Neeson voicing Fallout 3, setting revealed?

The credits of the first two Fallout games boast an impressive array of grade-A B-list actors. The 1997 original postapocalyptic role-playing game featured Keith David (They Live), Clancy Brown (Highlander), Ron Perlman (Hellboy), Richard Dean Anderson (MacGyver), Brad Garrett (Everybody Loves Raymond), Tony Shalhoub (Monk), David Warner (Tron), and CCH Pounder (The Shield). Its 1999 sequel, Fallout 2, saw Perlman return and be joined by Jeffrey Jones (Deadwood), Dwight Schultz (The A-Team), and Michael Dorn (Star Trek: The Next Generation).

Now, with the first glimpse of Fallout 3 just 28 days away, developer-publisher Bethesda Softworks has revealed the game's first voice actor. Today, the company announced that Irish-born Liam Neeson has joined the game's cast in a "lead role." Neeson has appeared in dozens of films and was nominated for a best actor Oscar for his portrayal of a flawed humanitarian in Schindler's List. Gamers will also recognize him from roles in Batman Begins and Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace.

Fallout 3 marks Neeson's second appearance in a game, after 2005's Batman Begins. In the forthcoming RPG, he will voice the father of the protagonist--a role written specifically with the actor in mind, according to Bethesda. No other details were made available.

Though Bethesda is still keeping a tight lid on all non-Neeson-related details, it did drop a hint today about Fallout 3's setting. The publisher released a new concept-art shot for the game, which shows the bombed-out ruins of Washington, D.C. (pictured). When asked if the game would be set in the nation's capital, a rep's only reply was, "I'll let you draw your own conclusions." A D.C .setting would be a major departure from the locales of previous Fallouts, which were set in California and Nevada.