Thread: Fallout: Las Vegas

I've always been a fan of the fallout series, the background story of post apocalyptic rebuilding is one i find enjoyable to play around in, add in drug addled fiends, irradiated mutant hybrids, and radioactive wildlife, and you have a game that is quite enjoyable.

Fallout New Vegas takes place in the year 2281, though you wouldnt be able to tell aside from a few advanced weapons found throughout the game. It has a retro feel to it, most of the music in the game comes from the 40s-60s and most of the stylings of the game comes from within the same range. Anyone who played fallout 3 released by bethesda softworks will be in for a change, where you had the metro terminals, and clusters of buildings in downtown washington D.C. in fallout 3, you now have a desert wasteland, with a few settlements and the reinstatement of the las vegas strip's supremacy in the region.

Control-wise the game is similar to fallout 3 and for that matter oblivion. It runs off the same gameybro engine as the two afformentioned games. As with all the fallout titles, there is much to explore, and quite a few weapons to gather. The game itself starts off rather slow(fighting off thugs and traveling), but it soon picks up and you will be fighting mutants, gun dealers with plasma weapons, robots, and the dreaded death claws.

The one problem people have is that they mistake this for your average shooter. It is a shooter, but it is paced like an RPG, and implements quite a few rpg-like elements(leveling and perks). The perk system is unique to fallout, when you level up, every two levels you get to choose a perk, that can provide bonuses ranging from wildlife not attacking you, to being able to deflect projectiles.

The story is nice, and the addition of an improved faction system means your choices in the game will affect who will help you, who will hate you, and who will try and kill you on sight. Graphics may feel a bit dated(comparable to oblivion). But the gameplay is solid.

The major downsides to the game are the glitches, most are minor, but they can be annoying, and the fact that like oblivion, the backwards shooting(oblivion marksman) where you walk backwards shooting as you go kind of makes the game easy. You can easily just walk backwards unloading clips into enemies and not take any damage.

Aside from these issues, the game is solid and deserves a playthrough.
I would say this is a "buyable" title. Even after the story is done you can replay choosing different actions, or just roam around exploring the world. The replay value is high enough to warrant a purchase, especially now that you can get a used copy for under 30 bucks. While you are at it, if you havent played any of the fallout games, pick up fallout 3 GOTY edition, roughly 20 dollars for the game + 5 game add ons, provides hours upon hours of gameplay.
Fallout New Vegas Add Ons


Dead Money:

Dead Money takes place in the hidden oasis of the sierra madre casino, where the new radio transmission proclaims of wealth and luxury being abound. Upon arriving at the casino you find out that this is not the case, and the struggle to escape begins.

As far as addons go, Dead Money is not worth the money in my opinion, the rewards aren't great, many of the weapons and items you obtain are utterly useless back in the Mojave wastes. That combined with the fact that once you leave you can never return, make me feel its sub par. Combine the fact that you cannot return with the points system at the sierra madre(chips) being the only way to gain rewards after the DLC is finished and it leaves much to be desired, the story seems rushed and really just kind of bland, you know everything thats going to happen before it does.

Not worth the money, if you want it wait for the box edition of new vegas and get all the DLC's

Honest Hearts:

Honest Hearts takes place in Zion national park in Utah where mother nature has reclaimed her land, and no trace of the nuclear fallout remains. Very few manmade structures and tech remain, and the inhabitants have reverted to what seems to be a state similar to the native americans. You can choose to free Zion or enslave it, in this addon.

This DLC delivers where Dead Money did not, you take a caravan expedition to Utah in search of Zion. Once there you meet the "burned man" that is constantly hinted to in the base game. You can choose to help, or to destroy. The world itself is well done, you really get the feel you are in a different place. That combined with a story I enjoyed, useful equipment, and the ability to return whenever your heart desires makes this DLC a far better choice than Dead Money.

Nice detailed review but what is the appeal of playing in a washed out apocalypse world?

Great game, good review also. Thanks for your time.

Thanks for the share. Sounds like a great one to play.

Yeah it is great mate.

Originally Posted by dravenSt0rM

Great game, good review also. Thanks for your time.

Originally Posted by dravenSt0rM

Yeah it is great mate.

What he said here about:

...game itself starts off rather slow(fighting off thugs and traveling), but it soon picks up and you will be fighting mutants, gun dealers with plasma weapons, robots, and the dreaded death claws.

Did you find that to be a real hindrance when you first started playing, the slow pace of fighting low level enemies? Just wondering for the sake of anyone new going into the game if that might be a discouragement and how long actually playing into the game, time wise, could a person expect to have to play before getting to the big bosses.

If you have played Fallout 3 before trying this out, including all expansions, initially you will definitely feel that New Vegas is one huge expansion of Fallout 3. But as you come to know the game, there are a lot of new additions and features in the game, like different types of ammo, attributes for weapons, ammo and clothes, and the best thing of all, a whole new "hardcore" mode.

I recently started playing Fallout: NV again and trying to go after all the achievements (Kind of an addiction!) which I have been deciding on what DLC to get after. Like you said I hear Dead Money was just awful and not even worth getting but did you ever try out the other DLC? Also does anyone know any news about the new Fallout?

Great review OP! However, I felt that the storyline of New Vegas and the graphics were outdated. The graphics were pretty much the exact same as Fallout 3! *with a few fixes* Landscapes were still dark as in Fallout 3, etc. I did find the game very enjoyable and put 50+ hours into it, but to me it will never match up with how much of a fantastic game Fallout 3 was.

I'm not hating on Fallout by any means but I just don't see how New Vegas and Fallout 3 appeal to so many people. Just the whole feel of the world turns me off. The visuals aren't impressive and yes the fact that you can go anywhere and pretty much choose your path with choices, it's not the first game to do that. I think if Fallout had Skyrims graphics or if it wasn't so bland looking it would appeal to so many more people.