The plot thus far:

Vault 101 – Jewel of the Wastes. For 200 years, Vault 101 has faithfully served the surviving residents of Washington DC and its environs, now known as the Capital Wasteland. Though the global atomic war of 2077 left the US all but destroyed, the residents of Vault 101 enjoy a life free from the constant stress of the outside world. Giant Insects, Raiders, Slavers, and yes, even Super Mutants are all no match for superior Vault-Tec engineering. Yet one fateful morning, you awake to find that your father has defied the Overseer and left the comfort and security afforded by Vault 101 for reasons unknown. Leaving the only home you’ve ever known, you emerge from the Vault into the harsh Wasteland sun to search for your father, and the truth.
 
Anyone who’s played Oblivion
knows how special the developer Bethesda is. They’ve quite simply created one of the
most immersive games ever made, with the best feeling of being in a real world yet in a game. There’s a huge, incredibly detailed story with
an absolutely ridiculous amount of stuff to do. I’m still a relative
noob to the thing even though I’ve put in something like 65 hours, as
I’ve probably only gotten through half of the game, and haven’t even
really started in on the main quest.
 
So it was obvious from the first announcement that Fallout 3 was in good hands. Sure, some may lament that the game will be much different than the first two installments (both of which are turn-based rpgs) as Bethesda is using the same engine that made Oblivion look so pretty, but even the most hardcore fan can see that they’ve got the style down pat.

Case in point, check out some new photos have been leaked to the internet at this German PC Games site. There’s a whole gallery up to enjoy!

The newest issue of EGM was the first place where you could find a few of these screenshots. They also have a preview on the game (which really should have been at least mentioned on the front cover, but nope! They had to get that all-important 50 Cent game a line!) and went over a bunch of features. Some of the coolest tidbits reiterated-

• You have a canine companion, lovingly titled Dogmeat. He can be killed if you’re not careful, but he’s tough and can fight and search for things for you.
• Besides the irradiated ghouls that wander the post-apocalyptic landscape, there’s also creatures such as giant insects and robots that will go crazy if you hit off their ‘brain’ area (antennas on insects, cpus on robots). In fact, targeting specific parts of your enemies is a major tactic, as you can see from the above screenshot.
• Similar to another game being released soon, you have a wrist mounted device (called the “Pip-Boy 3000”) that comes with a radio receiver. The music’s all stuff from the 40s, and there are radio DJs that talk about what’s going on in the land. The radio’s also useful for finding emergency radio beacons that survivors set off years ago…. walk near one and you’ll hear static messing up your tunes.

Never mind the recent news that there’s over 200 endings to the game depending on what you do. (check the OXM interview on the Xbox Marketplace for that.)

I don’t have to go on, do I? The game looks incredible, sounds incredible, and is pretty much a guaranteed must-buy. Keep an eye on the official site and Bethesda’s blog, as they do a great job of updating it.
 
Fallout 3 hits PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 this fall.