Fallout 3 (Van Buren) Tech Demo Analysis
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Every once in a while, someone stumbles across the fact that a tech demo of Black Isle Studios' version of Fallout 3 (codenamed Van Buren) really does exist, and when they do and ultimately choose to write about it, we get to spend some time thinking about what might have been had the franchise stayed there rather than changing hands to Bethesda Softworks. Such is the case with this new analysis/editorial on GamePressure:
The game's plot is up to debate - that's all that can be said about it. The content we see in the demo is severely limited, and was never intended to be a major plot point in the first place; still, it gives a good overview of how the narrative was supposed to look like. Now, before I go into details concerning what was eventually included and what omitted in Van Buren, let me briefly tell you what was supposed to be included in the finished game. The action of the game was to be set in 2253 and begin with a bang, giving the player his or her first, very important choice will the player's character go to the prison as an innocent person, falsely accused of murder or a ruthless murderer, guilty as charged. Depending on this decision, the character would gain additional perks and skills. Our life behind the bars, however, was to be rather short one day, we would wake up in unclear circumstances in a completely different facility, only to hear sounds of a fight moments later and watch as a powerful earthquake brakes us out of our confinement.
From there, we were to escape together with other convicts and flee from the relentlessly pursuing robot wardens. While avoiding them, as well as all the other dangers of the wasteland, we would have to survive and discover the truth behind the mysterious incident. Why was our character transferred to another facility? Where did that explosion come from? Is it true that the New California Republic is going through some very serious problems? And what exactly is the Brotherhood of Steel doing in this region? Questions and mysteries would pop up one after another, and for the answers we would have to wait until the game's finale in a manner befitting a true Fallout game, the number of possible endings reaches several dozens of unique stories.
