Fallout 3's iconic VATS system almost didn't make it into the RPG in time, and Bethesda was worried no one would even want to use it: "Is this even fun?"

After Morrowind and Oblivion, the difficulties Bethesda had in pivoting to sci-fi for Fallout 3 are well-documented. But one ...
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Fallout 3 nearly didn't have VATS

Fallout started in 1997 as an isometric, turn-based game, in which the Wanderer would patiently wait for big rats and ...

VATS almost didn't survive the transition to Bethesda, says Fallout 3 dev: 'We only just got that working by the time we shipped'

While it'd be hard to think of a Fallout game without VATS underlying it, linking gunplay to the classic RPG elements of its ...
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Fallout 3's VATS system helped compensate for Bethesda's lack of shooting chops: "We were never going to create gun combat that was on par with Call of Duty or Battlefield"

Bethesda hadn't dealt with guns in a long time when it came time to develop Fallout 3; thankfully, VATS helped close the distance. Aside from some Terminator games in the 1990s, Bethesda's bread and ...
PC Gamer

A mod has finally given New Vegas the more cinematic VATS visuals of Fallout 3

Among the many little tweaks Obsidian made in Fallout: New Vegas was an overhaul of VATS. The crit bonus and damage reduction were revised downward, meaning that rather than being a bulletproof god ...