Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel
Interplay is taking its classic Fallout franchise from the PC to the consoles and giving it an action/adventure makeover. We're proud to say that you'll be pleased with the results.
Published: November 13, 2003
Classic games are a rarity in the world of videogaming. Any avid gamer can tell you that. When developers actually get the formula right, though, the last thing they have in mind is to alter the same formula that resulted in a masterpiece of a game. Interplay, though, sees no problem in taking this risk with its classic RPG franchise for the PC, Fallout, by altering it into an action/adventure title for the consoles known as Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel. As unethical of a jump as it may sound, the result of the transformation is something fans of the series will be in awe of. FBOS will keep intact hints of the RPG elements that the Fallout franchise so addicting on the PC, but will put a greater stress on third-person action and adventure. Not so bad, right? Shame on you for questioning the genius of the Interplay team!
Story-wise, Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel is set in the same rugged post-apocalyptic world as the earlier installments. It's the 1950's, and after a hideous array of nuclear chaos, a scarce number of humans who were smart enough to take cover in underground vaults have risen to re-colonize and attempt to continue their lives. But wouldn't you know it, not everyone was wise enough to find protected shelter as their group was, for a slew of humans exposed to the radioactivity were transformed into gruesome mutants, zombie-like ghouls and so on. As one of three characters, you choose to join a group, the Brotherhood of Steel, which is seeking to restore peace in the now monster-ridden world. Home sweet home.
As mentioned before, FBOS tends to shun away a bit from the RPG-style gameplay a bit, and centers more around full-on action, allowing either single player or cooraperative play. The game lets you customize and take on the role of one of three characters in the free-roaming Wasteland, each with their own strengths, weaknesses, and motives for joining the brotherhood. With each, you're given the ability to wield over 50 varied weapons that you can use against the mutated creatures lurking across the globe. The weapons are divided into three types: melee, long-ranged and explosives. For close range attacking, you'll be able to use special knives and even a spiked baseball bat, while attacking from afar will be done with mini-guns, shotguns and so on. The most explosive (heh, heh) weapons, though, are without question the various bombs at your disposal, including your standard fragmentation bomb, a gas bomb, and even a good ol' homemade bomb. While you'll mostly be slaying your way through tons of mutants and ghouls, these monsters will be dishing out some pain as well and you'll have to be prepared. Just for that, FBOS features a number of types of armor to protect you from certain enemy attacks, for example, the tesla armor offers near-invulnerability to energy weapon attacks.
From what we've seen graphically, Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel looks to have the whole "post-apocalyptic" world look down pat. The game's monster-killing action takes place across gritty, dismal and downright creepy environments, which means you can also expect to see a myriad of blood and guts along the way. The game takes a unique overhead view of the action, giving players a wider look at just what's going on around them, as well as which enemies near-by are just waiting to be dismembered. FBOS also offers more of a free-roaming experience through the numerous in-game environments, rather than a straightforward, linear adventure. So what can you expect? Lots and lots of detailed-looking weapon-based action.
Yes, this may be the Fallout franchise's first appearance on the consoles (it's heading to the PlayStation 2 and Xbox, just so you know), and Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel may be less of a role-playing game, but in all honestly, we still see no reason for fans to worry over the changes. FBOS is set in the same classic post-Apocalypse world, under the same gritty mood, plotting you against your favorite mutated humans once again. By giving players full control of the mutant mashing and ghoul blasting, though, all in the freedom of spacious environments, Interplay is taking what worked so well for it in the previous Fallout games and making it better. Not such a big risk anymore, now is it? We're glad we could help. Expect to see Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel out during the holiday season.
Story-wise, Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel is set in the same rugged post-apocalyptic world as the earlier installments. It's the 1950's, and after a hideous array of nuclear chaos, a scarce number of humans who were smart enough to take cover in underground vaults have risen to re-colonize and attempt to continue their lives. But wouldn't you know it, not everyone was wise enough to find protected shelter as their group was, for a slew of humans exposed to the radioactivity were transformed into gruesome mutants, zombie-like ghouls and so on. As one of three characters, you choose to join a group, the Brotherhood of Steel, which is seeking to restore peace in the now monster-ridden world. Home sweet home.
As mentioned before, FBOS tends to shun away a bit from the RPG-style gameplay a bit, and centers more around full-on action, allowing either single player or cooraperative play. The game lets you customize and take on the role of one of three characters in the free-roaming Wasteland, each with their own strengths, weaknesses, and motives for joining the brotherhood. With each, you're given the ability to wield over 50 varied weapons that you can use against the mutated creatures lurking across the globe. The weapons are divided into three types: melee, long-ranged and explosives. For close range attacking, you'll be able to use special knives and even a spiked baseball bat, while attacking from afar will be done with mini-guns, shotguns and so on. The most explosive (heh, heh) weapons, though, are without question the various bombs at your disposal, including your standard fragmentation bomb, a gas bomb, and even a good ol' homemade bomb. While you'll mostly be slaying your way through tons of mutants and ghouls, these monsters will be dishing out some pain as well and you'll have to be prepared. Just for that, FBOS features a number of types of armor to protect you from certain enemy attacks, for example, the tesla armor offers near-invulnerability to energy weapon attacks.
From what we've seen graphically, Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel looks to have the whole "post-apocalyptic" world look down pat. The game's monster-killing action takes place across gritty, dismal and downright creepy environments, which means you can also expect to see a myriad of blood and guts along the way. The game takes a unique overhead view of the action, giving players a wider look at just what's going on around them, as well as which enemies near-by are just waiting to be dismembered. FBOS also offers more of a free-roaming experience through the numerous in-game environments, rather than a straightforward, linear adventure. So what can you expect? Lots and lots of detailed-looking weapon-based action.
Yes, this may be the Fallout franchise's first appearance on the consoles (it's heading to the PlayStation 2 and Xbox, just so you know), and Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel may be less of a role-playing game, but in all honestly, we still see no reason for fans to worry over the changes. FBOS is set in the same classic post-Apocalypse world, under the same gritty mood, plotting you against your favorite mutated humans once again. By giving players full control of the mutant mashing and ghoul blasting, though, all in the freedom of spacious environments, Interplay is taking what worked so well for it in the previous Fallout games and making it better. Not such a big risk anymore, now is it? We're glad we could help. Expect to see Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel out during the holiday season.
