Fallout 3 Preview

Megaton, prior to receiving a nuclear facelift.

Having barely seen any proper settlements, I decided that I would visit Megaton after all. If you've read anything about Fallout 3, you'll have probably heard about this place - a shanty-town built around an unexploded nuclear missile. Players have the option of either helping to diffuse the bomb, or of detonating it and wiping out the local population. Most previews I've read picked the former option - so I decided to be a complete bastard. Amoral behaviour has always been a part of the Fallout experience, and I was keen to see how Bethesda handled the situation.

As it happens, arming the nuke is more time-consuming that I'd assumed it would be - who'd have thought that nuclear terrorism would be so complicated? I bowled into town, talked some jive with the Sheriff, then strutted up to the warhead. Tapping 'A' brought up a quick list of available options, but the "detonation" choice informed me that I would need to boost my demolition skills AND acquire a specific piece of equipment. Curses! I twiddled my carefully-waxed moustache in frustration.

Luckily, one of Bethesda's PR team was on hand to jump me forward to the critical stage of the quest. Essentially, destroying Megaton requires you to seek out Mr Burke - a caddish sort of chap who presides over Tenpenny Tower, a rival settlement. Burke will pay you to blow up Megaton - quite handsomely, if your negotiating skills are good enough - and he sets you up with the equipment you need to rig the device. Once this task is complete, you meet your villainous employer on the balcony of his suite in the Tower. The final detonation is left to you: one tap on the joypad and Megaton is gone forever, engulfed by an enormous mushroom cloud that dominates the horizon. Burke coldly thanks you for your services, and hands you the keys to your own room in the Tower. From here, we're informed, you'll be able to take up a whole new series of quests for ne'er-do-wells, quests that would remain off-limits to more noble players.

As big gaming moments go, the nuking of Megaton was pretty remarkable. Without hamming up the villainy of the situation, the sheer power and spectacle of the explosion made it clear that I'd done something fairly serious. The whole Megaton choice itself has featured heavily in Bethesda's own promotion of Fallout 3, and according to Peter Hines, it remains one of the biggest moral options in the game. In other words, it's doubtful that we'll be seeing lots of choices on this kind of scale - too many of them would probably unbalance the overall experience. As things stand, I was pleased by the bleakness of the "bad guy" Megaton path; there's certainly no pussyfooting around. The smaller choices will ultimately count for a lot too, since they'll be crucial to developing a true sense of moral scale. If Fallout 3 can better the rather limited angelic-hippie/satanic-psycho choices of the KOTOR games, I'll be a happy man.

There is still so much that remains unknown about Fallout 3, so many unanswered questions - but then that's the way things should be, right? We want surprises, challenges, things that nobody saw coming. There's only so much of an impression you can form on a limited time frame - but I personally can't wait for full, unfettered access to the game. VATS seems both tactically useful and a lot of fun - while the vivid look and general ambiance of the post-nuclear world suggests that the final release could be utterly absorbing. I'll reserve full judgement till October 31, of course - but it's going to seem like a long wait till then.