Ok, this is way past its expiration date, so to speak. Fallout 3, the long-awaited sequel to the classic Fallout franchise, came out in 2008, and I recently picked up the Game of the Year Edition from Amazon looking for a little respite from Zombie related activities. Something to pick me up after watching and reading so many anti-Zombie works.

Only, as it turns out, there are Zombie, or distinctly Zombie-like characters in this game too! In Fallout 3 they’re called ‘Ghouls’, but most of the Living characters of the post-apocalypse call them Zombies and hate them with an all-too-familiar prejudice. Yet, as the main character, you have the option to instead befriend many of them, help them to fit in with the regular, or ‘smoothskin’ humans.

Ghouls are a bit different from your standard conception of Zombies, I’ll admit. They were caused in some fashion by the radioactive fallout from the storyline’s nuclear holocaust… only some of them appear to have been spawned by Lovecraftian influences from beyond the stars, or some such. Many of these Ghouls have sadly lost their reason and gone ‘feral’, and there is little anyone can do for them. Regular Ghouls try to avoid these sad individuals as well.

Yes, Feral Ghouls eat people, but they’re far from alone; cannibalism is a very common activity in Fallout 3. Regular Ghouls are just people trying to get by in a difficult world, though, and it pleases the ZRC to see a game made where the player has the chance to not just spare Zombies, but indeed, actively befriend them, helping to build a more equitable society for all.

Good job Bethesda Game Studios. So far, the ZRC heartily approves of your work.

Tags: Videogames

This entry was posted by John Sears on Thursday, August 12th, 2010 at 10:00 pm and is filed under Zombie Media. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.