Bethesda is no stranger to role playing games. The Elder Scrolls series is hugely popular, and the release of Elder Scrolls:IV Oblivion was by far one of the best releases on the Xbox 360. In fact, The Elder Scrolls:IV Oblivion Game Of The Year, which includes expansion packs and patches, has made its way back into the charts at number 29, perhaps representing gamers’ desire for a massive role playing game.

The good news, of course, is that Bethesda is once again creating what looks like a monumental game, this time in the shape of Fallout 3. Console gamers may not be quite as accustomed to the series as PC role playing gamers.

The original Fallout and its successor, Fallout 2 were critically praised and received exceptionally well by the public but were, in actual fact, created by Interplay. Following their financial implosion, Bethesda has purchased the rights to the name and the games.

Fallout 3 has been in production since 2004 but was only really announced to the Xbox 360 world in 2007. The result is quite a change from the first Fallout games. Rather than a top down scrolling adventure, Fallout 3 is set to be a 3d role playing game similar in its mechanics to Oblivion.

The game is set in a post-apocalyptic world, 30 years after the setting of the Fallout 2 game. The world is an odd combination, and is based on historical views of a futuristic world following a nuclear war. Survivors took shelter in the Vault 101 nuclear bunker and you play one of the descendants of these survivors.

Your father in the game, voiced by one Liam Neeson, is the leading scientist in the Vaults and one day goes missing. You take to the nuclear torn streets in order to try and find him. You won’t be alone, however, and will have your trusty Pip Boy wrist computer and throughout the massive game world (which is actually a little smaller than the Oblivion world but still huge) you can ally with various characters.

The Fallout 3 engine is almost completely open ended. Every route you choose, every character you ally with, and every decision you make will impact which of the various endings you witness. Rather than being able to attempt every single quest in the game, some may become locked while others unlock following the decisions you make. This should make the replay factor huge because you’ll essentially be able to play a different game every time you strap in and bed down for a few week’s entertainment.