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REVIEW: Fallout: New Vegas

Released: October 19th, 2010
Developer: Obsidian Entertainment
Published Bye: Bethesda Softworks
Platforms: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC
Rated: M for Mature

Let me start out by renaming this game to Fallout 3: New Vegas. The game’s actual title makes it sound like a whole new game which is something it’s far from. I swear I’m not complaining, though. New Vegas follows its predecessor’s formula very closely and I’m guessing that Bethesda felt no need to change something they found so highly successful (Fallout 3 won numerous awards and is considered one of the greatest “sandbox” RPG games of all time).

Fallout: New Vegas uses the same engine as Fallout 3 which explains why we seem to see a lot of the same bugs and issues. Fallout 3 was a well received game, but it was also infamous for it's shocking list of problems which included some major crashes of the game. I can't say I've personally run into any massive problems in New Vegas (although many have reported them), but I've seen my fair share off strange glitches. Once I was crouching and all of the sudden my leg went haywire and started to twist about as if it were doing a dance without me. Most of the time, the glitches are in the inhabitants around you. People are sometimes walking into walls and tables endlessly, and the Radscorpions are stuck in the ground with only their tails sticking up in the air. One thing that never failed to happen was when you have companions who tag along with you on your quests because even though you can jump over rocks and climb steep hills, they seem to want to take the longest way possible around to you. You might think you've lost your companion- don't worry, they'll find you. Eventually. Most glitches are so minor and hardly ruin gameplay, luckily. The annoying factors comes around when the framerate slows, or you get to a slow loading screens. Most loading screens take their time.

Set in the same post-nuclear war United States, you play as a courier in these turbulent times. Hired to deliver a mysterious platinum poker chip to New Vegas, you’re taken hostage by a man in a checker suit where you’re shot and left for dead. You awaken in the town of Goodsprings where you find out you were dug up by a robot named Viktor and fixed up by the town doctor. Once you set up your character and their traits, it’s time to begin your adventure in the perilous Mojave Wasteland. As you carry on through the game’s storyline, you find out that most of the hostility (not including the insane amount of mutated desert creatures) is over the platinum chip which is the key to who wields the power over New Vegas and the Hoover Dam. The Hoover Dam is basically the last resource for clean water and power and you’ll mostly find the New California Republic and the Legion clashing for control. In total there are three possible endings based on which faction you side with in the end. I highly recommend you save once you get to the New Vegas Strip because once the game ends, it’s done for good. I figured that Bethesda would have addressed that after the uproar it cased in Fallout 3..

Main storyline aside, there's a helluva lot of side quests to play through and they're what makes the game as awesome as it is. I found the main storyline good, but it was short and pretty predictable at times. There's almost an overwhelming amount of places to find and every time you turn around someone will want your help. Seriously, those people use you as a damn work horse. Pretty much every side quest would bring me somewhere new, and along the way I’d have already discovered a small handful of other locations. So trust me when I say there’s a lot to see.
If you've played Fallout 3, you’ll easily fall into the gameplay of New Vegas. Trekking through the Wasteland will have you coming across friendly folk and many other folk who want you dead on sight. If you wander off the beaten paths, you’ll run into all kinds of mean creatures New animal foes are present in the West, including but not limited to pesky Cazadores (giant such as the Nightstalker, which is a mix of rattlesnake and coyote- don’t worry, it doesn’t make sense to me, either. If you stay on the beaten path, you’re going to run into a lot of Raiders, Fiends and Legion men.

Generally, a good percent of everything with a heartbeat wants you dead. People aren’t very friendly in the post-Apocalyptic world. Luckily you’ll gather a handy assortment of weapons so you can fight fire with fire. Sometimes literally. Another great thing about Fallout is that you can explore your killing methods just as much as the Wasteland itself. Twisted? I know. It’s great. A nifty tool of yours is V.A.T.S. (stands for Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System) screen that allows you to pause the action and target an enemy and pin point exactly where you want to shoot them. Let’s say you’re low on health AND ammo. You could use V.A.T.S to boost your chances of a head shot, or you could shoot their weapon right out of their hand so they can inflict less damage.

Now, to kick-ass to the best of your ability, you’re going to have to level up. It’s not a chore since all the things you have to do to make it through the game give you experience points such as battle, lock picking and saying all the right things to other characters. New Vegas uses the same system as Fallout 3, so “S.P.E.C.I.A.L.” determines your basic character skills. The S.P.E.C.I.A.L. acronym stands for Strength, Perception, Endurance, Charisma, Intelligence, Agility, and Luck. When you wake up in Goodspirngs you'll be able to tally points to whichever stat you prefer. Choose wisely, because although a super strong but dumb character can still lead you into trouble. The skills are the same as before, ranging from speech to lock picking to guns. All the stats you pick are what make up who your character is and how people interact with you.
Some less Fallout 3 aspects include new weapon and ammo mods where a lot of the junk you just gathered for spare money can now be used in creating new things. There’s gambling mini-games in New Vegas, where you can try your luck with Blackjack, Roulette and the Slots The biggest addition, and the coolest, is Hardcore Mode. This mode makes surviving so much more difficult that the game actually recommends against enabling it. You can activate it as you begin your journey for a special prize at the end, but you’ll be cursing yourself the whole way through. You’ll have to make sure you regularly feed and rest your character.

Closing Comments
In New Vegas, the fun Fallout 3 formula is intact, with more polished combat, high-quality side missions, and the exciting setting of the Vegas strip. Unfortunately, the bugs also tagged along for the ride. If Obsidian and Bethesda had polished up the game by fixing the AI, improving the animations or even gotten it to run smoothly, perhaps it would feel less like a giant expansion of Fallout 3 and more like its own game. Be that as it may, Fallout 3 was a great game, so as similar as it is, Fallout: New Vegas is still a fun ride that offers more for fans of the series to enjoy. If you can look past its shortcomings, this is definitely a wasteland worth exploring.

PRESENTATION: 7.5 / 10

Long loads, a lot of bugs (although some of them are kind of funny) and the framerate can be relatively choppy at times. Once again, Bethesda could have spent a little more time on their creation, but we’re used to that by now.

GAMEPLAY: 9 / 10

If you loved Fallout 3, I don’t think you can hate this. The gameplay is nearly identical. There’s a lot you can do, but it’s all quite simple.

GRAPHICS: 7.5 / 10

The Mojave is vast, but it’s not exactly beautiful. Well, it is, but I didn’t feel as wowed as I did when Fallout 3 first came out. It seems like the graphics haven’t really been updated from the previous game, but it still looks fantastic.

REPLAY VALUE: 9 / 10

In plain and simple terms: there is SO much to do. I’ve played the game through numerous times and I still know there’s a lot more to do out there in the Mojave and along the New Vegas Strip. I highly recommend you save when you feel the game is near its end, because once again, when the game is done.. it’s simply done and you can’t play in the Wasteland once the credits are through.

FINAL SCORE: 8 / 10