I played through the X360 version of Fallout New Vegas on Hardcore mode, completing it in roughly 40 hours. Going into the game I set a goal to participate in a fair amount of side quests while mainly focusing on the main storyline so I could finish up by Monday. Although I did complete the game, I'm afraid I didn’t even get to do half of the side quests--this game feels big! Though it’s not apparent at first, it sinks in about 10 hours into the game how much stuff there is to do in the Vegas wasteland. Anyway I'm writing up a very detailed review but here is what it all boils down to for the curious (remember, this is a brief overview).
Let’s just get this out of the way--Fallout New Vegas is a really good game. I think it actually surpasses the original Fallout 3 (proper, not including the DLC) in terms of its writing and plot, but falls behind technically because of bugs and hitches (more on this later).
I know this may sounds odd to hear but for an open world game the layering of main quests and side quests is well placed. Its structure allows for a nice flow of gameplay and story, and seeing (participating) in it unravel is really enjoyable in all aspects of a game. The sidekicks are more interesting than Fallout 3s as they demonstrate more personality and side quests for you to participate in (at least mine did.)
Playing Hardcore mode I had braced myself for a very strict challenge in provision and health management, but I was shocked to find that I really only hit a consistent wall with inventory management--particularly because of the ammo (which I would promptly ditch since I had so much). Hardcore mode isn’t as crazy as I thought it would be, but it was a fun. I think it's a nice feature that made the overall experience more exciting and interesting. At one point in the game I had no water resources on me; I was completely dehydrated to the point where it had a negative physical effect on me and I was scrambling. I was rushing through dilapidated rooms of an old apartment looking for ANYTHING to drink, and running into one room I eventually found a sink. Despite the inevitable radiation affects I just gulped down a few bucks worth. Relieved I stepped back, flipped on my Pipboy flashlight to loot the room and was disgusted to find what I had done--drank out a goddamn toilet. It was awesome that Hardcore mode drove me to that ridiculous of a point.
A quick rundown--what else is cool?
Skill checks that effect dialog trees--or better yet, ones that have no effect--are now clearly marked with a red box. You can save your game at any point--even when enemies are nearby. Work Benches allow you to create cool stuff, like bombs and stimpacks, from all the junk in your backpack. The Reloading Bench allows you to create more powerful ammo that's great to switch to for tougher foes (but will wear down your weapon more quickly). Perks can be unlocked via in-game achievements, so for instance killing 75 bugs unlocks the Bug Stomper perk increasing damage. You can have one sidekick in your party along with Rex (the dog, who kind of weak). All Vegas table games are really well done (some of the best I've seen in a video game) and very fun to participate in.
The game, overall, has a warmer feel to it due to the blue skies, the soft electric glow of signs (electricity!), the amber UI and in some cases less destruction to the terrain. Weapons now have a DPS rating so it's much easier to see what your real damage output is.
The technical issues I experienced were pretty crazy. The game crashed several times on me forcing a restart (as in, rebooting the X360). One time the gambling interface completely disappeared on me and I was no longer able to play blackjack until I reloaded a previous save game. One time I picked some berries and the ground texture suddenly transformed into a gigantic blurry mess. Several times enemies got stuck in environmental pieces like walls or a rocks. Load times can, at times, reach ridiculous levels even when installed on the 360s HDD. The worst offender of it all was the degradation of the frame rate over time. Twice I had to clear the cache on my console, reboot it and then everything was fine for a while, but there were certain moments in the game where the hitching was bad despite this. If just feels like it could be a little more optimized technically.
Also I want to add a note that the cursing in the game got to a point where I was sort of winced. It’s not that I’m offended by foul language when it has its place, but there were times in New Vegas where it felt forced and unnecessary. Fallout 3, I felt, was able to get their point across without any cursing whatsoever. So fair warning to those sensitive about this stuff. I'm usually not bothered by this sort of thing and for whatever reason it was a bother in a few places.
Overall the game is great! It doesn’t feel like it could have been Fallout 3 DLC, but has its own place as a proper sequel. It's got new weapons, tons of interesting characters to chat with, a (seeming) million places to visit and an interesting plot. There are some truly epic moments in the game that everyone open-world gamer should experience. The factions add an exciting effect to your place in the world, and at the very least add another interesting dimension to it all. Listen, if you loved Fallout 3 then you will love Fallout New Vegas--possible more so if you can get through the glitches.
