Game title: Fallout: New Vegas
Platform: PS3, Xbox 360, PC
Developers: Obsidian Entertainment, Bethesda Softworks
Release date: October 19, 2010
Pregame:
In 2008, Bethesda's Fallout 3 was an absolute sensation. Gamers who had never heard of the Fallout series, myself included, were hooked. The game's old-fashioned charm mixed surprisingly well with a post-apocalyptic world, and the mix of old and new technology was certainly appealing. This is a game where it was possible to kill a sword-wielding junkie by shooting him with a laser pistol, or fight a hulking Super Mutant with a BB gun. That last one wasn't advisable, by the way.
Fallout 3 showed players a post-WWIII Washington D.C. that earned the nickname "the Capital Wasteland." For the next Fallout, Bethesda passed the developmental reigns to Obsidian Entertainment, who set out to take the series geographically closer to its California origins in Fallout: New Vegas.
In New Vegas, players take on the role of a wasteland courier with some seriously bad luck. This is evidenced by the facet that a checker-suited greaser (oddly voiced by Matthew Perry) shoots the courier in the head during the opening cutscene. After some miraculous surgery and convenient amnesia, it's time for the player to explore the world and sort out why the hell that just happened.
Play-by-play:
While the new setting is what's left of Las Vegas, players won't spend most of their time on the strip. That area is certainly important, but New Vegas offers new places to explore at every turn. On my first playthrough, I didn't even reach the strip until I was already level 18. Thankfully, the level cap is 30 this time around, instead of Fallout 3's 20. It gives players a little breathing room to explore the impressive setting Obsidian has constructed.
The world of New Vegas has many familiar sights to Fallout fans, like mutated animals, Super Mutants, drug-addicted raiders, vault dwellers, and even the metal-clad Brotherhood of Steel. While all that is familiar territory, it's the new content that players will remember. A slew of factions that were absent from Fallout 3 appear here, most notably the New California Republic (NCR) and Ceasar's Legion.
The NCR fancies itself to be a beacon of civilization in the wastelands, while the brutal, sadistic Legion seeks to dominate and enslave the average wastelander. Much of the game sees tensions rise between the two, culminating in a final battle for Hoover Dam and the electricity it provides. Players can side with whoever they like, and even seize control from themselves if they want. There are several other, smaller factions to assist or condemn, and players will shape their own world through their choices.
As far as gameplay and combat are concerned, New Vegas is much the same is Fallout 3. The V.A.T.S. targeting system is alive and well, many of the weapons are the same (although there are a few fun new additions), many enemies are similar or identical and players still level up by killing things and completing quests. There have been a few tweaks to the leveling system, however. For one, players now get an advantageous "perk" once every two levels, instead of once every level. Many are new, but there are several perks that were carried over from Fallout 3 as well.
That seems to be the theme for New Vegas, at least in terms of mechanics. Obsidian made small improvements, but didn't change too much. Because I liked Fallout 3 so much, I'm pretty o.k. with that. New Vegas is essentially a glorified Fallout 3 expansion, but I'm not complaining. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it," right?
Speaking of "broke," a warning to all would-be players: this is a very glitchy game. You'll see people sink into floors, twitch wildly and speak with distortion, sometimes at the same time. Occasionally, it'll even be possible to fail a quest for no apparent reason. Expect to get screwed out of something at least once, so my advice is to save often and keep multiple save files.
Personally, I find it easier to forgive buggy games when they're massive open world endeavors like New Vegas. There is so much ground to cover that it's understandable that they didn't find every bug. Thankfully, this game's infamous game-breaking bug has been fixed since it first appeared around release day.
Final Call:
New Vegas offers an expansive yet detailed world that players can explore as much or as little as they like. This game really gives players options. They can get completely involved in people's personal lives, they can be somewhat helpful, or they can pass them by entirely. At almost any point, it's possible to stop what you're doing and go do something else.
At it's core, New Vegas is about possibilities. Just like Fallout 3, it's probably one of the best times you'll ever have aimlessly wandering.
Platform: PS3, Xbox 360, PC
Developers: Obsidian Entertainment, Bethesda Softworks
Release date: October 19, 2010
Fallout 3 showed players a post-WWIII Washington D.C. that earned the nickname "the Capital Wasteland." For the next Fallout, Bethesda passed the developmental reigns to Obsidian Entertainment, who set out to take the series geographically closer to its California origins in Fallout: New Vegas.
In New Vegas, players take on the role of a wasteland courier with some seriously bad luck. This is evidenced by the facet that a checker-suited greaser (oddly voiced by Matthew Perry) shoots the courier in the head during the opening cutscene. After some miraculous surgery and convenient amnesia, it's time for the player to explore the world and sort out why the hell that just happened.
Play-by-play:
While the new setting is what's left of Las Vegas, players won't spend most of their time on the strip. That area is certainly important, but New Vegas offers new places to explore at every turn. On my first playthrough, I didn't even reach the strip until I was already level 18. Thankfully, the level cap is 30 this time around, instead of Fallout 3's 20. It gives players a little breathing room to explore the impressive setting Obsidian has constructed.
The world of New Vegas has many familiar sights to Fallout fans, like mutated animals, Super Mutants, drug-addicted raiders, vault dwellers, and even the metal-clad Brotherhood of Steel. While all that is familiar territory, it's the new content that players will remember. A slew of factions that were absent from Fallout 3 appear here, most notably the New California Republic (NCR) and Ceasar's Legion.
The NCR fancies itself to be a beacon of civilization in the wastelands, while the brutal, sadistic Legion seeks to dominate and enslave the average wastelander. Much of the game sees tensions rise between the two, culminating in a final battle for Hoover Dam and the electricity it provides. Players can side with whoever they like, and even seize control from themselves if they want. There are several other, smaller factions to assist or condemn, and players will shape their own world through their choices.
As far as gameplay and combat are concerned, New Vegas is much the same is Fallout 3. The V.A.T.S. targeting system is alive and well, many of the weapons are the same (although there are a few fun new additions), many enemies are similar or identical and players still level up by killing things and completing quests. There have been a few tweaks to the leveling system, however. For one, players now get an advantageous "perk" once every two levels, instead of once every level. Many are new, but there are several perks that were carried over from Fallout 3 as well.
That seems to be the theme for New Vegas, at least in terms of mechanics. Obsidian made small improvements, but didn't change too much. Because I liked Fallout 3 so much, I'm pretty o.k. with that. New Vegas is essentially a glorified Fallout 3 expansion, but I'm not complaining. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it," right?
Personally, I find it easier to forgive buggy games when they're massive open world endeavors like New Vegas. There is so much ground to cover that it's understandable that they didn't find every bug. Thankfully, this game's infamous game-breaking bug has been fixed since it first appeared around release day.
Final Call:
New Vegas offers an expansive yet detailed world that players can explore as much or as little as they like. This game really gives players options. They can get completely involved in people's personal lives, they can be somewhat helpful, or they can pass them by entirely. At almost any point, it's possible to stop what you're doing and go do something else.
At it's core, New Vegas is about possibilities. Just like Fallout 3, it's probably one of the best times you'll ever have aimlessly wandering.
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