolston has had an impact on the many nights you and your buddies have spent engrossed in tabletop and online adventures. From pen and paper classics such as Dungeons & Dragons, Stormbringer, and Warhammer to that copy of Oblivion you're enjoying today, Rolston's contributions to the role-playing genre have been monumental.
Rolston's most recent work has been at Bethesda Softworks, where he acted as lead designer on Morrowind, and played a significant part in the development of Oblivion. The latter will end up making an appropriate swan song, as he's decided to call it quits after decades of leveling up through the industry. Read [H] Consumer's interview with Ken to find out what his fondest achievement is, as well as his thoughts on the evolution of RPGs. You'll be missed, Ken!
Bethesda has issued an
official statement addressing the ESRB's decision to change Oblivion's rating from Teen to Mature. The developer will not
contest the change, but insists that a "full, accurate, and comprehensive" report of Oblivion's
content was submitted to the ESRB before the game's release. That report included a 60-page document that detailed all
"explicit language, acts, and scenes in the game."
Bethesda's report did not list nudity
because "[there] is no nudity in Oblivion without a third party modification." The existence of
topless heroines is not a result of unlockable content, but rather, a result of third party tools used to modify the
game's art archive. With that said, it's difficult to justify the ESRB's decision to include "nudity" as part
of the PC version's explicit content.
Bethesda also confirms that there will not be a recall, nor will the
game's content be changed in order to retain the Teen rating. Instead, future copies will be printed with Mature rating
labels, and M-rated stickers will be applied to all existing unsold copies of Oblivion.
Note: Both
the PC and Xbox 360 versions of Oblivion have been re-rated.
Bethesda Softworks has launched the official web site for Star Trek Legacy, an
action-strategy title for the PC and Xbox 360 due in September. The Star Trek franchise has seen many similar titles
from the Starfleet Command, Bridge Commander, and Armada series, but is due for a little
next gen shake-up. Capt. Kirk once said, "In every revolution, there's one man with a vision," and
Legacy's man is Mad Doc Software founder Dr. Ian Davis, who will bring his company's renowned AI to the latest
Trek mission. Davis has said Legacy will feel like a squad-based shooter with space ships, while maintaining
the traditional RTS and tactical elements. Fascinating!
Yesterday, there was talk of Elder Scrolls IV:
Oblivion ports to the PlayStation 3 and PSP. Developer Bethesda Softworks wasted no time in dismissing the rumors
with this response: "At present, we have no announced plans to bring Oblivion to any platforms other than
PC or Xbox 360."
According to Eurogamer, a gaming forum participant named "snatches" claimed
he saw the alleged ports on a Bethesda release list for November. Disappointing news for the Sony faithful, although
you have to keep in mind the official response includes our favorite ambiguous marketing gems, "at present",
and, "no announced plans." More grist for the rumor mill. We'll keep you posted.
