12 Things You Didn't Know About Fallout 3

3. The "Oblivion With Guns" Criticism Was Almost Too Accurate

Because Fallout 3's core design was based on the engine and tools Bethesda had perfected across the Elder Scrolls series, it quickly became dubbed as 'Oblivion with guns' at launch. While that isn't a TOTALLY off-base summary of the sequel itself - considering the obvious similarities even at a glance - it was almost much more on the money.

That's because with this being Bethesda's first shooter since 1995, the studio actually prototyped the gun mechanics using the base they'd already built from Oblivion. Apparently, early on the prototypes for weapons were based on that game's bow and arrow, with the team adjusting the firing rate to mimic that of an assault rifle.

Unsurprisingly, this didn't work, and the team threw the prototype out and designed the gun system from scratch. Honestly, the end mechanics probably didn't end up being much better, with the gunplay in Fallout 3 being easily the worst part of the game.