How’s it going gamers! I’m back from my unannounced break and I got a new series to get into. The piece of art I have been enjoying lately is known as Fallout: New Vegas. Basically the 4th entry in the series, (because a lot of people hate Fallout Tactics and Brotherhood of Steel for reasons I will find out later) many fans consider this to be one of the best in the series. Released in 2010 with an initial Metacritic score of 84, let’s see if Fallout: New Vegas still holds up to today’s standards.
First off, the gameplay. New Vegas has similar shooting mechanics to Fallout 3, but instead of a crazy bullet spread and a lack of ironsights, gunplay is more streamlined and ironsights were added to give players a more realistic first person experience. Most of the guns are pretty unique, so there is a large array of firearms to blow mutations away. Exploration is a key part in the Fallout series, and New Vegas does not disappoint with interesting locations, unique weapons, and weird abominations to kill. Normally, the player would use stimpaks or food to heal, Radaway to get rid of radiation poisoning, chems for some temporary boosts, but an extra Hardcore difficulty mode is added to push players to constantly eat, drink, and sleep as well to give the player the optional immersion of surviving in the Mojave Wasteland. So, the gameplay is good.
Obviously I have to talk about the story. The narrative has always been the main focus in the Fallout series, and with the original two games being incredibly detailed Role Playing Games with stories that change drastically depending on what decisions the player makes, lots of fans seem to think that the jump to 3D and different developers working on Fallout 3 made the game less of an RPG with meaningful choices and more of a looter/shooter with a leveling system. I have yet to really get into the third installment in the series, and I will talk more about it with that review in the future. With Fallout: New Vegas, developers from the original games worked to capture the core elements of the originals, and it really shows in hidden mechanics with stats and factions like the New California Republic and Caesar’s Legion. The game starts out with The Courier, aka You, getting robbed of the mysterious package you were sent to deliver and shot in the head by a guy in a checkered suit. After being found by a local doctor, you design your character and head off into the desert wastelands of Nevada to find the robber and deliver the package you were ordered to send. Once you find the guy, the story takes a heavy turn into a faction war between the NCR and Caesar’s Legion, but the player gets to make the decision between siding with the NCR, the Legion, New Vegas Strip controller Mr. House, or just yourself and ruling Nevada. Oh yeah, and this whole ordeal takes place in the future after a nuclear apocalypse destroyed a lot of the human race. A lot of stuff happens which I won’t spoil, but the characters throughout the story are well written and fleshed out with great side quests. Even though it’s a little short compared to other games, the main quests of New Vegas are interesting and well written.
Last of all, we have to pay respect to the development process. The original creators of Fallout 1, 2, Tactics, and Brotherhood of Steel were bought out by Bethesda before their version of Fallout 3 was finished, and Bethesda made a fully 3D game with heavy shooter elements. I don’t know why, but Bethesda let some of the original developers, now founders of Obsidian Entertainment, make New Vegas. From what I read on a usgamer article, Obsidian only had 18 months to develop the game after mapping out where the game would take place, “Still, with the basic location established, and the Mojave Wasteland mapped out, Obsidian was officially off and running. And they needed to be: they had just 18 months to finish a massive open-world game.” (Source down at the bottom). This made creating new assets and textures for the game a tough ordeal, but the crew had access to Bethesda’s Fallout 3’s assets to lend them a big hand. Knowing that, it’s amazing to see the progress the team was able to make in that time to allow Fallout: New Vegas to have its own sense of style in comparison to the other games. One of the minor factors helping this are some 1960s western tracks rather than ‘50s music in Fallout 3.
In conclusion, Fallout: New Vegas is still a great game that holds up if you want an RPG that makes you feel like a cowboy, even while blowing up giant lizards with a mini nuke launcher. I give New Vegas a 5 elvis impersonator gangs out of 5. Yes, that is actually in the game. One of the guys there has a robot dog with a brain you can travel with. All the more reason to get this game.
That one article from earlier if you want to learn more about how the game was made:
Hello Koro! Hope All is well. This is a very accurate depiction of the story and how the game plays out New Vegas was by far one of the best fallouts I’ve had the pleasure of playing. Thank you for the stunning review and keep up the good work!