"Not at launch...It remains to be seen what we do down the road. It wasn't something we were able to incorporate into the game for launch."

Not all that surprising, considering the company's documented preference for the Xbox 360. Hopefully trophy support will be added somewhere down the line, but Pete sure doesn't come off as that enthusiastic about the idea, does he?

No trophy support for Fallout 3 at launch [PSU]

We want stuff that's going to be several hours. Not just like a one-off thing, but something like where you can download it and play it for X number of hours.

It'll be similar to what we did with Knights of the Nine in Oblivion, where it's like whole new quest lines, new stuff, that kind of thing.

Good to hear, good to hear (unless you're a PS3 owner, that is).

Fallout 3 Interview: Bethesda Addresses DLC, World Design, and 'Oblivion with Guns' Comments [Shacknews, via Eurogamer]

Bethesda had thousands of copies of The Official Vault Dweller's Survival Guide to give away. They also had friggin Vault Boy puppets. Puppets, that were Vault boy!

Cryptic, on the other hand, had a whole bag of goodies that gamers could score from drawings at the show. The goodies included a full-sized Champions Online backpack, a gun that shot glow-in-the-dark ping pong balls, a t-shirt, a personalized super hero ID card and a Champions Online skateboard deck.

Which do you think was better?

At the final round of the Omeganauts, (which was played on"Vs. Excitebike" for the Famicom Disk System) a group of gamers rocked out in unison to "Just Between You and Me" by April Wine and "The Final Countdown" by Europe with a shitload of Pip Boy Puppets.

Even Gabe said "Wow. That's a lot of Fallout puppets".

[Video by Chris Person]

As I mentioned earlier, the Airstream was completely gutted and refitted with a wonderful blending of 50s and Fallout 3 era knick knacks. The center piece to the whole thing wasn't the working mini-fridge packed with Nuka Cola, but the flat-screen television installed in the back wall, complete with faux woodgrain framing and a mammoth wall mounted speaker.

Now you should be getting enthused about the Nuclear Airstream too. Turns out that Bethesda plans to donate the amazing piece of schwag to Child's Play following the launch of the game. Can you imagine winning this bad boy and parking it in your front yard for late night gaming sessions. The whole thing, I'm told, even runs on electricity.

I ducked out of Harmonix 45 minutes early mostly due to technical issues, but also because I wanted to head off a huge line for Fallout. My plan failed as I encountered well over 200 hundred people ahead of me. Dutifully, I waited in line, suffering through all the misery of yesterday all over again.

But 2:30 came and went and still the line didn’t move. It was nearly 2:50 by the time the big partition blocking off the Main Theater from the line-waiting room was parted, admitting the first of well over 1000 people that wanted to see this game. I was fairly hopeful because I was in the first third of the line – but when I was within 10 people of the opening, the line stopped.

After some muddled arguments and confused muttering, a meek marketing chick was sent out with little cardboard consolation prize. We were subsequently turned away. Or not even turned away since no one said "go away." They just stood there, staring at us as we stared at them, not letting us into the demo. The passive-aggressive shun, if you will.

That’s the trouble with mega-huge game expos – there just isn’t enough room for everybody. Looks like PAX has succumbed to E3 syndrome.

Hit the jump if you wanna know what happened at Harmonix.

It started out bad – the room for the panel was located in a building across the street from the main convention center that’s set aside for tabletop tournaments. This “room” turned out to be a big open space partitioned off from the tabletop gaming section by only a few scraps of black bed sheets. As a result, the sound quality in the room sucked. The microphones couldn’t be turned up too loud for fear of feedback and most of what came through the speakers was lost in the big, empty space around the room.

I did my best to get close, arriving 20 minutes before the panel was set to start; but seating was scant and I would up next to a pole as it was the only space that had a power socket for my poor, arthritic lappy.

The panel started with introductions and I would love to tell you who they were – but I couldn’t hear a damn thing between the noise from the tabletop gamers, the hiss from the air conditioners, and the noisy effin’ guys that sat around me about 10 minutes into the presentation. Said guys wanted to move the empty chair next to me back a little and they grabbed it to lift it up, not realizing that all the chairs were attached at the leg. They wound up spilling me half onto the floor before figuring this out.

I regroup (swore at them) and sat back down, trying to hear what was being said by the panelists. Stuff about the Harmonix mission to bring music games to non-musicians… what little of it I heard was very nice.

Then they started going through the history of Harmonix as a company, from their early years in sound and movement sims (The Axe, lol) to CamJam. We almost got to the part where they made Frequency, but then they stopped the presentation to open the floor to intermittent questions (supposedly to keep the Q&A short). Mr. Mumbles took the guest mic first and right when I thought I’d made out what he said well enough to type, one of the guys near me scooted his chair such that it knocked my power supply out of the wall socket.

This resulted in loud wailing from my computer and I had to save and close since it was easier to do that than to reach down and pry my power cable out from under the guy’s seat.

About now I realized I needed to book it if I was going to get a shot at Fallout (oh, if only I had known), so I gave up, got my power cable and got the hell out of there.

The central booth features kiosks of playable Fallout 3, singed mannequins, and an honest to god Airstream motor home on a patch of faux grass surrounded by white picket fences.

The Bethesda folks tell me that the Airstream is an authentic, not a replica, that the company purchased and then paid someone to clean-up and retro fit. Inside the refrigerated air of the mobile home is a wealth of retro goodies touched-up with a Fallout ambiance.

There are, for instance, old Life magazines, a refrigerator packed with ice cold Nuka Colas, a wood panel framed flat screen television and a waffle iron of the future. You can tell it's from the future by the mini radar dish protruding from the top griddle.

Bethesda apparently wanted to give the whole thing away at PAX but weren't able to because of tax issues. Man, that sucks because it would have made one sweet ride for a lucky gamer. Maybe they can donate it to Child's Play.

Turns out that PAX will be the first chance the public will have to play Fallout 3. Now keep in mind that there is expected to be more than 50,000 at the show, so if you want some hands on time with what many consider to be the game of the year you better get there early and be prepared to wait.

Bethesda says they will have six kiosks setup in their booth for people to play on and a number of developers will be on hand to talk to folks. The booth will also include what we're told is a pretty sweet Fallout 3-themed Airstreme and the folks will be handing out Vault Dweller Survival Guides.

On Saturday Bethesda will be showing off a conducting a rather lengthy Fallout 3 demo in the Main Theater at 2:30 p.m. Finally, on Saturday night Bethesda is sponsoring a Post-Apocalyptic Movie Night at 9 p.m. in the Raven Theater. The movies shown there will be the ones voted on by the Penny Arcade fans. Currently it's looking like 12 Monkeys and The Road Warrior are in the lead.

“We are very excited to let gamers get their hands on Fallout 3, the latest chapter in this beloved and highly acclaimed franchise,” said Vlatko Andonov, president of Bethesda Softworks. “To meet the huge demand for this title by our fans worldwide, we are planning one of the biggest launches of any game released this year.”

Color me freaking excited.

Fallout 3 Available October 28

Major Launch Planned for the Winner of E3 2008’s “Best of Show”

August 20, 2008 (Rockville, MD) – Bethesda Softworks®, a ZeniMax Media company, announced today that its highly anticipated title, Fallout® 3, will be available on store shelves and online in North America on October 28, 2008 and in Europe on October 31, 2008. Developed at Bethesda Game Studios – creators of the 2006 Game of the Year, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion® – Fallout 3 is slated for release on the Xbox 360®video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system, and Games for Windows.

“We are very excited to let gamers get their hands on Fallout 3, the latest chapter in this beloved and highly acclaimed franchise,” said Vlatko Andonov, president of Bethesda Softworks. “To meet the huge demand for this title by our fans worldwide, we are planning one of the biggest launches of any game released this year.”

Fallout 3 features one of the most realized game worlds ever created. Set more than 200 years following a nuclear war, you can create any kind of character you want and explore the open wastes of Washington, D.C. however you choose. Every minute is a fight for survival as you encounter Super Mutants, Ghouls, Raiders, and other dangers of the Wasteland.

Hailed as one of the most anticipated games for 2008, Fallout 3 has already won numerous awards including Best of Show from the official Game Critics Awards at E3 2008, a selection voted on by an independent group of journalists from 36 leading North American media outlets that cover the videogame industry.

Fallout® 3 has not yet been rated by the ESRB. For more information on Fallout 3, visit http://fallout.bethsoft.com.

