I have to start out by saying that this game holds a very special place in my heart. Not many people feel the same about it as I do. But this game just has something to it that I cannot resist. Despite me having spent at least 100 hours with it, I always find myself wanting to come back to it's beautiful desolate wasteland, and it's rich vibrant characters. There's so much about this game to love, but to me all I see is people nitpicking it. Regardless, on with the review.
Those of you unfamiliar with my system, it goes like this :
A- Atmosphere
G- Gameplay
G- Graphics
S- Sound
All are graded on a scale of 10.
A - Fallout New Vegas is heavy on atmosphere and I love it. This game does a damn good job of convincing you that you're in a post-apocalyptic desert wasteland! Unless you choose to bring a companion with you, the wastes are going to feel desolate and empty. As they should, and the soundtrack only helps everything mesh together. The towns are just as immersive. There's the town you start in : Goodsprings. It looks like something out of a western movie, but crossed with a post apocalyptic setting. There's not a whole lot like it in video games. Then there's Caesar's legion. The first time you see them it evokes a medieval sense of pillaging. They take over towns that don't see things the way that they do, enslave the children and women, and crucify the males. They're brutal and proud warriors and their overwhelming presence in Vegas leads to a sense of dread. They're moving in to take over the Hoover dam, and when they do they essentially will win over all of New Vegas and everyone will be in their control. Having this thought in the back of your mind while playing is not only dreadful, but exciting as well. This game is heavy on atmosphere and I absolutely adore that they brought back a ton of aspects from Fallout 1 and 2 back. The only thing that may bog the atmosphere down a bit is the amount of voice-overs from npcs that you'll eventually hear 1000 times. That coupled with some questionable animations and the occasional glitch (I've heard and seen horrible glitches but never personally experienced them.) may take you out of the immersive world for a bit, but in my opinion there's nothing unforgivable here. -9/10
(Goodsprings is actually a city in Nevada and it looks EXACTLY like this. Google it.)
G - New Vegas was a complete improvement in the gameplay department compared to Fallout 3. I always had a more tough time than I'd have liked to aiming outside of VATS and they completely fixed it in New Vegas by implementing an 'aim down the sights' feature for the weapons. Not only that, but they also added things like weapon customization and a much more diverse selection of weapons. It felt that most of the time in Fallout you were using the same gun or a unique variant of a more common weapon. It was kind of frustrating seeing such a diverse environment with even more diverse characters only to be met with an unimpressive amount of weapon models in Fallout 3. Fallout New Vegas is also significantly harder than Fallout 3. From what I remember Deathclaws looked threatening but when it all came down to it.. They never really lived up to their name and were pretty easy to kill; this time around they more than live up to their name. Even at the highest levels, Deathclaws can easily take you out if you're not careful and don't have any higher caliber ammo. Deathclaws aren't the only creature that got a boost either. In general, the whole game is much more difficult. And if the burst in difficulty isn't enough for you, you can take it one step further and activate 'hardcore' mode when prompted at the beginning (or whenever you want actually. But if you want the trophy you'll do it at the beginning.). Hardcore offers a completely different aspect of the game : Survival. In this mode you have to eat, you have to drink water, and you have to sleep. Or you will die. On top of that, it gives ammo you're carrying actual weight, so inventory space is even more limited than before. As great as all of the gameplay is, it can sometimes be hindered by some framerate issues and some problems with certain quests if you're not careful. Still, Fallout New Vegas is a blast to play -9/10
(If you're this close, it's pretty much over)
G - The graphics are the same affair from Fallout 3. The environments are absolutely gorgeous, but some of the character models aren't too great. Not to mention, the animations can be pretty bad. Sure, with a game of this size, it's expected to fall short in some areas.But the main reason I play Fallout(or almost any game) is to be immersed in it's world. That's hard to do when characters are half way in a wall or have jerky movements. -7.5/10
(So can someone tell me why characters can't have a hat AND hair?)
S - The music in New Vegas may very well be my favorite aspect of this game. It just fits incredibly well. From Hank Thompson's twangy guitar contrasted with a desolate desert to Peggy Lee's beautiful voice coupled with ruined Vegas cities, it all just works together. Even if you choose to forego the radio, the ambient music is creepy as all hell and can really give you a sense of fear and desperation. One of my favorite aspects of the music is that some of it has been borrowed from Fallout 1 and 2. It fits incredibly well and does an amazing job immersing you in this post apocalyptic world -10/10
The Verdict - 9/10
I absolutely love this game. Glitches and all. Bethesda really has done an amazing job creating a compelling post apocalyptic Las Vegas. The addition of new weaponry and difficulty make this my choice over Fallout 3 any day. Not to mention all of the award winning dlc that's been released! If you have about 10 dollars to spare, go out and buy this game right now! You'd be doing yourself a disservice if you didn't.
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