In Autumn of 2008, Bethesda relaunched the Fallout series, scoring great reviews and
introducing the franchise to a whole new generation of fans.
Fallout 3 managed to be one of the most impressive open world games ever made, but not everything
that was supposed to be featured in the game made it to release day.
Like most games of its size and scope, there was plenty of content left on the cutting
room floor.
This week we’re going to dive into that content and give you just a peek of what could
have been.
One of the most memorable aspects of Fallout 3 was its great music, provided by a few radio
stations in the game.
But one station didn’t make it the cut: Tenpenny Tower Radio.
That’s right, an entire station dedicated to both music and, maybe more interestingly,
Allistair Tenpenny’s musings on life.
The station has quite a bit of unused dialogue, including generic radio intros like “Thank
you for listening to Tenpenny Tower radio service.
Brought to you by Allistair Tenpenny”, "You're listening to Tenpenny Tower radio, the sound
of progress!".
But it also included segments called “Tenpenny’s Truisms” where Allistair would impart opinions
like "Never wonder for a moment if you are worthy of the benefits you possess.
Rather wonder always if you have utilized them to their fullest.” and "On that vast
plain of dust we will raise new cities, and like the Phoenix spread the wings of new life
and take flight!"
Moving on from radio, there is also plenty of creatures that failed to make the final
version of the game.
One interesting example is the Manowar tendril floater, this creepy, Lovecraftian beast was
originally supposed to be similar to a regular floater, but with a distinct eye.
For whatever reason though, this was dropped and the only known design can be found in
The Art of Fallout 3.
In that same book, you can find the Needle tooth floater, which resembles a spider with
a somewhat humanlike head.
And the Lamprey floater, which is just horrible looking.
Mirelurks are already strange looking, but there was originally a plan to have a humanoid
version of them, called Catfish Mirelurks, roaming the wasteland, but there simply wasn’t
time to include them in the game.
One of the weirdest creatures from Fallout 2, the Wanamingo (whom was based on the Xenomorph
from Alien by the way), was also slated to reappear in Fallout 3.
Ultimately though, Bethesda decided against using it.
Some of the most notable cuts in the game were done to the weapons.
These included the creatively named Excalibat.
Sure, it may look like any ordinary baseball bat, but it was actually going to be much
more powerful, not to mention fully repairable when it was damaged.
This special bat was planned to be a light parody of the King Arthur legend, where players
would have seen a glowing bat stuck in a rock, and could have pulled it out to use as a weapon.
Oh and speaking of swords, a unique chinese officer’s sword called “Clover’s Cleaver”
was also supposed to be a playable weapon in the game and would have been a bit more
powerful than the average blade.
Another weapon cut from Fallout 3 was the deadly cryolater.
Although it would eventually appear in Fallout 4, the version used in that game looks much
different from the one cut here, though they would have functioned very similarly.
The cyro mine and cyro grenade were also originally meant to be be part of the base game but were
instead added later on in the Mothership Zeta DLC.
A powerful pistol called the Law Dog, a unique .32 with increased damage was also going to
be in the game, with the developers even going as far as to record specific firing sound
clips for it, but for unknown reasons it was dropped at the last minute.
One of the coolest weapons cut from the game though has to be the Discharge Hammer, found
in the files of Broken Steel, this heavy duty beast would have both caused massive damage
and send an electric shock into whoever you’re fighting.
It also would have been able to strike about 600 times before finally breaking.
Another fun fact about the development of Fallout 3 was that a “throwing” skill
was once going to be a component in the game, which would have focused on giving players
a chance to hurl items at enemies to attack them.
This makes a certain amount of sense, especially considering that throwing was a skill featured
in the first two Fallout games.
Bethesda even created Pip-boy art for it.
In the end though, this was cut and consolidated into the “explosives” skill.
But at least the art didn’t go to waste, as New Vegas would eventually use it in the
“Heave, Ho!” perk.
Is there anything you wish had made it into Fallout 3?
Be sure to let us know!
Now it’s time for our comment showcase.
Shawnee Longbow commented to tell us their theory about the Institute Coursers, who could
be a reference to a very obscure movie: Harley Davidson & the Marlboro Man which features
a pretty similar story and design.
Next up is our shoddy comment, from Hamguy Bacon who says “the DICKHEADS of steel”.
Hey...that’s fair, I guess.
Lastly we have our trivia: last week's episode we asked you what year Deus Ex: Mankind Divided was set
and the answer was A) 2029
This week we have a Fallout relative question: what was the original name of Med-X, which is still
used in the Japanese and Czech versions of the game?