RandomNPC – Video Game RPG Reviews, Editorials, and Features

In a press release today, Bethesda announced the launch of their first teaser for Fallout: New Vegas, the Fallout 3 spinoff in development by Obsidian. As is often the case with teasers, little about the game proper was revealed, though a cutaway shot offered a glimpse of a surprisingly well lit Las Vegas strip. The teaser in its entirety can be found on Bethesda’s Fallout homepage.

New Vegas is confirmed for the PC, 360, and PlayStation 3 platforms, with a release planned for fall of this year.

Bethesda has posted the release schedule for the Fallout 3 PS3 DLC. Broken Steel will be available on September 24, followed by Operation Anchorage and The Pitt on October 1, and Point Lookout and Mothership Zeta on October 8.

Following the DLC deluge, Fallout 3 Game of the Year Edition will be available in stores on October 13. The GOTY includes the game and all 5 DLCs in one package. The PS3 and Xbox 360 versions will retail for $59.99, while the PC version will only set you back $49.99.

With virtual Alaska, Pittsburgh, Point Lookout, and a better endgame behind it, Fallout 3 has set its sights a bit higher – literally – with its latest DLC. Putting a big twist on a previously unmarked encounter, Mothership Zeta is essentially a lengthy, linear shoot-em-up quest in the vein of Operation: Anchorage. While the setting is novel and it contains some memorable setpieces, it’s crippled by balance issues, overlong segments, and, of all things, plot holes. For all its atmosphere, Zeta can’t shake the feeling of wasted potential. Continue reading ‘Fallout 3: Mothership Zeta – Staff Review’ »

That girl in the veil from Rune Factory 3 is totally adorable. Just pointing that out. Continue reading ‘Mass Media 07/23/09’ »

The Fallout 3 DLC screens for PS3 do nothing to make up for the fact that the content does not come out until September. Period. Continue reading ‘Mass Media 07/15/09’ »

Citizens of Earth, Bethesda has announced that the final Fallout 3 DLC pack, Mothership Zeta, is on its way to the Xbox 360 and PC.

In Mothership Zeta, an alien ship visits the Capital Wasteland and beams the player’s character on board. The objective is to explore the ship, test out strange alien technology, and team up with people from Earth’s past and present to welcome the space-faring visitors in true Fallout 3 style. The DLC will introduce new gear, such as the Alien Atomizer, the Drone Cannon, and the Gemini-Era spacesuit.

Mothership Zeta will land on the Xbox 360 and PC on August 3, and the experience of an alien abduction can be yours for only 800 points.

Fallout 3’s downloadable content had been scheduled for a release on the PS3 back in June, starting with the Operation: Anchorage pack. While Bethesda has given neither an explanation nor a revised release date, spokesman Pete Hines says via G4 that an update on that topic is to be expected “next week.” Whether this will mean the content itself, information about the content, or information about the information, is anyone’s guess.

Suggestions that Bethesda rename Operation: Anchorage to Operation: Rod Torfelson’s Anchorage Featuring Herman Menderchuck have been met with no reply.

Source: G4

It takes a certain kind of person to look at Fallout 3’s Capitol Wasteland and say “Well, that’s pretty desolate and inhospitable, but I think we could do better. Get the guys together, we’re making another add-on.” How Bethesda wound up at Point Lookout, Maryland, is anybody’s guess, but what matters is Point Lookout is easily the biggest and arguably the best downloadable content for Fallout 3 to date. It’s not perfect by any measure, but it gets within shouting distance at times and comes as an easy recommendation to anyone who liked the original game. Continue reading ‘Fallout 3: Point Lookout – Staff Review’ »

I’ve heard tell that in the days of the NES and SNES era, when a new Dragon Quest game was coming out in Japan, it would be like a national holiday as people lined up to get their copy. RPGs have never reached such lofty heights of popularity here in North America. Final Fantasy VII managed to popularize the genre certainly. The series and the genre itself have become much more well known since — and seen an increase in sales as well. And while no RPG has had the worldwide acclaim sales, and following that Final Fantasy VII did, Fallout 3 deserves a special mention for its breakthrough performance in the North American market in particular. Continue reading ‘Game Changers: Volume 13 – Fallout 3’ »

I’m nowhere near as witty as Karl, so just pretend I said something funny here. Continue reading ‘Mass Media 06/19/09 – Part 2!’ »

