I’ve been pretty keen for this to come out since it was first announced last year. I liked Fallout 3, I mean it was no Fallout or Fallout 2 but it was a pretty solid game and I’ve recently been wanting to go back and have more of an explore.

But when it was announced that Obsidian would be developing this game under licence I was pretty stoked. Knights of the Old Republic 2 (despite the ending) was a great game and I’m also really looking forward to the long over due Alpha Protocol.

So I look forward to more news about this next part of the franchise, and the ability to zoom in for those messy and devastating headshots through V.A.T.S.

You then have the option of killing or sparing her, and the player decided to let her live. As we returned to our home, we got a video message from her employer asking us to meet, and we found out that not only was Sis his bodyguard, but she was also a mute. By not executing her, the player was given an “I don’t hit girls” award, which in turn resulted in a 5 percent discount with all of Sis’s factions.

I’ve always wondered why spy/stealth games aren’t turned into RPGs more often. I’ve recently been playing Splitter Cell: Double Agent and there have been heaps of opportunities for roleplaying decisions already and I’ve only made it through 2 levels! So it will interesting to see how they combine the two. I just hope that they don’t sacrifice too much of either the more traditional shoot ‘em up stuff or the RPG elements in order to fit into some kind of box. It seems to me all that ever does is dilute the whole experience.

Read the whole Game Spot article here.

It’s going to be one of those action/rpgs that seem so popular these days and looking at the various videos and trailers avalible it will no doubt be quite pretty. However it was this section of a First Impressions post over at Game Spot that got me really interested (emphasis added by me)

The guiding principle of the game is to make you feel like one of the three J.B.’s:Jack Bauer, Jason Bourne, and James Bond. To do this, Obsidian has the services of writer Chris Avellone, who wrote the acclaimed Planescape Torment, to create the people who inhabit this world. The team is trying to eschew the notions of clear right and wrong and keep the excitement high by giving each character a specific set of interests.

Planescape Torment?? Awesome! That game is widely considered to have some of the best dialogue ever, so fingers crossed he delivers again. I guess I’ll just have to wait and see.

During an event to show off its third-party 2009 lineup, Bethesda also announced that a new Fallout title, Fallout: New Vegas (note the lack of a number, we’ll get to that later), will be released next year for PC, PS3, and Xbox 360. Following the surprise announcement of a new title so soon, the second surprise is that Bethesda is not developing the title. Instead, Obsidian Entertainment, the studio behind Knights of the Old Republic II and Neverwinter Nights II (and its expansions), will be working on New Vegas. Note, no art was released of this title, so take the above screen, and pretend it has more tacky neon signs.

This is good news! Firstly I love Fallout, and while I haven’t yet had the chance to finish Fallout 3 (or for that matter spend much time playing it) I have finally decided to take the plunge and actually buy an Xbox 360. Secondly Knights of the Old Republic II was a great game, that was cut way too short. Thirdly, New Vegas sounds like a wicked place to set a Fallout game.

So I eagerly await more news on this title. But in the mean time read the full article here.

EDIT: There is another article, with much the same news, over at Game Spot.