Fallout 3 - On this day

On this day, exactly 13 years ago, Fallout 3 was launched for PC and consoles. The third numbered game in the post-apocalyptic series was the first in many ways. For starters, it was the first Fallout game for consoles (i.e., the first in the main series), and then the first Fallout game directed by Bethesda Softworks, a team that until then had mostly worked on the fantasy series The Elder Scrolls.

Unlike previous games, Fallout 3 did not have an isometric camera but a first- or third-person perspective. His fight was also different and mostly took place in real-time, although there was a so-called V.A.T.S. a system with which the action could be paused to target the desired part at the opponent.

Many called it “Oblivion with Rifles,” but Fallout 3 fought for its identity. He borrowed some things from previous Fallout games, like S.P.E.C.I.A.L. systems and currency in the form of plugs, but by locating the store on the east coast of America he also brought some new things for the canon of the series. Thanks to the audience on the consoles, the game gained many new fans, although the old, stubborn ones were not entirely thrilled with Bethesda's performance.

However, one thing cannot be ignored - the fact that Fallout 3 picked up over 60 Game of the Year awards and became the best-selling Fallout title to date. In the first week alone, more copies of the trio were sold than all previous Fallout games combined.

Fallout 3 received five DLC packages the following year and a comprehensive GOTY release. He was succeeded by the spin-off title Fallout: New Vegas, and at the end of 2015 by Fallout 4, which still failed to repeat the result of the triple. The game is still alive today thanks to the active modding scene on the PC.

In the case of the aforementioned Fallout: New Vegas, it is interesting to note that this game brought some ideas that were planned for the original Fallout 3. Namely, while the rights for this series were still with the publishing house Interplay, Fallout 3 was under development. named Van Buren, before the whole project was canceled in late 2003. In case you want to see what Fallout 3 would have looked like if it hadn’t been made by the Bethesda team, a very unfinished demo version of Van Buren can be downloaded here.