"THE highly anticipated video game Fallout 3 has been approved for release in Australia after portrayals of drug use were edited out of the game.

Fallout 3 was refused classification last month for realistically portraying drugs as an "incentive or reward" for players, which meant that it did not quality for a rating of MA15+.

Because there is no R18+ rating for video games in Australia, any title that exceeds MA15+ must be refused classification and denied release.

Fallout 3, deve..."

"The drugs depicted are fictional; drugs are depicted as stylised icons on a menu with the drug use itself not depicted. Whilst navigating a post-apocalyptic futuristic landscape, players can invoke the use of a variety of "chems" listed by fictitious names which include "Buff", "Rad-X", "Psycho" and "Ultrajet". Within the context of the game's narrative, the player may choose to make use of these "chems" to alter the physiological characteristics of their character in the game.


In the mi..."

"If you've been following the Fallout 3 saga over the last few months, today's news should make you smile - if only slightly. As of August 7, the Office of Film and Literature classification (OFLC) officially announced Fallout 3 has passed through the classification process.

According to the site, Fallout 3 will be rated MA15+ for "Strong violence, drug references and coarse language". No big surprises there."

The Game Critics have announced their E3 2008 awards for this year and there are some pretty interesting winners, with Fallout 3 taking the "Best of Show" award, Mirror's Edge taking "Best Original Game", and LittleBigPlanet getting the "Best Console Game" award. To view all of their awards, hit the source. If you wanna check out the nominees, click here.

"roject lead Peter Hines was in town to promote the new action-RPG, and told TechRadar: "We didn’t buy the Fallout franchise to just do Fallout 3 and then stop. But let’s get this one out of the door before we worry about the next one."

Hines also let slip that the Xbox 360 is the main platform Bethesda will be spearheading the launch of Fallout 3 via.

"If you have the PC as your lead machine you have the problem of not knowing what configurations people have, how many gigs of RAM or wha..."

"The Game Critics Awards judges are proud to announce the nominees for 2008. The judges have nominated 46 products from 21 publishers.

Winners will be announced on Tuesday, August 5."

"Banned: the absurdity of Australia's game rating regime

Ask an average Australian about censorship and chances are they'll tell you it's a bad thing.

And yet when it comes to video games, we have one of the toughest regimes in the world in terms of dictating exactly what is available to our adult population. On one hand Australia is an oasis of game development, with a thriving, highly skilled industry generating hundreds of millions of dollars of valuable export revenue. On the other h..."

"DLC is going to be exclusive to the PC and 360, not just 360,” he said. “Every platform has its advantages and disadvantages when it comes to DLC, and I assure you we are intimately aware of every technical, business, and fan-service aspect when it comes to DLC and any given platform.

“We felt [PC and 360 exclusivity] was the right thing to do for Fallout 3.”

Fallout 3 ships on October 7 in the US, and we’re still waiting on a Euro date. No hint’s been given as to when we’re going to se..."

"Adam Sessler and Kevin Pereira present X-Play's award for Best Game of E3."

"Last week, Fallout 3 joined a long list of games deemed unsuitable for sale in Australia. Because that country lacks an equivalent to a Mature rating, many more adult-themed games receive this treatment. Michael Atkinson, Attorney General of South Australia, has explained why he believes that an 18+ rating should not be put in place."

"Looks like Fallout 3 is pulling a Grand Theft Auto IV. Wait, that sentence doesn't make any sense! The upcoming apocalyptic Bethesda sequel will come with an extra treat for Microsoft fans. Both the Xbox 360 and Games for Windows versions will feature DLC that's exclusive from any other version. (That's the PS3, if you couldn't figure it out.) "I just wanted to say how much we love XBLM ... we'll be doing substantial exclusive 360 and Games For Windows downloadable content," said executive pr..."

"Well, Australian Gamer managed to get its hands on the OFLC's report for Fallout 3. The ban had nothing to do with decapitation, gore or dismemberment. It was the drugs, and only the drugs. I should be shocked, but all I can do is shake my head. And shake it hard.

From the report:

quote

The game contains the option to take a variety of "chems" using a device which is connected to the character's arm. Upon selection of the device a menu selection screen is displayed. Upon this screen is a...

"

"It seems that Fallout 3 has been tagged as Refused Classification by the Australian Office of Film and Literature Classification board. This is just a rumor for now and, if true, there is always the possibility of an appeal. Apparently, the game features the use of Morphine as a stimulant and this is allowed only in case of 18+ titles. The problem is that games in Australia can only be classified 15+ and this rating does not allow such features. We will keep you updated on this matter as it d..."

"This ultimate Fallout 3 package includes a life-size replica of the Pip-Boy 3000, the wrist-mounted device worn by characters in-game. The Pip-Boy 3000 has been painstakingly recreated and modified for real world display as a digital clock. In addition to the Pip-Boy 3000, the Survival Edition will include all of the items included in the Fallout 3 Collector's Edition..."

"The Telegraph reports that a video titled "Nuclear Jihad: The Ultimate Terror" appeared on two password-protected video sites, and is believed to have originated from the al-Qaeda terrorist group. Among the video was a picture of a devastated Washington DC, which the non-profit Search for International Terrorist Entities (SITE) Intelligence Group at first claimed was created by the terrorists to illustrate nuclear strikes in the United States and Britain. The group was surprised (and likely a..."

