You come to your senses to find a man in a checkered suit holding a gun to your head. He tells you this is your last delivery and then pulls the trigger. The post-apocalyptic world of Fallout has finally returned after laying dormant since the Mothership Zeta add-on was released for Fallout 3. This time the night sky is illuminated with the repopulating Las Vegas Strip and a Mojave wasteland filled with both creatures of nostalgic feelings to Fallout 3 and ones of a whole new background.
After being shot in the head, don’t let that concern you, one finds themselves awaking in a old wooden house, on a bed, next to an old man in a rocking chair. He recommends that you take it easy, but the fact you survived a gun shot to the head is something you don’t normally want to sit still for afterwards. This is then where your name is asked and get your S.P.E.C.I.A.L. skills from a machine across the room, not a book, and then a test given to asses your skills, nothing like the G.O.A.T. Already major differences can be contrasted between games. One can only be glad that they didn’t start in a Vault again.
Gameplay is still the same as it was in Fallout 3, no new tricks, but one addition. There is now an option for a hardcore mode. The new mode has more difficult battles, ammo has weight, all healing materials heal over time, including stimpacks, and you constantly have to monitor all your vitals, not just health anymore. These vitals are sleep, food, and hydration and not keeping them up can have some deadly consequences. I doubt you want to die of thirst, hunger or sleep deprivation before Super Mutants or Raiders tear you to pieces. Though if put that way, it doesn’t sound all too bad. Companions have also been improved, adding a companion wheel when talking to them. The six companions in the game, each complete with their own mini story, can split the weight, use stimpacks, switch from weapons to melee and several other functions not accessible to Fallout 3. Even V.A.T.S. found itself with an upgrade. Now with high enough skill levels, special moves can be preformed doing extra damage and cool moves. But with all guns now having iron sights, V.A.T.S isn’t always necessary to get out of that sticky situation.
The map is still the same size, if not a slight bit bigger, and there are more locations than in Fallout 3. Many of the perks in New Vegas are just like the ones in the previous game, but new ones have been added to spice up the selections. A cool new addition focuses on the Mojave inhabitant’s opinion of you. Several factions and towns can develop feeling towards you and that determines hostility to you showing your face within a mile of their camp or them liking you so much you get discounts a local stores. You could be vilified, neutral, accepted or loved and anywhere in between. But sometimes gaining fame for one faction, means gaining infamy for another.
Remember roaming the post-apocalyptic D.C. in search of 20 bobble heads? Well it’s not bobble heads anymore, but snow globes. It’s like the Mojave inhabitants got tired of the desert and wanted to be reminded of a better, slightly colder world. The snow globes are basically a quick 2000 caps, if searching for hours then making your way back to the Lucky 38 is considered quick.
The entire game reflects on the choices made early on. If you tick off a clan in the beginning, it will take forever to gain back their trust and in the end, you may find yourself on the wrong side of the winning team. Which if you spent your time wisely collecting stimpacks, choosing the right perks and getting all the cool weapons, you shouldn’t have big problems no matter whose team you decide to play for. In the end it comes down to three choices. Either you do everything yourself, work for Mr. House, or take the Legion’s offer. I’ve done only one so I am only aware of one ending.
On a level of entertainment and fun, its just like Fallout 3. Challenging battles, post apocalyptic world exploration, fun perks, and the sheer excitement of leveling up and making your character just look awesome and have cool weapons. It just never gets old and that’s what makes Fallout… well, Fallout. It’s a great game to play, if you like RPGs, otherwise just loaf around until Call of Duty: Black Ops hits the shelves and go be a loser playing that instead.