Fallout 3 Screenshots [CNG4U and Catchplay, via No Mutants Allowed]

I work at best buy and i thought you guys might like to know that BB has started doing pre-orders for Fallout 3 and the collectors edition. In the game case you get when you pre-order is a Nuke cola bottle opener. It has a magnet on the back so it can be stuck on your fridge. Maybe not as sweet as a hand puppet, but it's something else that all us Fallout freaks will love!

Do folks actually pre-order games from Best Buy retail locations, or do they just put down some cash to pick up limited-edition bottle openers and pick the games up somewhere else?

Breaking News Fallout 3 Puppets [Tumpcard's Two Cents]

While it doesn't get into specifics, the report does contain the following three statements:

- The drug references within the revised version are justified by context and lend a strong playing impact to the game.

- The drugs depicted are fictional; drugs are depicted as stylised icons on a menu with the drug use itself not depicted. Whilst navigating a post-apocalyptic futuristic landscape, players can invoke the use of a variety of "chems" listed by fictious names which include "Buff", "Rad-X", "Psycho" and "Ultrajet".

- The Board noted that the "Guidelines for the Classification of Films and Computer Games 2005" states that "as a general rule ... material that contains drug use ... related to incentives or rewards is Refused Classification" and found that relationship [sic] between drug use and the incentives and rewards is not such that it promotes or encourages the use of proscribed drugs. Therefore the game does not warrant to be Refused Classification and can be accommodated at MA15+ with a consumer advisory of "strong drug references".

So it's OK if the drugs are contextual within a fictional universe. It's OK if they're fictional drugs. It's OK if the game doesn't promote the use of proscribed (or, real) drugs.

Sounds like the game's use of morphine was the sticking point. By referencing only fictional drugs in this report, and reminding us that the encouragement of the use of "proscribed" drugs is a no-no, it looks likely that all that's been removed from the Australian version of the game is the morphine. Or, more realistically, that morphine has been given a fictional rebranding.

Course that's just speculation on our part, as with Bethesda refusing to comment on the matter until the game's out we're unable to confirm it, but that's certainly what it looks like.

The Classification Board's Report On Australia's Edited Fallout 3 [Kotaku AU]

Fallout 3 [OFLC]
Fallout 3 [EB Games Australia]

UPDATE - We contacted Bethesda to ask what had been edited/cut and - just like Rockstar with GTAIV - they could/would not comment on the changes.

I have no doubts in my mind that, at its core and for everything that it provides that Fallout is a better game than Oblivion was. For sure...I don’t have any doubts that on the whole, and I think this is a belief universally shared on the team that Fallout is a better game.

Better than one of the best games (well, one of my favourites) of all time? Oh Bethesda, you sure know how to set a man's heart aflutter.

Bethesda: 'Fallout is a better game than Oblivion' [Videogamer]

Fallout 3 landed the coveted Best of Show award as well as Best Role Playing Game, while LittleBigPlanet landed Best Console Game and Best Social/Casual/Puzzle Game. However LBP was passed up for Best Original Game, with Mirror's Edge getting the nod instead.

Hit up the jump for the full list of winners and feel free to look back at our votes and the full finalist list, to see how they compare.

Best of Show
Fallout 3
(Bethesda Softworks for PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)

Best Original Game
Mirror's Edge
(DICE/Electronic Arts for PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 36)

Best Console Game
LittleBigPlanet
(Media Molecule/Sony Computer Entertainment for PlayStation 3)

Best PC Game
Spore
(Maxis/EA)

Best Handheld Game
Resistance: Retribution
(Bend Studio/Sony Computer Entertainment for PSP)

Best Hardware/Peripheral
Rock Band 2 Ion “Drum Rocker” Set
(ION Audio/MTV Games for Xbox 360)

Best Action Game
Gears of War 2
(Epic Games/Microsoft Game Studios for Xbox 360)

Best Action/Adventure Game
Dead Space
(EA Redwood Shores/EA for PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)

Best Role Playing Game
Fallout 3
(Bethesda Softworks for PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)

Best Racing Game
Pure
(Black Rock/Disney Interactive Studios for PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)

Best Sports Game
Madden NFL 09
(Tiburon/EA for All Systems)

