Fallout: Tactics was an abomination, and I've never touched Brotherhood of Steel.

These were basically seen as milking the franchise by serious Fallout fans, which is one reason why Fallout 3 is such a big deal. They've got a lot of expectations to meet, but I don't think it would be difficult. :)

Isn't a new company doing Fallout 3? If I remember right, Interplay did 1 and 2, and Bethesda is doing 3. Bethesda's games are pretty awesome, so I'd expect a good game from them.

I don't remember what happened to Black Isle, I know they were owned by Interplay...

Was Interplay bought out by Bethesda? The only game I remember by Bethesda was Morrowind and I find that game absolutely boring, but many people loved it.

I haven't really looked into it yet, and I can't do it from work. :(

The only notable games I can think of that they made were the Elder Scrolls series (morrowind, oblivion, etc) and the absolutely horrible Pirates of the Carribean console games.

Interplay declared bankruptcy a few years back, which had pretty much killed any chance of a true sequel. Then, miracle of miracles, they sold the Fallout franchise to Bethesda.
Personally, I expect great things from Bethesda, so long as they keep the plot on track. I did play Morrowind for a while, and enjoyed it...but it did get quite old after a time. I enjoy a good sidequest as much as the next RPG geek, but only if they are diversions from the main quest. Morrowind seemed to be all sidequest and nothing else. Unless I missed something...
Eventually I plan to try Oblivion, but I really don't have the time now.
As for Fallout 3, as long as they keep the atmosphere from the first two games (and don't screw the pooch on the game engine), I'll be happy.

I hate Morrowind because it's just BORING. I load it up, and pretty much go, "Now what?" The combat is boring, the storyline is boring, the music is boring, the most fun is character generation...

I'm really, really hopeful for Fallout 3. I'd love to see what timeframe, region, and relation to the original two this game is going to have.

Takes place on the east coast this time. There have been some screenshots released of a post-nuke Capitol Building and I think some locations near Baltimore. I'm not sure the exact timeframe or relation yet. I've been lax on following recent news.

Ooh, interesting. We know anything about the main antagonists? Perhaps another branch of the Enclave?

Edit: Thinking about it, this essentially gives them the ability to completely start fresh in a non-lame way, since transportation by other means than foot is really rare. The Brotherhood of Steel may not be present over there and such.

Let's hope they run this in a good direction, as this feels like the main reason they would switch coasts. Should give them tons of leeway for creative license... =)

I imagine that radiation around D.C. would be enormous, as it would've been a primary target for the opposition in the war.

B.O.S. is probably involved judging from the trailer. http://fallout.bethsoft.com/teaser.html if you haven't seen it yet.

At the very least, somebody is wearing power armor.

It's been a while since I saw it, I remember Power Armor though. Well, since the Brotherhood was in opposition to the Enclave, perhaps they're more widespread than I thought.

I might be wrong, but isn't the BoS's emblem on the armour at the end of the teaser?

At least, that's what I've heard.

EDIT: Maybe not. Just watched it again, and couldn't notice anything on the armour.

Btw, I do hope you all know that the teaser is all in-game footage?

That's what I hear. The emblem, I think, is on the left side of the armor's chestplate. I snooped around the official messageboard, and it sounds like the diehard fanboys are all up in arms over some of the changes Bethesda is making. I, for one, am going to reserve judgement until I actually get my hands on the game.

Like what changes? Work blocks the Bethesda website, so I can't browse while I'm here.

The thread I looked at was something about not using the same overworld map feature (or possibly any overworld map for that matter). I think they're all worried about getting another Elder Scrolls with a Fallout theme. I personally don't see that happening.

Seems to me that most of the vocal complainers don't want the series to evolve much technologically beyond what Interplay gave us in 1998. Of course, if Bethesda didn't try to do anything progressive with the game engine, the same people would complain about that. You know, some people just have to bitch.

Visiting the WoW forums will make that very apparent. There are just some people that have to bitch about something.

Here's a good overview of what to expect. http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Fallout_3

I anticipate spending a large portion of my day on this site.

Some more F3 articles:

http://uk.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/fallou...ml?sid=6173397
http://www.1up.com/do/previewPage?cId=3160714
http://uk.xbox360.ign.com/articles/800/800872p1.html

Good reads.