So New Vegas was on my mind as I was trying to sleep, and figured shitting out a half-assed review would fix that. Excuse the poor quality.
<b>Developer: Obsidian Entertainment
Publisher: Bethesda Softworks
Platform: 360, PS3, PC
Players: One is the loneliest number
Genre: Adventure RPG or some shit? I don't fucking know</b></div>
<div align='center'><b><!--sizeo:3--><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:100%"><!--/sizeo-->Let's get this motherfucker started<!--sizec--></span><!--/sizec--></b></div>
Fallout: New Vegas is a non-linear action RPG, which takes place in what remains of Nevada after some nuclear bullshit went down. Those who have played the previous of the series, Fallout 3, will find New Vegas a direct descendant. They utilize the same engine and are mechanically equivalent. This means you'll quickly find yourself in a vast and bleak world, running around completing quests for an unending number of interesting NPCs.
<div align='center'><b><!--sizeo:3--><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:100%"><!--/sizeo-->A fan fiction adventure starring YOU<!--sizec--></span><!--/sizec--></b></div>
Dating back to the original Fallout, you've always had granular control in dictating how your character evolves; your game experience will vary greatly based on the areas you focus in. Barter and weapon skills will allow you the gear to survive direct encounters. Speech, stealth, lockpicking, and science, will all open up new ways to complete and discover quests... in many situations allowing you to avoid combat altogether.
The highly robust face creator from Fallout 3 remains, letting you customize even the minute aspects of your appearance. While this of course has no effect on game play, it further contributes to the sense that this character is truly yours.
<div align='center'><b><!--sizeo:3--><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:100%"><!--/sizeo-->I put on my robe and wizard hat<!--sizec--></span><!--/sizec--></b></div>
By far the series' greatest strength is in it's storytelling. From the very beginning you are thrown onto an enormous map of the seemingly endless Majove Desert. There are 125 distinct locations to discover, most of which populated by a large number of unique NPCs. And when I say "unique", I don't just mean a fancy piece of armour or clothing. Each one has a distinct personality which unmistakably comes through during conversations. This is further augmented by having separate voices for <i>every single one</i> with whom you can initiate dialogue. Even with subtitles enabled I found myself waiting to let the voice actors finish every sentence. From <a href="http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/596947343311809919/3B8DCAEAF111B1FE14E6217BA7D89E05C2C76ACA/" target="_blank">Fantastic's</a> <a href="http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/596947343311779418/09062EF087453E46225C215C5C93A1D77056E697/" target="_blank">hilarious</a> <a href="http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/596947343311793457/53A7C27F4E519E16FACC763EF91B781766EC1589/" target="_blank">antics</a> to Beatrix Russell's raspy come-ons. The first-person perspective definitely gives the impression that it's <i>you</i> in-game exploring and learning about the world.
From the start it's also very clear what the main quest line is and where it's going to inevitably lead you. The game starts with you being dug-up by a friendly Securitron named Victor, who's taken residence in the small town of Goodsprings. This is after an unfortunate encounter the night prior, with a well-dressed man and his entourage, leaving you ten feet under. You soon learn that you were a carrier commissioned to transport a very valuable object. An object this man has taken from you.
Aside from finding him and regaining the stolen bounty, there are about <i>200 </i>other quests you can pursue. These range from tedious fetch quests to self-contained adventures entwined in buckets of plot. What you have access to depends entirely on how you decide to interact with the world. The friends you've made... and the enemies.
<div align='center'><!--sizeo:3--><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:100%"><!--/sizeo--><b>Seriously guys, I'm in the Brotherhood of Steel</b><!--sizec--></span><!--/sizec--></div>
One of the biggest additions in New Vegas are the factions and reputation system. Completing quests or interacting with NPCs can affect how certain groups perceive you. If you've been running around slaughtering members of the NCR, they're probably going to attack you on sight. Conversely if you prove yourself helpful to a particular faction, they'll be more inclined to offer you supplies, shelter, or even membership in their ranks.
A powerful mechanic of this is disguise. Each faction has clothing and armour which is unique to them. Equipping these items can convince certain people that you're affiliated. You might be able to sneak into the overtaken NCR correctional facility by putting on an orange jumpsuit. Or be granted an audience with the leader of The Kings if you've got the faux-leather jacket and pomade in your hair.