Best Fighting Game
Street Fighter IV
(Capcom for Arcade)

Best Strategy Game
Tom Clancy’s EndWar
(Ubisoft Shanghai/Ubisoft for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)

Best Social/Casual/Puzzle
LittleBigPlanet
(Media Molecule/Sony Computer Entertainment for PlayStation 3)

Best Online Multiplayer
Left 4 Dead
(Valve/EAP for PC, Xbox 360)

Says Gamerchip:

[A]ccording to EB and Game representatives, Australia will be receiving the game, albeit in a modified format. The new, friendlier version, will have the drug use removed that saw the game banned in the first place. Both EB and Game are currently taking pre-orders for the title. One representative from Game, contacted this Thursday night, (after hammering home the "do you want to pre-order?" spiel) said that he had read on their internal communications only an hour before that Fallout 3 would be released this year.

A number of other sites have linked back through to the report (we saw it first through Gamestooge). Our sister site in Australia puts it best:

That's great, EB Games and GAME can say whatever they want, but until I hear word from the OFLC, Red Ant or Bethesda, Fallout 3 is still refused classification. There's also mention that the two retailers are taking preorders, yet, as far as I can tell, the title remains in exile from EB's Oz site. Even if they are, why wouldn't they? That's what retailers do - they take your money. If they have to refund it later, they'll cross that bridge when they come to it.

Fallout 3 Confirmed for Australian Release [Gamerchip, via Gamestooge]
Fallout 3 Confirmed for Australian Release? No, Not Yet [Kotaku.au]

The op-ed, written for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's Web site, isn't shilling for Fallout 3 per se, but does a good job of pointing up how ineffective Australia's code is when it stops at MA15+.

Australia's absence of an R18+ category, and the financial imperative of getting a game onto store shelves in a timely manner, means that many games intended for adult audiences (and rated 18+ in other countries) are inappropriately shoehorned into the existing MA15+ category in Australia. Far from protecting minors from adult content, our uniquely incomplete classification system has allowed them, in many cases, to legally purchase and access such content. A consistent classification system would better serve to protect the rights of children, as well as ensuring those of adults are not infringed.

Crago also argues that piracy is a side effect of effectively banning games such as Fallout 3, as the Australian market is not big enough to warrant the kind of content changes necessary to get classification.

For us, Crago might be preaching to the choir. But it's an eloquent defense of the legitimacy and artistic merit of mature-rated titles, and shows how government's continued assumption that video games remain kids stuff serves neither adults nor children.

Banned: The Absurdity of Australia's Game Ratings Regime [abc.net.au]

"If you have the PC as your lead machine you have the problem of not knowing what configurations people have, how many gigs of RAM or what graphics card they have," explained Hines. "Obviously we are more familiar with the Xbox because we are familiar and the other thing is that the Xbox is much easier to take to tech shows. We can just pop the hard-drive off the Xbox and put it on any machine which is an advantage. Taking the PC or PS3 to these things just isn't convenient."

Later on in the interview, Hines reinforces the fact that exclusive DLC for the Xbox 360 and PC actually means exclusive, and confirmed that Fallout 3 isn't going to be the end of the Fallout franchise.

"We didn't buy the Fallout franchise to just do Fallout 3 and then stop," he said. "But let's get this one out of the door before we worry about the next one."

Bethesda: Why we prefer the Xbox [TechRadar UK]

They're a little, uh, bigger. So not rather imposing, rather very imposing.

The Brotherhood of Steel Are Coming [Bethesda]

Over the coming months the strip will tell the story of Vault 77: One man and a crate of puppets.

Fallout Comic

I got to wander around the shattered landscape, poking at rubble, shooting at people, and trying on clothes. I got my first hands-on taste of the VaultTech Assisted Targeting system, which allows you to pause the action, choose where your bullets are heading on your target's body, and then plays through in slow motion - and there is nothing sweeter than a slow-motion exploding head. It was all very exciting, but as I took a moment to gaze about the room I realized that the most exciting thing about Fallout 3 is what everyone else was doing.

While we all started at the point in the story where we were exiting the Vault we grew up in for the first time, within 15 minutes each of the groups at the six kiosks they had put up in their booth were in completely different places doing completely different things. Some had made a beeline for a nearby settlement, some had found a ruined school building nearby and were involved in combat with some seedy B&D enthusiasts, while others spent a good 10 minutes trying to see if the ruined playground equipment was working from a physics point of view (it wasn't, and yeah...that was me).

Like Bethesda's Elder Scrolls series - especially Oblivion - Fallout 3 is a game that melds itself to the gameplay style of the player, offering something for people who want to explore, kill, or try on different clothing. By the time my 30 minutes was up I was wearing Mad Max-style bondage armor and a baseball cap, while others didn't even bother going into their inventory at all, the barbarians.

The variety is really something to keep in mind when the game comes out and the reviews start pouring in, as the Fallout 3 the reviewers play could potentially be a totally different game than the one you play. The foundation that Bethesda has laid down for you is excellent, but as with any open-world game the experience is ultimately what you make of it.

In this very brief episode of Justify Your Game Todd Howard attempts to justify Fallout 3. Can Todd manage to pull that off in 15 seconds?

Tickets go on sale July 25th at Fandango.com at a price of $10 per day, which includes popcorn, a large soda, and a special Fallout 3 giveaway. Considering I would sell any one of you for parts for a chance to see Wizards on the big screen, the price seems pretty fair. Hit the jump for more details!

Bethesda Softworks®, The American Cinematheque, and Geek Monthly Sponsor ‘A Post-Apocalyptic Film Festival Presented by Fallout® 3’

Fallout® 3 Film Festival to Take Place at the Aero Theatre in Santa Monica, California on August 22 and 23, 2008

July 11, 2008 (Rockville, MD) – Bethesda Softworks®, a ZeniMax Media company, announced today that it has partnered with the American Cinematheque and GEEK Monthly magazine to sponsor ‘A Post-Apocalyptic Film Festival Presented by Fallout® 3’ at Santa Monica’s Aero Theatre this August.

Fallout 3, the highly-anticipated video game from Bethesda Softworks, takes place in a post-apocalyptic Washington, D.C. where every minute is a fight for survival in the formidable wasteland and serves as the festival’s inspiration. The festival will feature six definitive post-apocalyptic movies that depict life or events that occur after a global catastrophe.

‘A Post-Apocalyptic Film Festival Presented by Fallout 3’ kicks off at 7:00pm on Friday, August 22nd with ‘Wizards’ (Directed by Ralph Bakshi) followed by ‘Damnation Alley’ (Directed by Jack Smight) and ‘A Boy and His Dog’ (Directed by L.Q. Jones). The festival resumes at 7:00pm on August 23rd with ‘The Last Man on Earth’ (Directed by Ubaldo Ragona), ‘The Omega Man’ (Directed by Boris Sagal) and ‘Twelve Monkeys’ (Directed by Terry Gilliam).

“We are very excited to sponsor this film festival with the American Cinematheque and GEEK Monthly magazine as this event brings together fans of film and video games like never before,” said Vlatko Andonov, president of Bethesda Softworks. “This is an exciting time for us and this film festival gives us a fun platform to give people further insight into Fallout 3.”

"Co-sponsoring this film festival just made perfect sense for us here at GEEK Monthly magazine,” said Michael Eisenberg, group publisher at Fusion Publishing. “The showing of post-apocalyptic films that have captivated movie goers’ imaginations over the last 40 years and showcasing the definitive post-apocalyptic video game will make for a truly enjoyable festival for fans of the genre.”

Tickets will be available on July 25, 2008 and can be purchased from Fandango.com. The general admission price of $10.00 includes three movies on the bill for that day as well as a complimentary bag of popcorn, a large soda and a special Fallout 3 giveaway. Senior and student tickets are available for $8.00 per day and American Cinematheque members can purchase daily tickets for $7.00.

For more information on ‘A Post-Apocalyptic Film Festival Presented by Fallout® 3’, the movies being shown during the festival or the Aero Theatre, please visit http://www.americancinematheque.com/.

Currently under development by the creators of award winning The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion®, the 2006 Game of the Year – Fallout 3 is one of the most anticipated games of 2008 and is slated for release this Fall on Xbox 360®video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, Games for Windows, and PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system.

Fallout® 3 has not yet been rated by the ESRB. For more information on Fallout 3, visit http://fallout.bethsoft.com.

