What could have been... Fallout 3

So as the day on which Bethesda unleashes Fallout 3 into our lives inches closer, I figured it's time to reflect on what our PC gaming brothers and sisters of the netherworld might be anticipating at around this point in their own time-line. You know, them over there in their fancy-schmance alternate universe where they'll probably have computer monitors implanted into their eyeballs by now or something. Oh and Fallout 3 would have been developed by Black Isle Studios, the creator of all those credible and incredible RPGs. Still, I'm not here to have a dig at Fallout 3 (or the parallel plains of existence), because from this point on I will not pass judgement until I have played the thing. Plus, PC Gamer magazine did reward it with 90% in this month's edition, citing it as 'worthy of the name' so there must be something there. I have faith. I will endeavour to look positively upon this game.

Anyway, right back on the point. Thinking about all this reminded me of the tech demo created way back when, prior to the Black Isle project being cancelled. It was released about a year or so ago onto the interweb as a playable version. The project was called Van Buren and, at the time of cancellation, the developers had completed 95% of the engine, 75% of the dialogue and at least 50% of the maps. The engine used to create the demo was one originally designed by Black Isle for the creation of Baldur's Gate 3. Of course, this never transpired either due to the development team being disbanded. It's a depressing thought that so much work can go into such a worthwhile project to just have it cease and be dispelled into the ether.

Well, if nothing else it is an interesting nugget of gaming history and, having never played it before, I'm going in, hard and fast. Prepare the interspatial-molecularnisational warp-gate, captain!...



...Ouch. Well, that was a painful and fairly nostalgic experience. No... it didn't go particularly well. I was going to create a character properly, but then I discovered that if you make a female player character she's all naked. So I made her fat, gave her a white afro and called her Derek Balls. She proceeded to die after my first encounter with a ruffian and then glided around the map on her stomach. I think I'll hand this over to someone smarter. Thanks to No Mutants Allowed for this wonderful montage: