The Fallout games are best remembered as top-down turn-by-turn RPGs that blurred the line between fiction and reality. The dismal and decrepit worlds that the main character visited in his adventures were dark and gritty, but they had their fair share of humor and they were a blast to explore.

10 years after Fallout 2 hit stores comes Fallout 3, the newest installment in the series. Bethesda, the force behind The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, is developing the game. Bethesda is attempting to update the series to fit with the current generation of games, while trying not to mess too much with the formula that made the games so great in the first place.

The game starts you out in a nuclear vault, and introduces you to the new style that Bethesda has implemented in the game. Expect more creepy “uncanny-valley” chats with all kinds of NPCs throughout this game (a la Oblivion).

Fallout 3 seems to take familiar RPG elements from the old games, which is good for fans of the series. Bethesda even included area-specific damage, which is a series trademark.

Fallout 3 is due out Quarter Four of 2008, and I couldn’t be more excited.