Corresponding with the list of various "chems" are small visual representation of the drugs, these include syringes, tablets, pill bottles, a crack-type pipe and blister packs. In the Board's view these realistic visual representations of drugs and their delivery method bring the "science-fiction" drugs in line with "real-world" drugs.

Our advice, Bethesda: add some antenna and tesla coils to those crack pipes.

OFLC Report: Why Fallout 3 Was Banned In Australia [Kotaku AU]

It's Official: Fallout 3 Refused Classification In Australia [Kotaku AU]

I can't talk about what I saw yet while playing through a chunk of the game last month, but the Bethesda folks took the time to throw together a massive fan-driven 25 question and answer post. In it they touch on everything from child killing and drug addiction to AI and dialog trees. Here's my favorite question. Hit the jump for one on the AI and two more screens. Make sure you check out the full post if you're interested in the game.

1) Which of the following, if any, will be featured in Fallout3; Romance, Sex, Homosexuality, Nudity, Prostitution, Slavery, Cannibalism, Children, Child killings, drugs, addictions? And of the things that won't be featured, can you explain why they won't be included in the game?

It touches on most of those. Slavery, children, drugs and addiction more than the others, as those factor for into the setting more. In regards to nudity and child killings, no, it features neither of those, as they don't really add to the flavor of the game (I'll get into children in the next question more). I think if you look at Fallout 1, and the footprint it has with the topics you ask about, Fallout 3 is pretty much the same, in that it features the types of things you mention at about the same rate, no more, no less. Drugs and drug addiction play a larger role perhaps, as it's a key gameplay device. I think the heart of this question is "has the harshness and maturity of the world of Fallout 3 been tempered from the earlier games?" and I can certainly say "No, it hasn't been."

10) How advanced will the AI of NPC's be this time around? Are they really going to have a life? Speaking to other NPC's in a logical manner, traveling and trading with/in faraway places, Submitting to the player rather than fighting if they know, or think, they're no match for him?

I wish I could answer with a number, like "it will be 17 advanced." AI is difficult to define, the NPCs certainly appear much smarter than our previous stuff, by a lot. Much of that is us giving them better data, massaging what they do so the player gets to see more of it. We added a lot of animations, so people in town are doing more. They "seem" to be interacting with the world in a more realistic manner, but that usually means going up to something and playing an animation. It can be something really simple, like we added "lean against wall". It's funny how something that small can give life to a person. They walk into a space, and just lean against the wall, arms folded. Like Oblivion, we use our Radiant AI system, so most of the NPCs eat, sleep, work, etc. I think we take it for granted now, but it's pretty great to have that level of control. We've also done a lot to the conversation system, which makes them seem a lot smarter, but again, that's better data, not a new system.

On the technical side we spent most of our time doing an all new pathfinding system. Morrowind/Oblivion use nodes for pathing and Fallout uses a navmesh. This is the difference between an NPC having a valid point to stand on (node) versus an area to stand in, or walk around (mesh). You can do much more sophisticated actor movement and behavior with a navmesh, and I think you'll see the results onscreen, especially when the bullets start flying. The actors do a great job of finding cover and using the space well, something we could never have done with pathnodes.

In terms of the NPCs traveling around, many travel around town, and some travel the wasteland. There are a few caravans in the game that go from town to town trading. Radiant AI handles something like that really well.

Lastly, as far as submitting to a more powerful foe, yes they do that, in that they run away. If they're overmatched, they holster their weapon, flee and try to hide. While this sounds cool on paper, it's often not fun at all, and we've ended up really dialing that back, because it gets really annoying really fast, to have people run away all the time. The main faction that still acts like this are the Raiders, the others don't do it so much.

I must say I am disappointed that Blizzard has stayed on the conservative side in terms of design with their updates to Diablo and Starcraft. Diablo will be interesting since World of Warcraft has a lot of Diablo-like qualities. I have no doubt, however, that they will be incredibly fun, addictive and polished games. Blizzard is the top of the class when it comes to game development - nobody does it better.

Man, why's everyone so down Diablo III? There's that rainbow petition and now this? Blizzard cannot win, like never ever ever. Hit the jump for Cheng's post in full:

Diablo III announced. Nice. It looks pretty amazing, especially the gameplay video. Loved the destructible environments.

