Having multiple voices to choose from for the player character is somewhat uncommon but not unheard of
Interplay tried that with BoS and it didn't work out very well. I doubt Bethesda is going to make that much of a radical change. However they didn't utilize the SPECIAL system very. In the old games you had to put some thought in how you invested those points.
For example Strength determined your carry weight, your health, and what weapons you could use. For example if you are a 2 strength character and you used a minigun that required 8 strength, you would be hit with a nasty accuracy penalty. In fallout 3 you can be a small weakling and use all the big guns with no problems what so ever.
Perception affected your combat sequence(how soon you got your next turn in battle), it also affected your ranged weapon accuracy modifier, how far away enemies spawn in random encounters, etc. Doesn't seem to matter too much because your accuracy is determined by a cone fire pattern where 1-2 bullets is going to hit out of every 3-4 shots.
The Special system also modified your skills. Base 35% + Whatever your agility is. If your agility is 10 + the base 35% your small guns skill is 45% and if you tag it another 20% goes into it you get 65% of small guns. Other things that were affected included your armor class, poison resistance, radiation resistance, your healing rate, and your critical chance.
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