Although I’m a huge sucker for post-apocalyptic fiction and hopelessly in love with the Fallout series, I was actually pretty skeptical about Fallout 3 after watching the initial teaser video released by Bethesda.

Sure, it looked cool, but I felt the references to Nuka-Cola, the Corvega, and the BoS came off as rehashed instead of homage. I wondered whether or not Bethesda was actually capable of, or willing to, maintain the high-quality, immersive atmosphere Fallout was justly admired for. Were they as inspired as they claimed, or merely milking the franchise?

Happily, they’re making a powerful case for the former:

More post-atomic echoes are available here.