"As part of our Fallout 3 coverage, TheGameReviews.com was lucky enough to sit down with Pete Hines of Bethesda Software while he showed us a walkthrough of the latest build of Fallout 3. While they were showing us this amazing looking game, TheGameReviews.com thought it would be a good idea to ask what can we expect achievements wise with the 360 version. Bethesda told us that:

“You cannot get them all on one play through. That we are doing some things with Karma and different levels of K..."

"As part of our Fallout 3 coverage, TheGameReviews.com was lucky enough to sit down with Pete Hines of Bethesda Software while he showed us a walkthrough of the latest build of Fallout 3. While Pete was showing us the game, we thought it would be a good idea to ask when they will be showing off new gameplay footage of this amazing game. It has been a long time since the public saw Fallout 3 in motion, and it looks like you will have to wait a month or so more as Pete Hines explains.

“We hav..."

"Most PlayStation 3 owners are fully aware of this growing trend of the mandatory install. Several of the most popular games to date have required the gamer to sit and wait for 5-10 minutes while a certain amount of data is stored on the hard drive. Grand Theft Auto IV, Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds and Devil May Cry 4 are just three recent examples.

So we're used to it. But that doesn't mean every major title is going to require an install before play. According to TheGameReviews, Bethesda..."

"- Fallout 3 (PS3, 360, PC)
- They'll handle the ending as a dynamic cutscene that changes depending on specific decisions you make. Right now there are over 500 variations of the cutscene.

- You can talk to Dogmeat although he only barks and wags his tail. But they say you always tell if he agrees or disagrees with you.

- There are no guilds like in Oblivion. You just go around doing different quests for various groups.

- The world is entirely open from the start although certain ar..."

"Developer Bethesda will release Fallout 3 on the PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 this autumn, but the game maker concedes that the complexity of the format; the unclear nature of system specifications, has left the PC lagging behind consoles.

"In general I think PC gaming still suffers from the fact that it is one platform, and 10,000 platforms, at the same time," he explained.

Several big name PC releases have failed to sell as well as hoped lately, although MMO games, and online distribution ser..."

"The Fallout 3 Collector's Edition includes:

* Fallout 3: From the creators of the award-winning Oblivion comes one of the most realized game worlds ever created. Create any kind of character you want and explore the open wastes of post-apocalyptic Washington, D.C. Every minute is a fight for survival as you encounter Super Mutants, Ghouls, Raiders, and other dangers of the Wasteland. Prepare for the future.
* Vault Boy Bobblehead: Enjoy your very own Vault Boy with this collector’..."

"Eurogamer: How do you approach developing a game, especially one with the infamy of Fallout, when none of your team was involved in the original development?

Gavin Carter: We treated a lot like we treat our own. We went back and played the old games, so played a lot of Fallout 1 and Fallout 2, to see what we wanted to bring over from those games, and to get our minds away from this medieval space [that of the Elder Scrolls games]. And we watched movies like Mad Max, read books like The Roa..."

"Inevitability, there are similarities to Oblivion, not least in the way your behaviour and etiquette towards non-playable characters can affect your reputation and standing with other NPCs. And, as you’ll see if you click on the screens below, it looks flippin’ gorgeous, probably due to the fact that Fallout 3 uses a version of the same Gamebryo engine last seen in Oblivion."

"Fallout 3 was confirmed to be coming to the Playstation 3 only a few weeks ago, but we already have the first ingame scans for you. These great looking scans came from a Finnish magazine called Pelaaja.

While not much of the story or any other elements of the game have been revealed by Bethesda, some tiny bits of information and a teaser video are available here. The scans below don’t disclose much new information but anyone can agree that this game is going to look pretty good."

"Bethesda Softworks has revealed that world-famous actor Liam Neeson has signed up for a major role in Fallout 3 and will appear prominently throughout the entire game.

Speaking about his role in the upcoming post-apocalyptic title, Neeson said: "It's been a pleasure bringing the father to life and working with the wonderfully talented people at Bethesda on Fallout 3. I hope the fans of the franchise and the game will be excited by the results."

Todd Howard, executive producer of Fallout..."

"It's been almost ten years since the release of Fallout 2 and fans have been growing restless for a true sequel. The long wait may soon be over. Bethesda has launched an official site for Fallout 3."

"Oblivion developers Bethesda has purchased the rights to the Fallout series from Interplay for a reported USD 5.75 million.

Previously, Interplay had given Bethesda the rights to develop titles in the Fallout series, along with the possibility of creating a Fallout MMO. Development of a third title in the series is currently underway.

With the new deal now in place, Bethesda now has full ownership of the Fallout IP and will be licensing rights of the new MMO to Interplay.

The licence..."

"According to the filing, first spotted by Fallout fansite No Mutants Allowed, the purchase of the Fallout license and accompanying IP was settled on April 9th, with final payment installments expected to be delivered by the third quarter of this year.

In an interesting twist, as part of the agreement Interplay now acts as a licensee of the IP as it continues to ramp up production on its own Fallout-themed massively multiplayer game, first announced in 2004 alongside Bethesda's sequel, and..."