Fallout: New Vegas irradiating October

Although last night's premiere of the Kinect motion-sensing system is hogging the majority of headlines, another development of import for gamers occurred early Monday. Bethesda Softworks has dated Fallout: New Vegas. The semi-sequel to the hit 2008 role-playing game Fallout 3 will ship October 19 in North America, with a European release to follow on October 22. The game will be released on the PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360.

Developed by many veterans of the original Fallout games at Obsidian Entertainment, New Vegas is set in the Mojave Wasteland and casts players in the role of a courier who gets shot in the head over a package and is left for dead. After recovering, players will be free to roam the desert, exploring new areas, modifying weapons, and getting wrapped up in the larger conflict between the New California Republic and the slave-trading Caesar's Legion.

In apparent conjunction with the release date announcement, Bethesda released a new trailer for Fallout: New Vegas, viewable below. For more information, check out GameSpot's previous coverage, and stay tuned for a fresh look at the postnuclear RPG later this week, straight from the Electronic Entertainment Expo.