I believe now, as I believed in 2004 when it was first announced,them fellers at Bethsda Softworksare going to make 'Morrowind with Mutants' which is itself wrong because if anything it will be Oblivion with Mutants.

I know its not fair, since they have yet to show any actual game footage, but with each little tidbit that reveals itself (like the teaser trailer from yesterday) I am becoming more and more convinced they have and will completely cannibalize the gameplay into the likeness of their flagship franchise. There is a fundamental difference between real-time and turn-based combat when applied to the S.P.E.C.I.A.L. system & character creation which, to me, in its original form was immaculate.

In early interviews BethSoft stated something to the effect of "that's not what we do" when asked if the perspective and combat format would remain the same. And with each passing bit of info they are still mute on what the gameplay will actually resemble, but released items like the trailer look more like distractions than an actual answers. "Look! It's got VaultBoy! It's Fallout!!! Look!!! It's got Power Armor & The Ink Spots!!! It's Fallout!!!" I always knew they'd flaunt these items as proof this will indeed be the 3rd game diehard fans long for, but I'm still convinced it will be an entirely new kind of game.

There were a few things either broken or underused in the first two games that need fixing. But as stated with the second game "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" and the S.P.E.C.I.A.L. system ain't broke. BethSoft is set to fix everything broken or not. I don't agree with the notion that experience points, turn-based combat, isometric persective, etc. are old or outdated. What's fun is fun, and Fallout was, and still is, fun. A game can lose a lot of depth when its gameplay is 'updated' or 'streamlined' or whatever buzzword excuse a developer has for a drastic change.

A perfect example of this is Deus Ex: Invisible War.

I have no doubt Bethesda will make this a great game because Bethesda Softworks makes great games. Hell, I'll probably even play it. I don't hate Bethesda, I just hate that we'll never get what could have been. Especially when we got a glimpse of what could have been until it was ripped to pieces by an incompetent publisher. That is what hurts, that is what stings. There are petty complaints that Fallout fans will always gripe about, I don't think my beef is one of them.

This incarnation of Fallout will probably be fantastic. But its is as much as 'Fallout 3' as Tactics or Brotherhood Of Steel was 'Fallout 3'. Its just a new animal. I accepted that a while ago. I was pretty angry when Black Isle was shut down and furious when Bethesda got a hold of it instead of Troika (still alive at the time) or Obsidian (whom I consider the proper heir.) I believe my exact words were "raping the battered corpse of a once legendary creature," possibly something worse but that subsided quickly.

So my problem is that I'll likely never see more of what used to be. I'm not waiting or obsessing over it, but I'm just as excited to play Bethesda's Fallout 3 as I would be for Sid Meier's Metal Gear!