Fallout 3

Ok, so I was always interested in this game, because of the great time I had with the original Fallout back in college. However, it wasn't seriously on my radar recently because (a) my brother now has my 360, and (b) my computer wasn't beefy enough to even think about running it. Now that I've taken care of problem (b), I can now consider getting it. I've saved a fair amount of Gamestop credit, so it won't set me back that much (again, a concern for my financial situation). Still, even then I wasn't incredibly excited about it.

Until yesterday. I had been on a fair amount of media blackout regarding this game, intentionally avoiding any videos and most screenshots. Afterfinally watching a few of the gameplay videos floating around, all I can say is, "Holy crap!" The presentation of the game is great, and Bethesda seems to capture the post-apocalyptic feel well. The animation of the characters (especially those involving blowing up heads or dismembering raiders) are quite well-realized and perfectly gory for the action-movie fan in me. The description of all of the possibilities in how to deal with a situation (violence, stealth, talking, tech, etc.) really get my gaming juices flowing. Combine all of those and you have a game that I'm going to make sure I have as soon as humanly possible.

This is going to sound strange, this is a refreshing feeling. Because my day consists of listening to a lot of video game podcasts and visiting gaming websites, to experience this rush of anticipation for a game so close to its release is quite a marvel. We live in a day where Triple A titles are known years in advance and the anticipation can wax and wane several times in the time between announcement and actual release. Having intentionally avoided most of the coverage regarding the game, I find myself in the position of not being able to wait until next week to get my hands on it. This isn't a claim I can make very often these days.

So, until next Tuesday I'll entertain myself with Half Life 2. In the short half-hour I had to play last night, I made my way deeper into the facility to save Eli. It's an interesting dynamic, having Alyx support you via radio in the control room. I left off in the second area where you can set up turrets to help defend against a horde of Combine forces storming your position. I failed the initial attempt and then hung it up for the night. While settling in for bed, I realized what I might have done wrong and have a plan for success on my next attempt. We'll see how that goes...