subject: Fallout new vegas [print this page] Fallout new vegas Fallout new vegas
I don't usually post first beliefs reviews when I 'm only six hrs into a very long game, but since Side effect : New Vegas came out so recently and my review of its precursor happened nearly two years after its liberation, I thought it may be an idea to post a product now before I all miss the proverbial bandwagon.
New Vegas is an appealing hybrid between the earlier games in the Radioactive dust serial and the last one : it looks very like Radioactive dust 3, with near-identical design and game play, but re-introduces creatures (like the Geckoes), factions (like the NCR) and gameplay feature films (like usance ammo and weapon adjustments) from the first two games. There's a good reason for this ; Fallout : New Vegas is a joint effort between Bethesda, the team behind Fallout 3, and Obsidian, a company made largely from quondam employees of Black Isle, the company who made the first two games. As such the game should appeal to fans of both ends of the franchise. It injects a little more of that trademark goofy humor into the bleak and sun-bleached sandbox of the Desert, gathering a range of increasingly weird fictional characters and backgrounds that are almost guaranteed to raise a smile. Plus we now have a plant gathering mechanic seemingly adapted from Bethesda's other famous franchise, the Elder Scrolls.
Another new, and very consistent, touch is the debut of faction friendly relationships, which largely take the place of Karma, though Karma is still present. Instead of siding with or against you based on your Karma level, NPC factions will react to your character based on your fame or infamy around that group. So if you 're peculiarly nice to multitudes from a certain settlement, they'll be more cooperative with you ; whereas if you kill several members of a particular cult, that cult will most likely turn on you on sight. It creates a lot more sense than the Karma system, particularly given the withdrawnness of many of the colonisations in the Wasteland,although sometimes it's hard to see what effect the difference between being "neutral", "accepted" and "loved" is.
One major change in the game, but one I haven't yet had the chance to look at in much detail, is the much-hyped hardcore mode. Hardcore mode is the realistic role-player's dream: your character suffers from sleep deprivation, hunger and thirst, stimpaks work over time and crippled limbs must be treated by a doctor. It makes the game considerably more challenging but frustrating too, it's more irritating than realistic to have to find a bed every few hours.
New Vegas is set several decades after the events of the last game, and isn't really a sequel so much as a separate story set in the same world. The action is transplanted to the arid deserts and ruined casinos of post-apocalyptic Nevada, so naturally there are some changes to suit the surroundings: neon lights and gambling mini-games being the most obvious. In terms of graphics the game so strongly resembles Fallout 3 it could be mistaken for an add-on for it. Voice acting is solid if a little ponderous at times, but the return of the radio stations, with a few more stations available, is very welcome, forming a pleasantly eccentric and retro soundtrack to your wasteland wanderings.
The added humour and a far greater variance in enemies, even including baby creatures, means the game is, thus far, a lot more fun than Fallout 3. It doesn't have the slightly plodding, laborious feeling that Fallout 3 had, especially in the earlier levels, as enemies are well levelled to your own abilities and the game's inherent quirkiness shines through in most quests.