I must say I am disappointed that Blizzard has stayed on the conservative side in terms of design with their updates to Diablo and Starcraft. Diablo will be interesting since World of Warcraft has a lot of Diablo-like qualities. I have no doubt, however, that they will be incredibly fun, addictive and polished games. Blizzard is the top of the class when it comes to game development - nobody does it better.

In fact, World of Warcraft is currently banned from any computer I own due to its highly addictive qualities. Its easily one of my favorite RPGs.

I know they are working on another Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) game. I hope its World of Starcraft.

UPDATE:
Dear Blizzard,
Please forgive me.

XOXO,
Ash

When the ship runs out of ocean [ash :: the blog via Big Download]

He started his character with an intelligence of 2 and is chronicling his playthrough on his blog. Funny? A bit. Frustrating? The blogger writes:

This might sound like a downer, but it's a burden to be dumb (Intelligence < 4). It's like being evil; you might get a kick out of the dialogues, but there are much fewer quests and party members available to you. Even Sulik didn't join me! I thought I had read somewhere that the quests in Fallout 2 would play out completely differently for a dumb person, such that he could essentially Gump his way to victory. So far, though, many of the quests aren't playing out at all.

I played Fallout 3 last week in L.A. (in the same room as the legendary, long-lost Crecente). I didn't do very well. Maybe my character's intelligence was set to 2 as well.

Fallout 2 for Dummies: A Post Nukular AAR [Octopus Overlords blog]

Obviously I've gotten a bit off-track here. Here are some new Fallout 3 screens.

This study investigated how fans and producers of media texts negotiate text integrity, which is defined as an ideal about the validity, wholeness, and truth of the text. An evaluation of previous research in fan studies revealed four essential issues underlying fan-producer interaction. These four issues led to the study’s four research questions, which centered on fan perceptions of ownership of a text, construction of status-relationship between fans and producers, construction of status-relationship among fans, and how fans envisioned their labor contribution to the game development process. Research questions were addressed using a discourse analysis of the forum interactions of fans of the digital-game series Fallout. The investigation focused on fan and producer interaction surrounding the release of the controversial next installment in the Fallout series, Fallout 3. Using previous literature and data gathered, the study proposed a model for fan-producer negotiation over text integrity that can be applied to fan-producer interaction in multiple contexts.

As noted at Rock, Paper, Shotgun, "Stay clear if you’re the sort of person who thinks it’s intrinsically funny if anyone calls a videogame a 'Text.'" Probably a wise consideration for many academic gaming works, but it's a thesis built on an interesting premise, and a hell of a lot shorter than a dissertation.

Fallout Fans: Negotiations Over Text Integrity In the Age of the Active Audience [Ryan Milner via Rock, Paper, Shotgun]

“This is an exciting day for Amazon customers and Fallout fans,” said Greg Hart vice president of video games and software at Amazon. “We’re delighted to be the exclusive destination for Fallout 3 Survival Edition; this is a great example of the continually expanding selection we offer to gamers.”

I've not ordered a new release video game from Amazon.com in over five years, and here I am pondering the possibility anew. The only thing that could stop me is the price...$129.99 is a ton of cash to spend, and with the regular CE at $79.99, that means the Pip-Boy is costing you another $50...but it's a Pip-Boy! This is a decision that shall weigh heavily in my mind indeed.

Fallout 3 Survival Edition Preorder [Amazon.com]

Bethesda Softworks® and Amazon.com Announce Fallout® 3 Survival Edition

Fallout 3 Survival Edition to be Available Exclusively on Amazon.com

June 6, 2008 (Rockville, MD) – Bethesda Softworks®, a ZeniMax Media company, and Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) today announced the Fallout® 3 Survival Edition for Xbox 360®video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system and Games for Windows. The limited Survival Edition is now available for pre-order exclusively through www.Amazon.com/fallout3.

This ultimate Fallout 3 package includes a life-size replica of the Pip-Boy 3000, the wrist-mounted device worn by characters in-game. The Pip-Boy 3000 has been painstakingly recreated and modified for real world display as a digital clock. In addition to the Pip-Boy 3000, the Survival Edition will include all of the items included in the Fallout 3 Collector’s Edition:

o The Fallout 3 game;
o Customized, metal Vault-Tec lunch box;
o 5” Vault Boy Bobblehead;
o ‘The Art of Fallout 3’ hardcover book; and
o ‘The Making of Fallout 3’ DVD

“We’re thrilled to be working with Amazon.com on this exclusive edition,” said Vlatko Andonov, president of Bethesda Softworks. “The Survival Edition offers gamers the unique opportunity to own a piece of video game history along with a collection of limited edition items – it’s the definitive Fallout 3 package.”