_____________________________________
Water? Check. Food rations? Check. Medical supplies? Check.
It's ON this weekend!
Let’s just get this out of the way--Fallout New Vegas is a really good game. I think it actually surpasses the original Fallout 3 (proper, not including the DLC) in terms of its writing and plot, but falls behind technically because of bugs and hitches (more on this later).
I know this may sounds odd to hear but for an open world game the layering of main quests and side quests is well placed. Its structure allows for a nice flow of gameplay and story, and seeing (participating) in it unravel is really enjoyable in all aspects of a game. The sidekicks are more interesting than Fallout 3s as they demonstrate more personality and side quests for you to participate in (at least mine did.)
Playing Hardcore mode I had braced myself for a very strict challenge in provision and health management, but I was shocked to find that I really only hit a consistent wall with inventory management--particularly because of the ammo (which I would promptly ditch since I had so much). Hardcore mode isn’t as crazy as I thought it would be, but it was a fun. I think it's a nice feature that made the overall experience more exciting and interesting. At one point in the game I had no water resources on me; I was completely dehydrated to the point where it had a negative physical effect on me and I was scrambling. I was rushing through dilapidated rooms of an old apartment looking for ANYTHING to drink, and running into one room I eventually found a sink. Despite the inevitable radiation affects I just gulped down a few bucks worth. Relieved I stepped back, flipped on my Pipboy flashlight to loot the room and was disgusted to find what I had done--drank out a goddamn toilet. It was awesome that Hardcore mode drove me to that ridiculous of a point.
A quick rundown--what else is cool?
Skill checks that effect dialog trees--or better yet, ones that have no effect--are now clearly marked with a red box. You can save your game at any point--even when enemies are nearby. Work Benches allow you to create cool stuff, like bombs and stimpacks, from all the junk in your backpack. The Reloading Bench allows you to create more powerful ammo that's great to switch to for tougher foes (but will wear down your weapon more quickly). Perks can be unlocked via in-game achievements, so for instance killing 75 bugs unlocks the Bug Stomper perk increasing damage. You can have one sidekick in your party along with Rex (the dog, who kind of weak). All Vegas table games are really well done (some of the best I've seen in a video game) and very fun to participate in.
The game, overall, has a warmer feel to it due to the blue skies, the soft electric glow of signs (electricity!), the amber UI and in some cases less destruction to the terrain. Weapons now have a DPS rating so it's much easier to see what your real damage output is.
The technical issues I experienced were pretty crazy. The game crashed several times on me forcing a restart (as in, rebooting the X360). One time the gambling interface completely disappeared on me and I was no longer able to play blackjack until I reloaded a previous save game. One time I picked some berries and the ground texture suddenly transformed into a gigantic blurry mess. Several times enemies got stuck in environmental pieces like walls or a rocks. Load times can, at times, reach ridiculous levels even when installed on the 360s HDD. The worst offender of it all was the degradation of the frame rate over time. Twice I had to clear the cache on my console, reboot it and then everything was fine for a while, but there were certain moments in the game where the hitching was bad despite this. If just feels like it could be a little more optimized technically.
Also I want to add a note that the cursing in the game got to a point where I was sort of winced. It’s not that I’m offended by foul language when it has its place, but there were times in New Vegas where it felt forced and unnecessary. Fallout 3, I felt, was able to get their point across without any cursing whatsoever. So fair warning to those sensitive about this stuff. I'm usually not bothered by this sort of thing and for whatever reason it was a bother in a few places.
Overall the game is great! It doesn’t feel like it could have been Fallout 3 DLC, but has its own place as a proper sequel. It's got new weapons, tons of interesting characters to chat with, a (seeming) million places to visit and an interesting plot. There are some truly epic moments in the game that everyone open-world gamer should experience. The factions add an exciting effect to your place in the world, and at the very least add another interesting dimension to it all. Listen, if you loved Fallout 3 then you will love Fallout New Vegas--possible more so if you can get through the glitches.
_____________________________________
Water? Check. Food rations? Check. Medical supplies? Check.
It's ON this weekend!
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