Andy Wood

I never thought about what I wanted to be when I grew up.  I thought this morning that I would take a stab at being a Vault Dweller with my handy Pip-Boy 3000 secured firmly to my arm.

So, I took a little break today from bagging, boarding and pricing comics and dove into The Fallout universe which paints a picture of a dystopian future.

It exists in what people on the cusp of the atomic revolution in the 1950s saw as the sci-fi world of tomorrow…if several thousand nuclear bombs were dropped on it.

You play as the Vault Dweller, a blank slate for you to write your story on. The game begins with your birth and then quickly moves through childhood with snapshots of pivotal events, like when you turn 10 and your Pip-Boy 3000.  It’s a character creation and tutorial sequence that sets the backdrop of the story. You live in one of the many vaults/bunkers designed to keep its occupants alive through the nuclear war that ravaged the surface. However, vault 101 didn’t reopen when the war finished and as the opening cinematic informs you, it is here you will die because nobody ever enters or leaves Vault 101. <gulp>

Update:

Christ!  There is so much to do in Fallout 3 that it would take well more than 1,000 blog posts  to come close to covering everything.  I mean, there is the ingenious turn-based/real-time combat system known as VATS, not to mention about the coolest/grossest graphics, like when you blow the limbs off a raider or when you have to retrieve Dog Meat. (yes, you will eat dog meat, if you want to survive.)

Fallout 3 is a post-apocalyptic (my favorite genre) triumph, one of the best RPGs ever made and a definite candidate for game of the year.

These are exciting times for Empire, because on their newest issue is about to hit shelves and it’s jam-packed with exclusive images and interviews from JJ Abrams’ Star Trek.

Not only does our cover replicate an iconic Kirk and Spock pose with the new cast, Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto, but we also shot special character images of both actors and scored some never-before-seen stills from the film itself, showing Kirk and Spock at work on the USS Enterprise.

Empire talked to both stars and director JJ Abrams about bringing Star Trek to a new generation and as a taster, here’s what JJ had to say about the challenges he faced even in the wardrobe department.

“For me, the costumes were a microcosm of the entire project, which was how to take something that’s kind of silly and make it feel real. But how do you make legitimate those near-primary color costumes? How do you make legitimate the pointy ears and the bowl haircut? It’s ridiculous and as potentially cliched as it gets. How do you watch Galaxy Quest and then go make a Star Trek movie?”

Marvel would like to announce that the hotly anticipated, extra-sized Secret Invasion #8 will now arrive in stores on December 3rd, 2008. The top-selling comic book event of 2008, by award winning scribe Brian Michael Bendis and superstar artist Leinil Yu, concludes with this final issue that redefines the Marvel Universe and begins Dark Reign!

“The additional pages in #8 did both Leinil and the schedule in,” explained Executive Editor Tom Brevoort. “Anybody who pored over the artwork from #7 a week ago can easily see how he and Mark Morales have been putting their all (and then some) into every page and every panel, and that effort has finally caught up with us. Hopefully, retailers and fans will forgive us these extra two weeks as we make sure that everything is in the shape it should be in for the extra-sized climax—and from there, it’ll be smooth sailing straight into DARK REIGN.”

David Gabriel, Marvel’s Senior Vice President of Sales, added, “In speaking with retailers, Marvel decided it was more important to preserve the creative integrity of the series, rather than rush out the final issue. This not only creates a stronger product for our loyal readers, but also for our retailer partners, whose support helped make Secret Invasion a huge success.”