Tag: fallout

The Fallout TV show has big Fallout 3 vibes in first reveal

Bethesda showed off a bit of the Amazon Fallout TV show in a Vanity Fair exclusive, and it’s got some big Fallout 3 vibes

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Bethesda showed off a bit of the Amazon Fallout TV show in a Vanity Fair exclusive, and while it tells a new story in the post-apocalyptic world, it’s got some big Fallout 3 vibes going on. The plot rundown from Vanity Fair even loosely mirrors Bethesda’s first steps into the wasteland.

The Fallout TV show starts with the end of the world, as you’d expect from the series. Nuclear bombs rain down across the globe in 2077 before switching to protagonist Lucy, 200 years after the atomic catastrophe. Lucy is a lot like you at the start of Fallout 3. She’s lived her life underground in a Vault-Tec vault and has no idea what life is like on the surface or how things got the way they are.

Lucy eventually heads up on a rescue mission and faces the blighted wasteland and its manifold horrors – monsters, giant bugs, and worst of all, people. Vanity Fair says that Lucy is kind and naive, which is a pretty dangerous combination in the wasteland, but something that gives the writers plenty to to work with. 

Lucy’s journey eventually puts her in a situation where she has to question the values her Vault Overseer father instilled in her, as she clashes with the wasteland’s myriad people groups.

“The games are about the culture of division and haves and have-nots that, unfortunately, have only gotten more and more acute in this country and around the world over the last decades,” writer Jonathan Nolan, who also created Westworld, told Vanity Fair. “We get to talk about that [social satire] in a wonderful, speculative-fiction way. I think we’re all looking at the world and going, ‘God, things seem to be heading in a very, very frightening direction.’”

One of those other groups is the Brotherhood of Steel, a robot-loving militant group that’s home to one of the show’s other leads, a soldier named Maximus.

The third star is a ghoul called, well, The Ghoul. He’s a canny bounty hunter whose intelligence and keen wit helped him survive centuries of hardship. Nolan says The Ghoul is similar to Virgil in The Inferno, someone who’s been around the block before and is here to lend a hand to these youngsters he takes a liking to.

What kind of broader plot all this leads to is still a bit of a mystery, but Bethesda will likely share more in the near future. The Fallout TV show airs on Amazon starting April 12, 2024.

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF

The best Bethesda games ranked from questionable to exceptional

Ranking the best Bethesda games is tough when many of them shaped the modern RPG genre, but we think these are the studio’s top efforts

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Ranking the best Bethesda games is kind of a tough ask, as the studio earned its reputation as makers of some of the best RPGs around. After a checkered decade of making and publishing poorly received games such as Home Alone and Terminator 2029, Bethesda settled into a groove with its Fallout and Elder Scrolls franchises. Staying in a groove usually means creative decay for most studios, but Bethesda found a way to innovate and even push the RPG genre forward in some cases – despite stripping it back in others. Most modern Bethesda games hold up surprisingly well, and even the ones that launched in a terrible state are better now.

New Fallout TV show leaks point to a big role for Vault-Tec

A handful of new Fallout TV leaks emerged on Reddit, and they show what looks like an expanded role for the nefarious Vault-Tech corporation

A handful of new Fallout TV leaks emerged on Reddit, and they show what looks like an expanded role for the RPG‘s corrupt Vault-Tec corporation. The images, which Reddit user PrinceDaCat posted, seem to depict a confrontation of some kind in a dilapidated parking lot with the Vault-Tech logo emblazoned outside a building (thanks, PC Gamer).

Vault-Tech plays a key role in the Fallout universe thanks to building, well, vaults – the things that mostly kept some of humanity alive during the nuclear war that reshaped the planet in Fallout history. They also had a bad habit of botching their designs and embezzling government funds, so the company wasn’t exactly excelling at positive brand building.

That role is relegated primarily to lore and materials outside the actual games, though, in supplementary materials such as the Fallout Bible.

If the leaked images are any indication, it looks like the Fallout series might be bringing some of that lore to life, if only in a limited, The Last of Us prologue-style fashion. Whatever’s going on at Vault-Tech HQ, it doesn’t look good. There’s a man with a makeshift gun and some vans parked out front, which usually doesn’t indicate anything good about to happen.

As some commenters pointed out, none of the set looks particularly Fallout, though. The vans are modern, the surroundings are in comparatively good condition. Maybe the world hasn’t ended yet, or perhaps Amazon just plans on doing a lot of editing and adding to give it that radiation-blasted, end-of-the-world pizazz.

While prevailing rumors suggest filming already wrapped on the Fallout series, there’s no word from Amazon about when it might air. Meanwhile, Bethesda is preparing to release Starfield, its first new IP in over a decade, on Sep. 6, 2023, with plans for a new Fallout game on hold until well in the future.

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF

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Obsidian says Avowed is more than just a Skyrim clone

Avowed, the newest RPG from Fallout New Vegas makers Obsidian, started life as a Skyrim clone before turning into something rather different

Avowed, the newest RPG from Fallout New Vegas makers Obsidian, started life as a Skyrim clone before turning into something rather different. Avowed’s director and Obsidian’s CEO made the comments to PC Gamer in an interview, following the RPG’s latest trailer at the Xbox Games Showcase, and the two said the studio decided to rethink Avowed’s direction early in production.

“Originally we were pitching, in essence, our Skyrim,” Obsidian CEO Feargus Urquhart said in the interview. “[Then] we backed up and said again: What are we good at? What’s our lane?”

The latest trailer from the Xbox Games Showcase still shows hints of that Skyrim style, but Urquhart said the answer to the questions the team asked was storytelling. The team decided against creating a sprawling, fantasy open world and decided to focus on companion stories instead of building a 64 square kilometer map. Avowed revolves around the tales of your friends and uses their stories to push the game’s main narrative forward.

“I think where Obsidian really shines as an RPG maker is with this really evocative nuanced world building, stories that are more focused on depth and breadth, and really thoughtful quest design that rewards experimentation and exploration from players,” game director Carrie Patel said. “That gives them a sense of agency. And that gives them a meaningful set of options with how they interact with the world and characters.”

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF

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Fallout creator Tim Cain on the real reason why vaults exist

It turns out the Fallout vaults have a different purpose in the classic RPGs than we thought, creator Tim Cain says

If you thought the Fallout vaults were just to defend against nuclear fallout, as we did, it looks like you were wrong. Fallout co-creator Tim Cain casually turned the RPG series’ lore on its head in a new episode of his highly informative YouTube series about the games he’s worked on (thanks, PC Gamer).

Cain said the vaults were actually intended as test units for a great space migration away from the wasteland that Earth would become after a nuclear war.

“”If you ever read reports from the ’50s about what scientists thought of full-scale, international, superpower nuclear exchange, there basically is no Earth to come back to,” Cain said. “Maybe that was the whole point: There is no Earth to come back to.”

The process of jettisoning thousands of people into the stars was fraught with dangers and uncertainties, so Vault-Tec and the Enclave government used each vault as a test to pave the way. One vault was intended to fail on purpose under certain circumstances, while others tested machinery and other tools designed to keep people alive in the harsh emptiness of space. Some overseers were just told to keep people inside as long as possible.

Cain’s explanation certainly clears up a lot, like why your home vault in Fallout 3 is so isolated from the rest of the world and what the ultimate goal was when people emerged aboveground again (because they weren’t expected to). It also explains an issue I had when I first played Fallout 3, which is why no one seemed to show any concern over the prospect of a dwindling gene pool when a small group of people made a vault their home for generations.

Cain said he’s unsure whether Bethesda’s vision for Fallout has the same concept of vaults or if anyone on the Bethesda team even knows about their origins, though someone likely does now. We won’t know for a while either. Fallout 5 exists, but Starfield is the main focus for at least the rest of 2023, followed by The Elder Scrolls 6.

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF

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Obsidian says a Fallout New Vegas remaster would be ‘awesome’

Original franchise creators Tim Cain and Leonard Boyarsky are very open to revisting New Vegas.

Obsidian game directors Tim Cain and Leonard Boyarsky, co-creators of the Fallout series, are all for a remaster of Fallout: New Vegas.

During an interview with TheGamer, Cain and Boyarsky expressed interest in revisiting what many consider one of the best western RPGs ever.

“Not that it’s up to me, but wouldn’t a graphical remaster of Fallout: New Vegas be awesome?” Cain said.

“It would be awesome,” Boyarsky replied.

Fallout: New Vegas initially came out on Oct. 19, 2010, for PS3, Xbox 360, and PC. It was quite an infamous release because while the game was fantastic, there were countless bugs and glitches – partially because it had a rocky development.

The Outer Worlds, Cain and Boyarsky’s most recent effort, is getting PS5 and Xbox Series X|S re-release on Mar. 7, 2023 – which similarly had a somewhat rocky launch back in 2019.

“When [The Outer Worlds] came out, it had stability issues,” Eric DeMilt, production director, said. “It’s overcome those, and now people are able to go back to that game because those characters and the stories are just rich, and people want to be in there.”

There were rumors of Fallout: New Vegas 2 early in 2022, but nothing has come of those whispers since.

Written by Kyle Campbell on behalf of GLHF.

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Fallout TV show leaks tease iconic location from Bethesda’s RPG

A set of new shots from the Fallout TV show set leaked and suggest we’ll be seeing the iconic Red Rocket fuel stations at least in passing

A set of new shots from the Fallout TV show set leaked and suggest we’ll be seeing the iconic Red Rocket fuel stations at least in passing. Twitter user J Carson spotted the set while it was still under construction and posted images online (thanks, PC Gamer).

While the “Red Rocket” sign looks to be covered, possibly to prevent arousing interest in camera-happy passersby like J Carson, the rest of the set seems like a typical Fallout location. The architecture is a mix of iron and steampunk,  the fuel tanks have that quirky mid-century Fallout style, and there’s a patina of apocalyptic ruin covering everything, even down to the shabby siding.

In Fallout 3, Fallout 4, and Fallout 76, the Red Rocket stations exist to fuel and restore coolant for both gas-powered and nuclear-powered vehicles. Some are automated, while others are self-service, though there’s no indication what kind the one in the shots is.  In Fallout 4, you can even transform one into a shelter if you’re so inclined.

This is the first we’ve seen of the Fallout TV show since October 2022, when Amazon released just one promotional shot showing the equally-iconic Fallout vault. While the vault and Red Rocket might be part of the Fallout landscape, don’t expect a simple retelling of the games in Amazon’s adaptation. The show will reportedly tell a new story set in the world Bethesda created.

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF

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Grab three classic Fallout games for free on Epic

The week of Epic free games continues on the Epic Games Store, with three classic Bethesda RPGs up for grabs, but not for long

The season of discounts and giveaways continues, and the most recent round of Epic free games is a trio of classic Fallout RPGs. Until 11 a.m. Eastern Time on Dec. 23, 2022, you can log into your Epic account and claim Fallout, Fallout 2, and Fallout Tactics for absolutely nothing. Each game usually sells for about $10 each.

Fallout is where the series began, a post-apocalyptic, choice-driven RPG where you navigate a landscape devastated by nuclear warfare in the hope of surviving and maybe even banding together with other like-minded people to form a new settlement. It’s also the game that helped inspire Obsidian’s Josh Sawyer’s love of the genre, which eventually led to Fallout New Vegas’ inception.

Fallout 2 is more of the same, but better, with a deeper story, more dangers at every turn, and the constant threat of destruction looming. Fallout Tactics adapts the series’ signature style to the squad-based tactics genre, tasking you with protecting everything your ancestors managed to build in the first two games and inspiring a sense of loyalty – or obedient fear – in your fellow squad mates to keep the fires of civilization burning bright.

All three games are free until 10:59 a.m. Eastern Time on Dec. 23, 2022. If that’s not enough Fallout for you, then you’re in luck. Amazon is producing a Fallout TV show set to debut sometime in the not-too-distant-future.

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF

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The Fallout TV show tells a new story in the survival RPG’s universe

The Fallout show takes us to a new part of the survival RPG and tells its own unique narrative, Bethesda says

The Fallout TV show from Amazon will be much more than just a retelling of Bethesda’s RPGs, Bethesda’s Todd Howard said in a recent episode of the Lex Fridman podcast (thanks Eurogamer). Howard said that while movie pitches Bethesda received always wanted to retell Fallout 3 or Fallout 4, he was keen that the show will take viewers to a new part of Fallout’s universe and tell a new story.

“For this [pitch] it was, ‘hey let’s do something that exists within the world of Fallout,’ Howard said. “Let’s tell a story here that fits in the world that we have built, doesn’t break any of the rules, can reference things in the games, but isn’t a retelling of the games. [It] exists in the same world but is its own unique thing, so it adds to it. While also, people who haven’t played the games, who can’t experience how crazy cool Fallout is, can watch the series.”

That said, Howard was still careful about not letting anything slip regarding what we can actually expect from the Fallout show. 

The series’ plot is still a mystery, with just a slight tease from a recent promotional image to go by. The show currently has no planned air date, but it’s probably safe to say we’ll see the Fallout show before we see a new Fallout game, unless a studio like Obsidian gets the reins to make a full New Vegas-style spinoff again.

You can, however, play an unofficial Lego Fallout game for free right now.

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF

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Fallout New Vegas started life as Fallout 3 DLC

Bethesda was too busy with Skyrim to work on Fallout New Vegas, so turned it into a full game and gave it to Obsidian

Bethesda first decided to make Fallout: New Vegas as a massive expansion for Fallout 3, executive producer Todd Howard said in a behind-the-scenes video celebrating the series’ 25th anniversary. Bethesda wanted to take advantage of Fallout 3’s success and keep it going for even longer, but Skyrim and practicality got in the way. 

Howard said he wanted the expansion to be its own game, but there was no conceivable way for the Bethesda team to make it happen, preoccupied as they were with developing Skyrim.

Howard and the team discussed which studio they believed had the best chance of staying true to their vision for Fallout 3 and settled on Obsidian. Bethesda didn’t just give them the licenses to work on Fallout either.

They gave Obsidian literally everything – assets, the Fallout 3 engine, and other vital tools normally kept in-house.

Obsidian writer and director Josh Sawyer said he wanted to capture what he saw as the essence of Fallout and what made him fall in love with the series, the feeling that you were living a wasteland survival experience.

That goal inspired Obsidian to add, among other things, survival mode and the need to manage your hunger and health and is part of what the studio believes makes New Vegas so popular over a decade after its original release.

Meanwhile in the wasteland, Amazon recently released a first look at its upcoming Fallout TV show adaptation, and Bethesda has a Fallout 4 next-gen update in the works.

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF

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