12 Things You Didn't Know About Fallout 3

12. V.A.T.S Had An Unlikely Source Of Inspiration

Fallout 3 Vats
Bethesda

V.A.T.S. is one of Fallout 3's more impressive combat features, offsetting the admittedly clunky gunplay by allowing players to stop time and play a numbers game by targeting specific body parts and turning them into a bloody mess.

Creating their first shooter in a decade didn't come easily though, and Bethesda actually had an unlikely source of inspiration for the gory feature: Burnout.

Apparently, the devs had been binging EA's series (who can blame them?) and became particularly enamoured with the crash replays, which would slow down time and show the destruction of the vehicles from a bunch of different angles, savouring each impact.

They applied that same concept to the V.A.T.S. system, with each shot being shown off in glorious slow-motion and particular emphasis on destroyed body parts.

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Josh has over 11 years of experience as a published writer, having worked nine of those years as a full-time content producer at WhatCulture. In that period he has created hundreds of articles, videos and podcast episodes for multiple WhatCulture channels, specialising in gaming, horror and film & TV. He now primarily works as a senior content producer and presenter on WhatCulture Gaming where he co-hosts the WhatCulture Gaming Podcast, a top 3 UK most listened to gaming podcast that he co-created in 2018. Over the years he has reviewed several high-profile gaming releases, covered industry events with on-site reporting, opined on breaking news, and even kicked off his interviewing career by chatting to childhood hero, Tommy Wiseau.