Burnout’s Crash Mode replays were the original inspiration behind the Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System (V.A.T.S.).

The sound you hear played upon entering V.A.T.S. is the combat turn sound from Fallout 1. It used to help signal the end of a fight - and, let's face it, entering V.A.T.S. usually does too.

Some secrets extend to even the wallpapers put out by Bethesda to market New Vegas – notably one of a young lady looking coquettish in a Vault 34 jumpsuit. “It’s actually the leader of the Boomers faction, Pearl, as a young woman,” says Lead designer J.E. Sawyer. “Which is why her name appears next to the picture on the side of the Boomers’ B-29 in the background of their end slide.”

Fallout 3 began development in 2004 and was announced before Oblivion – which came out 2 years earlier - was even revealed. Fallout 4's surprise reveal and speedy release has gone in the opposite direction.

In the world of Fallout, the nuclear bombs fell on 23 October. Bethesda wanted to make the release date of Fallout 3 coincide with this, but ended up releasing a week later in North America.

The names on New Vegas’ Boulder City memorial are not, as is widely thought, those of developers. They’re fictional, but have links to past Fallout games. Roger Westin III is, for example, the grandson of an NCR character in Fallout 2.

Artist Grant Struthers prototyped the V.A.T.S. camera system by filming his Incredibles action figures fighting.

The very first piece of Fallout 3 art was created by lead artist Istvan Pely in 2004. It was the power armor image that eventually became the game’s cover.

Actress Courtney Cox (i.e. Monica from Friends) worked at Bethesda briefly in the 1980s. She later hosted the Fallout 3 launch party.

Monty Python references abound in New Vegas’ Wasteland – but only if you have the Wild Wasteland perk. For instance, in Cottonwood Cove a building is graffitied ‘Romanes Eunt Domus’ in reference to Life of Brian, and Holy Hand Grenades can be found in a Camp Searchlight cellar. And that’s not all…

Leave Cerulean Robotics and you’ll get assaulted by Hell’s Grannies – a gang from sketch-film And Now For Something Completely Different. “I liked them because there was actually some foreshadowing for it,” explains Sawyer.

The bell that sounds after shooting the Fat Man Nuclear Catapult is the lunchroom bell at the Bethesda offices.

The Fat Man is based on an actual nuke launcher, the M-388 Davy Crockett Tactical Nuclear Recoilless Rifle, which was made in the 1950s.

The cars in Fallout 3 are based on the Ford Nucleon, a concept car built to run on a nuclear generator in the 1950s.

The Downtown DC area in Fallout 3 was originally twice as big, but the team decided it was too large and confusing and cut half the space out. Conversely, the Wasteland area eventually doubled.

Reckon you vaguely recognize the voice of the Robobrains? That’s none other than Wil Wheaton.

Mr. Handy and Harold are both voiced by Stephen Russell, who also plays Garrett in the Thief series of games.

At one point, Fallout 3 featured a surgery mini-game, where you had to cauterize your own wounds while watching your character scream in pain. The team felt it slowed down the game’s pace to just heal your limbs.

There is a secret perk in New Vegas called "Meat of Champions". First, you must obtain the "Cannibal" perk, and then eat the Kings of New Vegas - Caesar, Mr. House, The King, and President Kimball – after that, you get stat bonuses for every body you eat.

In the original design of the Fallout 3, you were actually able to drive Liberty Prime. You also did battle with a working and floating Rivet City.

If you sneak up behind a Brahmin and activate it, your character will tip it over. Like a bastard.

There is a unique gnome in New Vegas called the Evil Gnome, modeled after lead world builder Scott Everts.

In the Hubris Comics’ building in Fallout 3, there is a terminal in the computer games division that contains an actual working text adventure called The Reign of Grelok.