Combat isn't the entire focus of Fallout 3; as a role-playing game, quests and interacting with non-player characters will absorb much of your time. Venturing into the domain of Megaton, a small city built around a dead nuclear bomb the citizens have claimed as a sign of God's grace, Howard detailed the dialogue system. Conversations with other characters open up quests for you to take, depending on how you interact with them via branching dialogue trees. Much like Oblivion, you'll be provided with multiple options for responding to a character. It's totally up to you whether you engage in friendly or fierce conversation, although characters will respond in kind.

Heading into the dilapidated Moriarty's Saloon, Howard demonstrated the means of getting a quest. Speaking with a shady character named Mr. Burke in a dark corner of the bar allowed our character to receive a quest to detonate Megaton's dead bomb. Howard explained that you also have options when tackling missions, such as in this case where you can complete the objective and blow up Megaton or simply report the loon's intentions to the city mayor. Different quests will become available based on your actions, so it's possible to play through the game multiple times and have an entirely different experience each time through.

The Fallout 3 E3 presentation was very much like the one Bethesda laid out for Oblivion a couple of years ago. Press members sat in a dark room while Howard played the game on two giant flat screen monitors for an hour, showing us the key points to the game, and just like Oblivion, it’s hard to see the presentation and not come away impressed. It looks great, sounds great, and it at least appears that great care is being put into making it a game that both newcomers and die-hards will appreciate. The only downside is that it’s still at least a year away. Talk about a tease.