Bethesda Fallout: New Vegas – PC Ultimate Edition

The Fallout series of games has been a winner for a long time. While Fallout 3 was the least interesting of the entries, Fallout: New Vegas returns to the roots of the game. Though the game is published by Bethesda and uses all the technology and structure from Fallout 3, New Vegas was developed primarily by Obsidian Entertainment, many of whom are former staff members of Black Isle Studios, Fallout 1 & 2’s original producers. And when playing Fallout: New Vegas, this becomes readily apparent. It is head and shoulders above Fallout 3 in regards to storytelling and world building.

The primary story revolves around a mysterious stranger called the Courier who has lost his/her memory and wound up in a grave near New Vegas in a 50’s influenced, mostly dystopian post-apocalyptic world, where humans, mutants and monsters all intermingle. The final chapters revolve around the eponymous New Vegas, but not until you’ve likely done a bit of questing.
Game play revolves around exploration/shooting in most instances, but there are plenty of opportunities to accept quests and influence the world in small ways. The view is first-person, but the camera can be switched to 3rd person if you prefer. Thankfully, not every interaction is hostile and in-game characters will react appropriately to your perceived (mis)deeds.

This game takes things more seriously than its predecessor (Fallout 3), including a reputation system (used when interacting with different world factions) and death. The game is more refined in terms of differentiating weapons and armor and what they are suitable for in terms of use. Likewise, the game world is more realistic in terms of death. You cannot simply stomp on everything, especially some of the truly bad-ass factions nor certain monsters (the Deathclaw, for instance, was severely weakened in Fallout 3 — this game revives is to its Fallout 1 & 2 “Holy —-, RUUUUNNN!!!” status). This doesn’t mean you can’t build awesome characters — it just means the Terminator isn’t likely to be one of them.

New Vegas also adds a new optional eating/drinking system (in addition to sleeping) which seems like a small addition, but adds a layer of reality through interactivity that most games lack. Far from being a burden, these systems are well balanced with game play so that they don’t become too cumbersome (though there is a small niggle in so far as you need to check your food/sleep/hydration levels via a separate interface — however, if this is unacceptable, there are super easy to install mods for the PC version which add these elements to the HUD and thus eliminate this small gripe). Also new, there is card mini-game which allows you to gamble with various characters in the game for money. This is a nice diversion once you get the hang of it and build a good deck. It works well as a way to get extra cash, but don’t get too good — or else people won’t want to play with you (just like real life).

The game is very open-ended in terms of how long you take to finish the main quest and there are technically multiple endings. Regarding non-critical quests, while there maybe more quests unrelated to the main quest in New Vegas, the total number of quests has dropped. However, this is off-set by the fact that the game is eminently re-playable and most tell an interesting story, rather than the large amount of “fetch & kill” quests in Fallout 3.

The biggest addition to this version (the “Ultimate Edition”), is the inclusion of several new areas and quests, as well as starting bundles that make the beginning of the game somewhat simpler in terms of ability to defeat enemies. These were all “DLC” that Bethesda initially sold and this version includes all of it. Even if you have played the game before, this is a good reason to revisit it. You will have new items (included on-disc) and a handful of new quests/adventures to run. Thankfully, the added DLC quests fit much more naturally into this game than Fallout 3, since much of New Vegas is disconnected in terms of what you accept and how it fits in to the game world.

Overall, this is an extremely good buy and well worth the money if you enjoy RPGs with depth.

FO:NV is an amazing game. It allows the player to roam about a post-apocalyptic Las Vegas and Nevada, doing whatever the player wants. Typically, these things are good things, but the player is allowed to (and occasionally must) make morally tricky decisions. But, the game benefits righteous actions the most. This game has an abundance of foul language and gore (dismemberment is a distinct possibility), with the occasional sexual reference. Its not a game for younger kids, but will be intriguing and engaging for older teens and adults. Also, I may have enjoyed the game more than many others because I’m a sci-fi buff, and those who aren’t a fan of the genre may not be impressed. The game is difficult, and requires thought as to how exactly you’re going to keep your character alive and such. In summary, a great role playing game, but designed for a mature audience, and best enjoyed by fans of the genre.