March 21, 2011 by

Publisher: Bethesda Softworks Developer: Obsidian Entertainment Genre: RPG Number of Players: 1 Release Date: October 15th 2010 ESRB Rating: M for Mature.  Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Content, Strong Language, and Use of Drugs Also Available on: Playstation 3, and PC

Internationally, the RPG genre has always traveled in two different directions. Where Japanese developers have marked their dominance with titles such as Final Fantasy X and Kingdom Hearts, western titles strained to shine in a market nearly completely saturated by the east. Since then, roles have changed this generation with the progressive development of western produced games that blaze trails in front of the stagnant Japanese market. One of which was Fallout 3. It wasn’t only a departure from the modus operandi that plagues B titles such as monosyllabic dialogue (I’m looking at you FF XIII) one dimensional personalities, and formulaic gameplay structure, but an impetus to steer away from a recognizable battle system, cleverly scripted dialogue and an emphasis on exploration like no other. Fallout New Vegas represents a hiccup in this progression as it’s hardly distinguishable from Fallout 3. Luckily, Obsidian retained Bethesda’s formula which still offers an unparalleled experience, but also unfortunately resurfaces issues which marred its predecessor.   

This time around, your story as a currier begins where it should have ended. While delivering a small package, you are ambushed by a smooth-talking, checkered coat-wearing ring leader who reveals that you’re carrying the Platinum Chip, an item in which the plot will begin to orbit around towards the end of the game. After hinting that your fate was orchestrated and not coincidental, he puts a bullet in your head. But as with many game protagonists, seemingly fatal wounds aren’t too deadly, and you’re revived by a mysterious robot which marks the beginning of your journey. 

Whichever path you choose to steer your quest in will be effected by the current political struggle between the NCR (New California Republic) and Caesar’s Legion much like the Enclave and Brotherhood of Steel in Fallout 3. The monolithic NCR holds control over most of the Mohave and embodies their mission statement within their title, which is to form the former Mohave Desert under republic order that most represents Pre-War America. Caesar’s Legion however has proudly built notoriety based on extinguishing entire villages, and manacling survivors while often attempting to convince them how “lucky” they are to be enslaved. Both are battling for power over the Hoover Dam in which its hydroelectricity being the largest source of power (and water of course) will determine who will have control over the Mohave Wasteland. 

While the NCR and Caesar’s Legion are the major players warring for supremacy in the Wasteland, you will come across smaller independent factions and businesses looking for a dry slice of the Mohave such as the Powder Gangers, the Khans Clan, Crimson Caravan, and even the Brotherhood and Enclave make a return. None of which are willing to cede business secrets or undermining plans for dominance to one another, but they're all more than willing to resort to cut-throat tactics to give themselves the upper hand. This leads to what makes up the loyalty and reputation system. As set before, player’s choice is paramount. Your interaction with individuals who represent their cabals or coalitions will directly and indirectly affect your overall relationship with the larger body which swings their opinion, ranging from idolization to vilification. Not only can you not please everyone, but certain paths chosen will lead to an unexpected turn of events where you may gain the support of some, and terminate relationships with others. I myself used multiple saves at fork decisions as backup in order to rewrite unwanted conclusions. 

The Mohave Wasteland is appropriately decorated with dusty, dry landscapes, clouds of radiation, rusted vehicles, and crumbled pylons and concrete structures. Sounds familiar? If you’ve played Fallout 3, then it should. There’s literally no graphical or artistic change in Fallout New Vegas. The immense Wasteland is fully captured and presented in a way that whenever you make impactful decisions, just by looking at the world around you invokes a sense of empowerment. At the same time however, character models and animations are extremely stiff and manikin-like which wedges a disconnect between the personality and emotion voiced through dialogue, and the near laughable expressions on their faces. It’s like watching Anna Nicole Smith trying to crack a smile. Other than the yellowish color scheme, it’s unavoidable to trace similarities placing the two side by side. And unfortunately, the comparisons run deeper, all the way down to the game’s granular, decrepit setting and intricate game mechanics. New Vegas isn’t so much an evolutionary progeny of Fallout 3, but more like an essential carbon copy that can easily be mistaken for DLC.

V.A.T.S., scavenging for loot and Caps (as well as other Mojave currencies), ridiculous exploding dismemberment, constant health and equipment monitoring, and oh so sweet perks and experience points, it’s all here. Fallout requires a steep learning curve, but those who've been acclimated can skip tutorials and embark on their quests right away. New comers can look forward to the awesome Vault-Tech Assisted Targeting System which allows you to strategically target enemies’ body parts to efficaciously eliminate them in battle. Have an obnoxious Nightkin bludgeoning your face with a Rebar Club? Target and cripple his legs so that you can keep your distance. Is there a heavily armed Fiend spraying a holy hell of bullets in your direction? Aim for their arms or weapon to disable them effectively. Or you can be like me, target their head and watch a confetti of eye balls, bone shards and brain matter fly in different directions as their skull explodes. Once your AP (Ability Points) are depleted, you can still battle enemies like a traditional first person shooter. Obsidian has even included the ability to aim with iron sights which gives players the choice between two effective combat styles. 

Perhaps what Fallout has always been best at was structuring the game in a way that rewards the player for exploration. Other than obviously uncovering useful status aids and rare equipment, looting to sell items will be your primary source of income; so be sure to manage your inventory and heavy baggage accordingly to ensure the efficiency of acquiring profitable items. The entire Mohave Wasteland is open to you from the start, so with the proper direction (i.e. the Explorer Perk and indicators on the compass), well over a hundred hours can easily be sank into turning over every stone in New Vegas.

Other elements that make Fallout New Vegas such a fantastic RPG is status management. Your HP is far from the only condition you should be paying attention to. As set during the aftermath of a nuclear war, the Wasteland is patched with radiation which is obviously harmful to your character and will rise in a certain amount of increments per second depending on the location. This of course will make you very ill contingent on what class of radiation sickness you have. Weapons and apparel are also subject to debilitation. The more use and abuse your equipment undergoes, the more derelict they become. Using other items of the same type to repair one another is one way to regenerate and improve the condition of equipment, and this also acts as another incentive to loot for more items. 

The factor of choice doesn’t only exist in the realm of cause and effect in New Vegas; just as it did in Fallout 3, options in augmenting your character’s stats are extremely flexible and tailor to your approach and style of play. Whereas standard (or I should say antiquated and less ambitious) RPG’s focus on allowing the player to customize their battle characteristics, more well received titles have broadened the perspective and factor in other abilities such as charisma. But Fallout takes it a step further. It hasn’t so much added a new dynamic to the formula, but more so weighted and balanced out the importance of each constituent. You can receive just as much success by boosting you character’s speech and bartering skills as you would with your more offensive attributes. Many confrontations can be resolved without firing a single round and still earn quest completion. If that’s not your style, you can still turn them into Swiss cheese and open them up with bullet holes. New Vegas has largely retained and slightly improved Fallout’s freedom of choice.   

I can sit here all day and rant all I want about the inseparable differences between Fallout 3 and New Vegas, but I cannot deny what makes this game different, even if it’s not much. The titular strip in and of itself gives this game its own identity as the act and theme of gambling is an integrated, yet optional part of Fallout New Vegas. Very early in the game you’ll receive a deck of cards which can be used to challenge passing NPC’s to a game of Caravan. Stakes are low, so it’s a neat little way to earn some extra Caps. Along your journey, you may pass some less elaborate casinos to test your luck. As for anyone expecting to dive right into a post-apocalyptic Vegas is going to have to wait, because it’s not until well over a dozen hours in, you’ll approach the illuminated city with the looming saucer shaped tower.   

If you've been to Las Vegas, then New Vegas will undoubtedly bear a striking resemblance. Obsidian did their best to resurrect the classic style of Vegas embodying everything from the 50's themed music, to the extravagant neon signs, and of course casinos. The Strip has retained much of its essence due to avoiding the nuclear war. Though a mere shadow of its former self, players will find out how Vegas still stands amidst the missile crisis. As expected, the elaborate attractions on the Vegas Strip give the player plenty of pleasurable distractions to engage in between quests. If you're feeling lucky, you can try your hand at gambling in the casinos with games like roulette, blackjack, and the slots. I myself tend not interact in such activities, so it's good to know that the game will allow you to pass straight through without risking a single Cap. What captivated me more were the extensive quest line and the people of New Vegas. The Strip is full of sordid, ribald, mob-like individuals that are fueled by greed as anyone could imagine in a setting as such. Even the most seemingly altruistic denizens of the Strip will bare their fangs and sink them deep if you cross them. Whereas prerequisite events along your main itinerary are forgettable, the New Vegas is where things begin to cook and characters are more memorable. 

Though the New Vegas Strip represents a clear distinction between this Fallout and the last, there are a few more noteworthy improvements. Companions play a much more influential role this time around than Fallout 3. Before their acceptance to travel, they may be lingering around like a seemingly common bystander, or play a role in your current quest. Keep in mind that your actions affect them as well. While in your company, they'll eventually pull you aside asking for a favor in aiding them to attend to some unfinished business. Depending on your choices, they'll either stick with you to the very end, or abandon you completely. Those that you partner up with on your travels are interacted via their companion wheel. This brings up a menu which arranges their commands that consists of basic tactics such as offensive and defensive approaches, proximity with your character, and combat aggressiveness. Companions can heal themselves if they suffer minor damage, but if they're severely injured, you can heal them with your in stock Stimpaks to keep them conscious. I highly recommend keeping one at your side as they can not only provide sufficient back up in battle, but they can also be used to carry an extra load which is an immense help during scavenging and they come equipped with special abilities that work as convenient loop holes for specific actions. 

Unfortunately however, the companion AI is a mixed bag. Generally they play their role in suitably accompanying you throughout the wasteland, but I advise to get an idea of the open world's "paved" terrain. If you step out of the set field and maneuver by jumping over obstacles or walk in uneven landscaping, the AI will get confused and either try to find the long way around to your location, or get stuck all together. This is especially prominent within tight spaces such as abandoned buildings, vaults and other underground facilities. At times, they'll get lost within the area and often focus on enemies that appear on the radar, but are inaccessible behind a wall. It sucks getting killed while your buddy is bearing their fists or cocking their gun at a steel wall.   

Lastly, there's the inclusion of Hardcore Mode. This isn’t just a mere increase in difficulty, it's a wasteland simulation. Survival becomes imperative as you'll have to monitor your thirst (H2O), hunger (FOD), and rest (SLP) levels. Venture too long without tending to these needs and the consequences suffered can go up to and include death. The option will be first presented at the very beginning of the game and alerts players of its difficulty. The developer actually recommends against playing it, so this clearly isn’t for the faint of heart. If you think you have the balls to tackle it, then by all means, experience a taste of what it's like to live in a post nuclear war torn wasteland.  

Fallout 3 was awarded Game of The Year in 2008 as critics excused its many technical issues, and hailed it for being one of the most massive and deeply interacting RPG's this generation, and it still is. However, following two years after its predecessor, Fallout New Vegas cannot be forgiven so easily. The many short comings that plagued Fallout 3 exist in New Vegas with no clear improvement what so ever. The golden unwritten rule of RPG's applies here: save often. Sessions still freeze, oddly hilarious glitches occur often, and there are even game breaking bugs that can and will drive players who've invested dozens upon dozens of hours insane and out the window. Luckily for me, my experience in New Vegas pales in comparison to horror stories told. Regardless, there's absolutely no excuse for a two year old engine duplicated into a current game that retains similar issues. This goes further in adding to a growing development trend where studios have gotten into the habit of releasing betas and patching them via the network. Though hard to believe, not everyone has an internet connection. And if those very few pick up a game such as Fallout New Vegas, they're stuck with an unfinished product.  

As far as recommendations go for New Vegas, there’s only one thing that needs to be said: however you felt about Fallout 3 won’t change towards this title. If you hated it, you’ll hate this one too; but like most players, Fallout New Vegas will make you feel right at home in its hostile wasteland. All of which was loved in the previous title is here with a slight adjustment: more weapons, more augmentations, more choices, more explorations, and of course, more Fallout 3. However, more Fallout 3 also means more floating enemies, more spinning heads, more falling through floors, and more game crashes. But despite Obsidian's lack of sequential evolution, the paucity of vegetation and organized civilization remains to coexist with New Vegas’ core of trekking through a vast perilous landscape, salvaging everything you can.  And there’s still a charm about the cadence of a war torn society in the 23rd century stuck in America’s 1950’s era. 

Score: 8.5/10 (Great)

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