EB Games Australia: Fallout 3 Release Date

Fallout 3 Special Edition, coming in October

Here’s a press release from EB Games as seen on GamerChip:

Fallout 3 MA15 and coming October 17th!
11/08/2008

Today is a great day for Australian Fallout fans! After recent news that Fallout 3 had been refused classification by the OFLC, many of us were worried that we wouldn’t see one of the biggest game of the year. But fear no more – the OFLC has just awarded Fallout 3 an MA15 rating for Strong violence, drug references and coarse language.

Not only that, but the new release date of October 17th has now been confirmed by RedAnt, as well as the EB Games exclusive Collector’s Edition!

So get pre-ordering Fallout fans! Numbers of the super-hot exclusive Collector’s Edition are limited, and it’s not something you want to miss out on! You can check out more details of this EB Games exclusive Collector’s Edition by clicking on a pack-shot below.

This date is still not confirmed by Bethesda Softworks or the Australian distributor Red Ant.

Also VideoGaming247 adds this mysterious note:

Bethesda has yet to confirm a PAL date despite saying the game will ship in the US on October 7 at E3.

Now that’s new to me…

Lockpicking the Moriarty Saloon

Remember the EuroGamer Fallout 3 Second Look? At one point it was mentioned this:

The saloon door is locked, meaning we have to tease it open with picks (instigating a simple but entertaining mini-game). This is all a little strange, as, once inside, we find that the place is actually open for business after all, and the saloon owner, who boasts a lovely silver mullet and a voice like Terry Wogan, doesn’t seem to mind – or notice – that we’ve just forced our way in.

Matt “Gstaff” Grandstaff explains what might have happened:

To clarify on this, it sounds to me like he went through the back door to the saloon…which is locked.

Still no word on the lack of reactions when you shoot inside the saloon.

Australia and Fallout 3: The Saga Continues

This is what happens when you try to understant the rating system in Australia

From IGN:

And so, the epic saga comes to a close – Fallout 3‘s OFLC report has been made available to IGN AU; the contents outline the reasons behind the reassessment of Bethesda’s post-nuclear RPG in Australia by the classification board.

The biggest points to take away with you are that the essential nature of drug use in the game has not been altered dramatically:

“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 fictitious names which include “Buff”, “Rad-X”, “Psycho” and “Ultrajet”. Within the context of the game’s narrative, the player may choose to make use of these “chems” to alter the physiological characteristics of their character in the game.”

The report is vaguely worded, but it suggests the drugs are still present – though, perhaps relabelled and not shown to be imbibed by the player’s character. Is that a big deal? If the end result is the same and you still get the nudge-nudge nature of drug-use and abuse in the game, then we’d argue it’s not. Does it still undermine the artistic process? Or does the decision impact social freedoms? Well, that’s up to your point of view.

Spotted at Videogaming247, you can find the entire OFLC report here.

Inside The Vargas

Rafael Vargas

New Inside the Vault with Rafael Vargas:

What’s your job at Bethesda?
I get to do what I love the most, which is building and designing environments. In my previous work experience, as well as much of my free time, I am devoted to creating spaces and architecture. So I guess that makes me by now a World Artist.

What other games have you worked on?
I worked on Battlespire, Redguard and The 10th Planet as an animator for the cutscene movies. As part of the development team, I’ve worked on Bloodmoon, Oblivion, and Fallout 3 — pushing, pulling, cutting, inserting, and all of the good things you can do to geometries to make it look good and work correctly.

What is the best part about working as a artist? The worst part?
The best part for me is the creative freedom. In Bloodmoon, I pretty much had an open canvas to do what I wanted; I was told to do a Nord city on an icy landscape. I created it from early concept work all the way to the final product. It was quite a challenge, since at the time I had recently moved from the sister division of ZeniMax to Bethesda. The creative freedom continued in the development of Oblivion and much into Fallout 3.

Spotted on the BethBlog.

Fallout 3 Gameplay Demo (Bravo)

more about “Fallout 3 Gameplay Demo (Bravo)“, posted with vodpod

Remember the Bravo gameplay and interview video? NMA made a YouTube version, here it is for the few that still haven’t seen it.