Just a quickie: the Fallout 3 G.E.C.K. (Garden of Eden Creation Kit) is now available for download here. It’s a very modest 8.47MB download that allows owners of the PC version of Fallout 3 to ‘expand the game in any way they wish’. We’ll let you know shortly whether you’ll have to quit your day job to learn it.
In the tradition of Fallout 3 acronyms, it’s been called the G.E.C.K. (Garden of Eden Creation Kit), it’s the official editor for Fallout 3 and it’s being released on the PC some time in January. This comes less than a month after Bethesda frontman and Vice President of PR and Marketing, Pete Hines, claimed the editor and mods weren’t on the radar. The editor will be offered as a free download to Fallout 3 PC owners - just like the TES construction kit for Oblivion - while paid downloadable content including ‘Operation: Anchorage‘, ‘The Pit‘ and ‘Broken Steel‘ will be released in instalments for both the PC and 360 from January onwards.
Planet Fallout is in the process of mapping Fallout 3 using Google Maps. Currently, 65 users have contributed to the site that now has 418 markers detailing where quests, items, easter eggs etc can be found, with all the functionality provided by Google Maps, including a zoom in/out feature. Contributers are being rewarded with points according to the importance of their findings and a high-score table has been included on the site. Check it out here.
At the time of writing, there’s a live interview on the subject of Fallout 3 with Pete Hines, vice president of PR and marketing at Bethesda Softworks, on Eurogamer. Conversation has covered a range of Fallout 3 topics, but most notable include those that involve forthcoming downloadable content, PC version patches and the current level cap:
On taking characters beyond Level 20:
Pete Hines: No plans to increase the level cap beyond 20. We think at that point you’re plenty tough enough.
On downloadable content:
Pete Hines: We’re working on stuff that adds multiple hours of gameplay; new quests, content, enemies, etc. Something along the lines of Knights Of The Nine for Oblivion in size and scope.
On PC patches:
Pete Hines: As far as fixes, there’s a PC update coming out later today that will address a few PC-specific things that have come up.
On drivable vehicles:
Pete Hines: Nope, no driveable vehicles. Sorry.
It’s shame about the level cap, though there are obviously balancing issues at stake here, but good news on the downloadable content: Knights Of The Nine was a pretty hefty series of quests and content in one expansion. Check the full interview out here.
The indication from early Fallout 3 reviews bodes well for Bethesda’s much-hyped big-budget title. The sprawling, open-world action RPG has been rated maximum scores on 1Up, Eurogamer, Gamespy and Official Xbox UK and scores in the nineties on Metacritic. Incidentally, PC Gamer rated Fallout 3 at 90%, 4% less than Far Cry 2 in its September issue, which would indicate a lesser game to the undiscerning eye…
Look out for our Fallout 3 review in issue 14 of Total PC Gaming magazine, on sale 27 November.
The Fallout 3 Collector’s edition has been revealed. Currently there’s no UK price available for the PC version, but in the US, $69.99 will get you a copy of the game plus metal lunchbox (oh, to be five years old again) and the following:
