Fallout: New Vegas
Developer: Obsidian Entertainment
Publisher: Bethesda Softworks (US, UK, JP), Namco Bandai (EU, AU, NZ), & 1C/Cenega (PL, RU, CZ)
Release Date: October 19, 2010
Genre: Role-playing Ga,e
Engine: Gamebryo
Modes: Single Player
Platforms: Xbox, PS3, Windows
Media: Blu-Ray Disc, DVD, Download
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Fallout: New Vegas is a role-playing video game developed by Obsidian Entertainment and published by Bethesda Softworks. While New Vegas is not a direct sequel, it uses the same engine and style as Fallout 3. It was developed by a few of the employees who worked on previous Fallout games at Black Isle Studios, along with a larger number of new employees. It is set in a post-apocalyptic Nevada.
The game was released on October 19, 2010 in North America, October 22, 2010 in Europe, and November 4, 2010 in Asia. It is available on the PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3.
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Development History
Fallout New Vegas was announced on April 20, 2009 at Bethesda’s London showcase. While the first information was released in PC Gamer’s February 2010 issue. A cinematic teaser trailer can be seen below.
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Setting
The game is set in and around a post-apocalyptic retro-futuristic Las Vegas, following the Great War between the U.S., China as a conventional and nuclear war that occurred on October 22 - October 23, 2077, and lasted less than two hours, despite causing colossal damage and destruction. Before the Great War was the Resource Wars, during which the United Nations disbanded, a plague rendered the United States paranoid, and Canada was annexed. The city of Las Vegas itself wasn't hit as hard as most of the other districts, with most buildings being left intact as a result. The Hoover Dam supplies free electricity and water to those who control it.
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| New Vegas concept art |
Story
The story has taken some parts from the Fallout and Fallout 2 stories, and is for the most part unrelated to its predecessor, Fallout 3.
Fallout: New Vegas takes place in 2281, four years after the events of Fallout 3, and thirty-nine years after Fallout 2. The New California Republic plays a major part in the game's story, being in a three-way struggle amongst the Caesar's Legion slavers, and the mysterious Mr. House.
The player's character, The Courier, was meant to deliver a package from Primm to New Vegas. However, the Courier is intercepted by the Great Khans lead by a mysterious man, who shoots him and takes the package, leaving the Courier for dead in a shallow grave. The Courier is later found by a robot named Victor, and is sent to the settlement of Goodsprings, where Doctor Mitchell saves his life. After the Courier is given some medical tests, the player is pushed back into the open world, and the quest, Ain't That a Kick in the Head, begins. Fallout: New Vegas has a definitive ending, unlike Fallout 3.
Endings for Fallout: New Vegas, are dependent on what actions the player took via quests during the game, with separate endings being shown for each major location, political faction, and recruit able companion.
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| Main Screen |
Gameplay
The gameplay system is similar to Fallout 3 gameplay, although some changes have been made, one being changes to the combat system to make it feel more like a first-person shooter, including the ability to use weapon iron sights.
Hardcore Mode
Hardcore mode is an optional setting which makes the game more realistic, with gameplay elements such as dehydration, and non-instantaneous healing. If you choose against playing the game mode, it can be turned back on mid-game. Either a trophy or achievement is awarded for completing Fallout: New Vegas on Hardcore mode, however, in order to earn it, the entire game must be played in Hardcore, from the point first prompted until the endgame sequence, without ever turning the setting off. The Casual/Hardcore mode distinction is independent of difficulty settings.
Character System
The SPECIAL system returns, and directly influences speech options and quests. Unlike Fallout 3, traits are available for taking, and perks are gained every two levels instead of every one, a move made by the developers to avoid creating overpowered Couriers. Now with the DLCs added to me it feels like the Courier is OPed, hardcore. Not even kidding, with all of the DLCs added your level goes up to 50. Now as I was walking through a train yard I pulled out a pistol and took out two Deathclaws, one bullet each. So I believe that the player becomes OPed in the DLCs, any level higher than say 30 in the main area you are going to end everyone.
Combat
The Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System, or V.A.T.S., is an active pause combat system implemented in the game, just like in Fallout 3. While using V.A.T.S., the otherwise real-time combat is paused. V.A.T.S. also allows the gory deaths in the game to be shown in slow motion and great detail. Attacks in V.A.T.S. cost Action Points, and the player can target specific body areas for attacks to inflict specific injuries…. Come on you should know this… Moving on.
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| Man's Best Friend, Rex |
Karma and Reputation
Basically it’s a mix of the reputation system in Fallout 2 and Fallout 3. Karma is back, incorporated alongside a reputation system similar to Fallout 2. Reputation is a form of tracking relationships within the many factions and towns of Fallout: New Vegas, such as the NCR or Goodsprings. A high reputation with a faction or town may give certain benefits, such as gifts from the people of that town, while a low reputation may lead to hits being taken out against you. Karma in New Vegas has little effect compared to Fallout 3; reputation is the primary factor as to how people will react to you.
Weapon Modding
A modding feature allows you to modify your gun by adding scopes, extended magazines, silencers, and more. Weapons can have a maximum of three attached mods, and they cannot be removed once placed. At one point I didn’t do much modding, I didn’t feel the need too. But once I got the hang of it, it was pretty neat to use.
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| In game shot of the Hoover Dam |
Unique Weapons
There will be unique versions of weapons, a feature introduced in Fallout 3. Unique weapons have different textures, and some may even have unique models. Unique weapons cannot be modified, but their built-in abilities and higher damage output often make up for it.
Companion Wheel
A new companion wheel has been added to quickly and easily give companions commands such as 'Talk', 'Use Ranged Weapons' and 'Wait Here'. It also makes it easier to swap health and equipment. The companions also have their likes and dislikes; giving a sniper companion a shotgun, for example, will result in a nasty remark and decreased effectiveness. This makes handling your companions so much easier. I really do think this is one of the best new features to this game. It’s so very helpful.
Gambling
The city of New Vegas, as well as other smaller settlements in the game, has a variety of colorful casinos or other forms of gambling to explore. In Fallout: New Vegas, several gambling mini-games have been added, including blackjack, roulette, and slots. Outside the casinos, many people across the Mojave play Caravan, a card game designed by Obsidian specifically for New Vegas. Luck is a considerable factor when it comes to gambling. You get money for winning, and floor managers will congratulate you with food or drink and maybe a VIP stay at the hotel. Winning too much money after that, however, will make the managers come down, give you the customary "tap on the shoulder", and tell you to leave the casino on suspicions of cheating.
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| Hoover Dam concept art |
Now that I have gone over everything, I have a few things to say. Fallout 3 is what going me into the Fallout games. With its mix of action and heartfelt story, I mean come on Liam Neeson is your dad in 3. He’s bad ass. Now as I played Fallout 3 on my PC I had to pick up New Vegas on the PC as well. Which I did. Let me say, I never heard of Steam before this and I wasn’t happy the night it came out. I thought I an hour I would be playing the game like everyone else. No. I had to download and install Steam and then wait to 2 am to use my code to download New Vegas, it then took 14 hours to download. What a mood killer.
One of the very first things that I notice is damn thing crashes every five fucking minutes. I mean come on, I opened a fucking door, let’s go. At one point the damn game was so buggy I couldn’t play it. I had to wait till Bethesda released updates, which took forever. Then had to wait for Steam updates. I think at one point I only had 5 hours in it. And because of the start and stop playing I did and I couldn’t get into it. I didn’t seem to care about the story. I had no idea what the main goal was and what my purpose was. Mind you this is before the DLCs came out. Even with them out, I still have no idea.
Fallout New Vegas is worth your time if you’re willing to give it up. For a long time I was very bitter about this game and it made me miss Fallout 3. While it was a whole new area and different people than the Capital Wasteland, I felt this game was a cheap copy of Fallout 3. I even made a comment to a friend at school saying that the game looked like Fallout 3 if someone turned the lights on.
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Ace gives Fallout: New Vegas
3 bat hounds out of 5
…and yes I’m still bitter
Zero Punctuation Review by Ben 'Yahtzee' Croshaw
Now as this is New Vegas we're talking about there are casinos and there are hookers. So not kidding.
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