<div align='center'><!--sizeo:3--><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:100%"><!--/sizeo--><b>Living in Brotopia</b><!--sizec--></span><!--/sizec--></div>
Throughout your travels you'll come across a number (the number being 8) of interesting companions, who, for whatever reason, will decide to accompany you on your travels. Each is unique in design: from the estranged night-time sniper, to the towering <a href="http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/596947343311679751/6E9F349EE996C472D4ABB38FDD90C1E86534F04C/" target="_blank">super-mutant who still reminisces fondly about her human grandchildren</a>. They remain invaluable throughout the game, engaging in skirmishes, buffing you and the other party members, acting as pack mules to carry additional loot, sometimes just providing "keen insight" relevant to the current quest <a href="http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/596947343310039862/3E57292DF0986ED316FAEBD8A241DE23F8D4A02A/" target="_blank">or tactical decisions</a>
<div align='center'><!--sizeo:3--><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:100%"><!--/sizeo--><b>Fighting is only half the battle</b><!--sizec--></span><!--/sizec--></div>
At first glance the combat system seems fairly generic. You get guns. You get armour. You equip them both, aim at hostile red marks on your compass, and shoot. If that's all you want from it, that's definitely how you can play.
Continue on though, and you'll find a level of depth that heavily depends on how one chooses to build build character. You can be the power game who picks up the strongest weapon they can find to plow face-first through everyone. The long-range sniper that takes out targets from afar. The explosives nut who sets up fatal traps for foes to fall into. Or maybe you want to be Solid Snake, avoiding detection until they find a knife (or golf club) in their back?
Even within specializations of a specific weapon type, there are a breathtaking number of ways to kill people. Take for example the explosives expert. The first immediate thing which probably comes to mind is "well, I can chuck grenades at people and they blow up." Thinking a little more, maybe there's some other ways. You might want to try lining a hallway with C4, and having either yourself or your companions as bait to lead them to their demise. A silly way I discovered to eliminate targets is to sneak remote explosive into an NPC's pocket during a pickpocket attempt. At this point you can retreat, blow them up from afar, or wait until he congregates with a group you'd like to take out all at once. This all being said, sometimes there's no substitute to the devastation caused by a minigun which shoots grenades.
<div align='center'><!--sizeo:3--><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:100%"><!--/sizeo--><b>Not the hardest dude at the gay bar</b><!--sizec--></span><!--/sizec--></div>
This must be prefaced with what I feel game difficulties should represent. "Easy" is where you go upon finding a game simply too tough for you, or just want to breeze through without thinking. "Hard" can revitalize a game you've mastered on normal, and may well be mandatory for those who require the thrill of a challenge. "Normal" should be the experience the developer wants you to have on your first play through.
Currently living on normal, the closer I've gotten to end-game, the exponentially easier it has been. As a fledgling explorer the enemies posed a legitimate threat. If I rushed into an open field with half a dozen dudes performing cap popping of the ass, quickly I'd find myself rolling back to a previous save. Not so after about level 10. As a level 23 guns specialist the enemies provide absolutely no resistance and are mowed down like ants (incidentally some of them <i>are </i>actually ants). Based on the sheer amount of carnage left in my wake, I've considered renaming my character "Rambo V."
If you're the type of person who wants enthralling involvement in the combat, I highly recommend starting on "hard" or greater. Suffice to say that's what I'll be doing for any future characters.
<div align='center'><!--sizeo:3--><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:100%"><!--/sizeo--><b>Woah nukka, get down from that shelf</b><!--sizec--></span><!--/sizec--></div>
Unfortunately what New Vegas quickly became notorious for upon launch was not what a great game it is, but rather how infuriatingly buggy it was. While Bethesda has produced a number of patches post-release, many still remain. These range from the <a href="http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/596946065216671289/091FDF4362C6B6C3024FD9A37B848BF468D09EC0/" target="_blank">amusing graphical glitch</a>, through things that are annoying like <a href="http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/596947343309745227/D3309E86ECCFFA90526156413ADF8F39228957FF/" target="_blank">getting stuck in a wall</a>, to those which are permanently detrimental to your experience. The <a href="http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Fallout_Wiki" target="_blank">Fallout Wiki</a> has been invaluable in helping me either avoid or fix such things as companions disappearing, getting locked in dialogue, non-completable quests, among others.
<div align='center'><!--sizeo:3--><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:100%"><!--/sizeo--><b>Why am I still awake</b><!--sizec--></span><!--/sizec--></div>
What New Vegas really come down to is: experience. What you get out of it depends heavily on what you put in. Once you're heavily invested in the canon, in the characters, in <i>your </i>character, and the world in general, there's really no other game series that's comparable. Even 40 hours in I've only experienced a fraction of what the game has to offer, and it has me going back for more.
<div align='center'><img src="http://pix.gbatemp.net/90032/1314887947_Trophy_Gold.png" border="0" class="linked-image" />I rate this: <!--sizeo:4--><span style="font-size:14pt;line-height:100%"><!--/sizeo--><b><a href="http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/596947343311608956/5643EDE541B674CF0ADFAA759ACD48E51C6C1768/" target="_blank">Pretty Cool</a>/10</b><!--sizec--></span><!--/sizec--></div>