“This is an exciting day for Amazon customers and Fallout fans,” said Greg Hart vice president of video games and software at Amazon. “We’re delighted to be the exclusive destination for Fallout 3 Survival Edition; this is a great example of the continually expanding selection we offer to gamers.”

Fallout 3 features one of the most realized game worlds ever created. Create any kind of character you want and explore the open wastes of post-apocalyptic Washington, D.C. Every minute is a fight for survival as you encounter Super Mutants, Ghouls, Raiders, and other dangers of the Wasteland.

Currently under development at Bethesda Game Studios – creators of award winning The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion®, the 2006 Game of the Year – Fallout 3 is one of the most anticipated games of 2008 and is slated for release this Fall on Xbox 360, PLAYSTATION®3 system and Games for Windows.

Fallout® 3 has not yet been rated by the ESRB. For more information on Fallout 3, visit http://fallout.bethsoft.com.

GameTap to Offer Classic Interplay Titles [Shacknews]

This of course means that the thumbs-up bobblehead could still be auction viable, should some unscrupulous member of the gaming press choose to part with him. Unfortunately I've grown accustomed to the daily affirmation my little plaster pal gives me, so for now he stays on my mantle lovingly nestled between Cortana and Kos-Mos, as he should be.

What we packed for lunch [Bethesda Blog - Thanks Dave!]

It's embarrassing how anxious I am to play Fallout 3. I can't tell if it's more because I was such a fan of the Fallout ideal, going back to when I used to play it on my old computer, or because this new Fallout has so many neat ideas all wrapped around those same concepts and topped with some amazing graphics. OK, I'm going to stop gushing now. Hit the jump for two more images.

Custom Fallout 3 Power Suit! [Jin Saotome, thanks Nicholas!]

SITE released a statement to clarify its position, stating that it never claimed the images were produced by terrorists, although it didn't admit to knowing from the start that they were video game images. Said the contractor:

SITE reported to its subscribers that extremists posted the image to a password-protected forum affiliated with al-Qaeda. This is entirely accurate. Moreover, this information was part of a report describing the general atmosphere in this forum with regard to extremists' discussions on weapons of mass destruction, making its context all the more important. This report in its entirety is also completely accurate.

It also doesn't like that the Telegraph called it "red faced," either, and says the publication never actually read the report, and nor does it subscribe to its services. Hit the jump for the contractor's full statement:

SITE Rejects Telegraph's Inaccurate Claims

On May 30, 2008, the Telegraph newspaper ran a misleading story, "SITE red-faced as Islamist 'Washington ruin' image turns out to be from Fallout 3 game," which incorrectly and falsely described analysis provided by the SITE Intelligence Group.

Discussing a computer-generated image of a destroyed Capitol Building in Washington that was posted to a jihadist forum, the Telegraph claimed, without any basis, "The SITE Intelligence Group said that the image, showing a ruined Capitol Building in Washington, was created by extremists as part of discussions about the feasibility of nuclear strikes against the US and Britain."

This claim is entirely false, as is the characterization that SITE is "embarrassed" or "red-faced."

SITE rejects the claims by the Telegraph and stands fully behind the accuracy of its information and analysis. SITE at no time maintained that the image "was created by extremists."

SITE reported to its subscribers that extremists posted the image to a password-protected forum affiliated with al-Qaeda. This is entirely accurate. Moreover, this information was part of a report describing the general atmosphere in this forum with regard to extremists' discussions on weapons of mass destruction, making its context all the more important. This report in its entirety is also completely accurate.

The Telegraph is not a subscriber to SITE's services. Apparently, the newspaper made these erroneous claims without actually reading SITE's original report, and the basis of their information for their incorrect article is unknown to us.

The SITE Intelligence Group, a leading provider of intelligence and analysis to governments, organizations, and institutions across the world, has contacted the Telegraph to correct their factually inaccurate and misleading article.