I found out that one of the games that I am anticipating for, Vampire Masquerade: Bloodlines, is slated to ship around November 26. It seems as if that the game based on the Valve's Source Engine cannot be released until the retail version of Half-Life 2 candidate has been shipped out, a result of some sort of licensing engine agreement term, the kind of which I've never heard until now. The multiplayer has been scrapped from the game, but Troika really didn't have any reason to be confident about multiplayer in their past attempts at implementing it, the most notable of which was Arcanum.

It seems though that Troika's next project based on a post-apocalyptic setting is getting more press and generating more interest from its fanbase than the aforementioned game to say the least. It appears that after having failed to secure the Fallout license by bidding for it from Interplay, Troika just decided to go ahead to create their own intellectual property and position it as the genuine spiritual successor to the Fallout series. As you may already know, the Fallout single player license is being held by Bethesda, which I hear forked over around one million dollars for such highly touted property (extending Interplay's relevance in the game industry for some time in the process). However, a lot of Fallout fans doubt whether Bethesda, with their own unique way of devising the mechanics of RPGs, would not necessarily capture the quintessential feel of the predecessors; it is no wonder the development of the game of similar ilk at Troika overseen by some of the original Fallout creators has piqued more than a little interest.

Personally, I see nothing wrong with Bethesda going about in their way to create their unique interpretation of the Fallout license. However, I do doubt that their cross-platform strategy in the releases would guarantee the outright preservation of the Fallout conventions that many fans, including me, hold dear. Some of the mainstays of the franchise that defined its gameplay, such as turn based combat, would never translate well to the more action oriented nature favoured by the console platforms. Also, there is a question as to whether this new Fallout game will be based on the next generation of consoles thereby affecting the PC version in development as Bethesda adapt to those new programming platforms and conceive something that may work seamlessly on both platforms. Therefore, even though the Fallout moniker invokes the return of the beloved series of RPG, those expecting the same kind of gameplay elements, even considering the inevitable question of whether they are evolved somehow due to technological leaps during its hiatus or not, would be unequivocally disappointed or confused.

But I believe that Bethesda will rarely disappoint where the actual game is concerned; their superb work on Morrowind has shown definitively that cross platform RPGs that feature good depth of strategy and bewildering sense of freedom can be both commercially and critically viable. I guess that is how they were able to afford the Fallout license in the first place and furthermore even expected the lukewarm reception before the initial phase of the game development has even begun. I believe that the developer would do a superb job deserving of the pedigree of the Fallout license; and in a way it could benefit from such a low discreet kind of negative exposure, since it may convince the fans to be a bit more realistic on their expectations (or due to lack thereof) and not contribute to the feeding frenzy of unnecessary hype. I would bet many would be pleasantly surprised come a time when the details on the game are unveiled to the public.

By the way, have you seen the new screenshots trickling out of the next Elder Scrolls (Oblivion) game development? The game looks absolutely stunning and offers tantalizing evidence of actually being able to mount . I was impressed by the tremendous detail put into the foliage that were on a level similar to the that only gawked at in benchmark programs, it would sure not disappoint many in that important aspect of the game to say the least.