Seeing as I couldn’t fall back asleep because of a bad case of acid reflux or heartburn (probablyfrom lack of food), I decided to do a little snooping around for information on Fallout 3. Like every modern insomnica, I of course went to the Wikipedia article. I didn’t find much on there that I didn’t already know, so I just searched on Google, bringing me to the official website. Little did I know, I was in for quite a read.
But the first thing I noticed was the Fallout 3 Survival Edition. I’m a real sucker for those special editions of just about anything, so naturally I was intrigued. It took me only half a second to decide to put in my pre-order on Amazon.
I’m quite excited about the Amazon.com exclusive Pip-Boy 3000 digital clock. It adds a seemingly ridiculous $50 on top of the Collector’s Edition, which is already nice enough: it comes with the all-important “Making Of” DVD, the now standard artwork book, and other collectible items. But boy oh boy, that Pip-Boy 3000 is really something. It’s one of a kind. I’m sure that the picturedoesn’tdo it justice. It’s something you’ll have to hold in your hands to appreciate. At least I hope it turns out that way. The little figurine of Altair that came with my special edition of Assassin’s creed was pretty worthless. Sometimes, the special editions just have a way of disappointing.And though I put in my pre-order for the Xbox 360, that is more so for the benefit of my brother: I will undoubtedly be playing this primarily on the PC. It makes me glad that I got a Blackbird 002 so that I’m ready to play the game in all it’s post-apocalyptic glory.Considering it’s stylistic roots in the 50s and all, it conjures up very nostalgic images for me. Of course I wasn’t around at the time to experience American culture during the 50s, but there is just something comforting and fascinating about all things past. I suppose I’m one for tradition and history. I certainly like the music of the time period. It’s something I’d like to explore, which I have the fortune of doing so with my trusty 50s on 5 on XM Radio. I am completely taken by all the decades from the past, starting with the 80s. Save for the 70s, I have a great appreciation for each of the decades through the 40s. The culture from those time periods are very interesting to me, and I think it has to do with my romantic notions of “goodoldAmerican values”, which according to Penn and Teller, never really existed.
Looking at the screenshots for the Pip-Boy 3000, they did an amazing job. Their eye for detail matches my own when it comes to these kinds of things. The whole monochrome CRT feel is spot on, and essential for this particular device. But there is one thing: the green seems a little too bluish in my eyes. I suppose we’ll see when the game ships. Is it just me or does it look teal? Oh well.
Overall, I think that the design and the artwork is incredibly “accurate” and does the job very well. Everything you see helps to convey that sense of post-apocalyptic America, a very real alternate universe where the 50s were left behind in a devastating nuclear blast. It’s all just very…genuine. It’s all so believable. It’s no small feat to be able to drop someone into a world where America is a vast desert wasteland inhabited by mutants, ghouls and bandits, and to have it all make sense. To have it as though this is the way things really are. Fallout 3, from my first impressions, does a good job of creating a coherent and visually believable environment and alternate history.
Anyway, I wonder if I’ll ever see a kid sitting in the school cafeteria, taking his milk, PB and J sandwich, and a banana out of his Vault-Tec lunchbox.