After receiving a radio transmission and heading through a swamp, the hero finds him or herself inside a rather large mansion and face to face with a friendly Ghoul in a rather bad situation. Raider-like enemies will be invading at any moment, and despite a healthy supply of video cameras that give him a small command post of sorts, the mansion is in a very sorry state and these foes have no problem busting down the rotten walls in order to accomplish their goals. Of course, this isn’t a typical Ghoul. He has turrets, attack dogs, and a fair bit of extra firepower too, but he could still use a hand. The player is thus conscripted and charged with various tasks that range from fending off hoards of enemies as they bust their way in to igniting explosives in order to seal up holes. Continue reading ‘Fallout 3: Point Lookout Impression 2’ »

While putzing around on the show floor, Alethea, Roku, and I got our mitts on a playable demo of Point Lookout, the next DLC release scheduled for Fallout 3. While Alethea was busy getting her sea legs, and Roku contented himself with playing the post-apocalyptic janitor, I took my work seriously and was prepared to thoroughly dissect this latest riveting plunge into the human psyche. Or just shoot mans with a gun. Yeah, mostly that. Continue reading ‘Fallout 3: Point Lookout – Impression 1’ »

I really have nothing to say here. Continue reading ‘Mass Media 06/02/09’ »

The path to recovery begins with the simplest but hardest action a person can take: admitting they’ve done something wrong. So some applause is in order for Bethesda, who finally saw fit to take another crack at Fallout 3’s ending after the near unanimous criticism it earned. The ending was one of the few truly uncontested blights on an otherwise excellent long-awaited sequel, and that Broken Steel addresses this weakness goes without saying; the game is unquestionably better for it. Whether Broken Steel hits the right notes on its own, however, is another matter. Continue reading ‘Fallout 3: Broken Steel – Staff Review’ »

In this day and age, “exclusive” rarely means what it used to. Fallout 3 on Xbox 360 and PC touted exclusive downloadable content that will soon be coming to a PlayStation 3 near you. After a patch that will allow PS3 owners to download the DLC, Operation: Anchorage will hit the PS3 in late June with The Pitt and Broken Steel following four to six weeks apart. Hit the jump to find out what’s to come. Continue reading ‘Fallout 3 DLC Coming to PS3, Two More DLC Packs Coming to Everyone, Game of the Year Edition for 360’ »

In today’s update: White Knight Chronicles, Mass Effect 2, and Fallout 3: Broken Steel. Continue reading ‘Mass Screenshots, Artwork, 05/04/09’ »

Heya guys! Don’t mind me, just dropping off some media. Gotta do something to take my mind off the fact that Liberty-Effing-Prime returns in Broken Steel. Gotta go through the motions of posting pictures trying not to squeal with girlish glee over the fact that Fallout 3’s post-ending content will have a giant American robot tearing the Enclave a new one.

May has never seemed so far away. Anyway, we got us some A Witch’s Tale, Fallout 3: Broken Steel, Harvest Moon: Makiba no Omise, Harvest Moon: Welcome to the Wind Bazaar, Magna Carta 2, Valhalla Knights: Eldar Saga, and Ys Online: Call of Solum. Care for a gander? Continue reading ‘Mass Media 04/21/09’ »

The Red Menace might have had enough nukes to saturate every square inch of the United States, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they did. The Pitt, a downloadable questline courtesy of Bethesda, suggests just that; the Capitol made such a meaty target that the Soviets didn’t spare a direct strike for a nearby industrial center. As it turns out, they didn’t really need to: what once was Pittsburgh now crawls with gangs, disease, feral mutants, and oppressed workers living at the mercy of a cruel despot and his army of hired thugs. A hijacked radio beacon calls the player’s attention to the plight of an escapee from what is now known as The Pitt, and the adventure begins. Continue reading ‘Fallout 3: The Pitt – Staff Review’ »

At a press conference in London, Bethesda announced the next game in the Fallout series will be Fallout New Vegas. So far, we know that it is not a sequel to Fallout 3 but is instead just another game in the same universe that will have similar gameplay. Bethesda is working with Obsidian Entertainment to bring the title to the 360, PS3, and PC. More details have been promised soon.

Source: Kotaku

Throughout the 80s and most of the 90s, the role-playing genre was dominated by fantasy settings, standard sword-and-sorcery affairs time-locked in various medieval or feudal societies. There were occasional bouts of innovation, such as Wasteland, one of the earliest RPGs to touch on the idea of life after a nuclear holocaust. Still, they were few and far between, and most were doomed to obscurity. Continue reading ‘Game Changers: Volume 3 – Fallout’ »