VOTD: 'Nuka Break,' A Fan Film Based On Video Game Series 'Fallout'

I'm surprised we haven't seen a lot of fan films based on the Fallout video game series since it was revived a couple years back by publisher Bethesda Softworks. Fallout 3 and the many expansions that followed are set in a post-apocalyptic wasteland around Washington, DC (with the exception of the Las Vegas-set Fallout New Vegas) and the violent, weird, mutated denizens of the landscape are the sort of thing budding filmmakers might have a great time making in their spare time.

So here's Nuka Break, a ten minute-plus fan film set in the general Fallout world. A lot of love went into making this look like it belongs in that world; check it out after the break.

There are things I like a lot about this film — the ghoul, the overall look, the effects, props and many of the small details in the environment. As is so often the case with fan films, the acting here is a little shaky. Making a Fallout film represents a pretty difficult project: the games are intricately plotted and feature some very specific character types. I find the script here to be a little more jokey than what I'd expect to see, which is only an issue for me because it deviates a bit from some of the core tone of the games.

But at the same time, one of the things that makes Fallout great is that the games take time to celebrate the simple fact of life in a post-nuke wasteland, and that spirit exists here, too. The post-credits scene is pretty spot-on.

(One quibble for the hardcore: where's the 'War never changes' line that has always been present in the opening dialogue for the games?)