Fallout New Vegas: War Never Changes...

Look at how clever I am with my catch phrases for my reviews! You wish could harness this awesome do you not? Run the world on my Awesome, solve global problems? Too bad, it's just not possible.

So Fallout. Where to even begin? I instantly became a Fallout fan with the release of Fallout3. The desperate atmosphere, the thrilling story and intriguing characters drew me into the Capitol Wasteland; stack that on top of a game that implemented a first person shooter RPG hybrid in a brilliantly fluid way, and you have a game that earned my adoration in such a profound manner.
Fallout New Vegas was greatly anticipated in my home. All of us purchased copies of the game, because we never wanted to have to wait to play this game we all desperately wanted. I must say, we were not disappointing.

I'm sorry, were you using that?

Technically, physically, the game is identical to Fallout 3. It's the same engine, one can not expect huge dramatic changes in game mechanics from games that run on the same engine. Fortunately, if it ain't broke, you don't gotta fix it! Fallout has managed to take the 1st person RPG Elder Scrolls type of movement, and add a very essential feature to the world in which Fallout takes place. Guns. I believe this is one of the, if not the, main reason Fallout was able to be successful. I also believe it is over looked. Fallout (3 and New Vegas alike, yes this is a New Vegas review, but this is just so important to the game) is defined by the first person view. It puts you closer to your character, and makes the experience more real, more personal. That is the beauty of that type of first person play. Problem is, the Elder Scrolls style of first person, is not especially conducive to guns. Fallout is not a shooter, and don't you say it is. This type of first person play is too real to be  shooter, you are slower, you can't slide into cover, or vault over barricades in a moment, you are a normal human, not some super trained soldier, so that's how it feels. Well this is not especially effective to FPS game-play, but Fallout desperately needs guns. In order to compensate for this paradox in mechanics, VATS was invented. A brilliantly simple design that really makes the game fun where it would at some points just be maddening. To really explain how VATS helps will  take a bit longer than I am willing to spend, but it does need to be said that VATS will make the game not only easier (in a good way) but also more fun. The VATS scenes upon getting kills are always awesome, having a slow motion camera view follow your bullet into your enemies skull, causing them to explode, never ever gets old. And New Vegas just makes it better. The cut-scenes are more awesome, VATS effectiveness is increased, while also making shooting outside of VATS a tad easier (done by making ammo a bit more common, allowing the aim down sight motion to move with more fluidity, etc. Adding FPS facets in small doses) which does not detract from the experience at all.

The Wasteland is yours for the taking!

The other most fascinating aspect of the game is the amount of depth the game was given. Fans have come to expect the style of play that comes with games like Fallout, Elder Scrolls, Knights of The Old Republic, and other similar RPG's. You talk to people, select dialogue options, make decisions, shape the world around you. New Vegas takes that one step farther. You see, the basis for the story is all focused around the factions, tribes, and different peoples that are all making their way in the New Vegas Wasteland area. They all have goals, plans, motives and deceptions, and you can utilize valuable allies, exploit weaker groups, or use and betray trusted factions. There are literally hundreds of different ways the game can be played. Of the 4 people who live in my house, none of us have yet to complete parts of the main quest line in exactly the same way. Who you kill, who you help, who your allies are, and who wants you dead all play roles moment to moment in how your life is played out in New Vegas. It is really quite amazing, and very impressive.

lulz. Glitches are sometimes hilarious.

All that to say, the game does have its less than impressive points. Typical to huge games like this, you often encounter the same voice actor over and over. Annoying, not especially offensive, I suppose. The is also buggy as hell. My god, within the first 48 hours of playing the game, all of us had experienced 2-3 different bugs each, not to mention each of us had the game just crash multiple times. Fret not! That is all being fixed. It is still not 100%, but they are working overtime to release patches to solve the games many many problems, and it is getting allot better. My biggest issue with the game is the loading times. I am not a PS3 fellow, so I am not accustomed to 2-3minute loading screens. In a game like Fallout, entering, re-entering, saving, loading, re-loading, fast traveling multiple times... is a common action. Which in turn makes you sit through loading screen after loading screen. I suppose that says something good for the games quality, its good enough and pretty enough (it is *really* pretty) to make the 360 fight, but god dammit it's annoying. I hate loading screens.

Four! (shoot me....)

Knick knacks and such....
Weapons are essentially the same. There are new weapons, and old favorites. You have access to all types of weapons typical to guns in the 1920's as well as all the alien and energy weapons available in the Fallout universe.
The side quests are abundant and fun. You will find quirky and fun characters to make you laugh and cringe, you will encounter schizophrenic Super Mutants, zealous Ghouls on their Great Journey, crazed loons and other adventurers.
You can acquire companions, which makes the experience allot more fun (and the extra help is always useful) The new companion system is also world better than it was in Fallout 3. For starters you allies cannot die... Thank God. I hated reloading because my stupid artard companion ran into a horde of Super Mutant Masters and got his face melted off by their farts. Now they simply become unconscious for some time, and then are back in the fray. Your companions can also carry a certain amount of weight, so you can essentially have a larger inventory, which is also hella helpful for you hoarders out there.

This cute little fella can be your companion!

The leveling was amped up to some degree as well. One could beat the game, and do lots of side quests and what not, and still not have reached the maximum. This brings up another odd feature. The perks are pretty much integral to how Fallout progresses you and how you get better. In New Vegas however, the perks become very narrow as you move towards the level 30 cap. For instance they focus around environmental bonus, survivability and things of like, and are not so invested in, say, guns. The other problem is that if you do not look in advanced at your Perks, you my find that upon reaching the level you need to buy a Perk, you don't meet the requirements in other ways (Strength prerequisite, Guns skill needed, other skill conditions being met etc.) which can be quite frustrating if you are far along, and have not enough levels left to remedy the situation. So, plan your levels if you care enough.

Final thoughts? Fallout New Vegas, is Fallout 3 2.0. It's prettier, it plays better, its more fun, the story is superior, the decision making deeper, and just..... a better game! I am really excited to see how many other endings I can milk out, as well as for future DLC! Let me know what y'all thought about Fallout New Vegas!

9 out of 10 Nuka Colas!