Just a quickie: the Fallout 3 G.E.C.K. (Garden Of 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 know 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 realeased in installments for both the PC and 360 from January onwards.
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:
