Summary [8.0 out of 10 (assuming they fix the glitches otherwise it is 7.0]

The follow up to Fallout 3, New Vegas changes the venue to the west and highlights the neon splendor of Vegas. While the environment is more the Fallout version of Vegas and is less accurate than number 3’s Washington D.C. it is still extremely detailed and immersive. The game generally does everything 3 did and by and large does it just as well but it still feels kind of small compared to the third entry. Still, even if the scope is narrowed there are still just as many things to do and you are getting a very full experience.

Introduction

I loved  Fallout 3 and was very excited to get into New Vegas. This time around Obsidian Entertainment stepped in for Bethesda and they kept most of the key core experiences intact. There are some changes here and there but they are generally for the better  and they’ve done a great job with it. The game doesn’t  quite live up to the pedigree set up by the last installment but it is still a successful entry to the series.

The Great

• Depth: The depth of gameplay here is really impressive. While it is a bit streamlined, there is just a ridiculous amount of things to do. The missions are multi-tiered and the side-quests involve a variety of different tasks that offer up enough variety to keep you busy. You can run through the main quest if you want to but the game is designed to get you involved and to do as much as possible. If you burn through without engaging in side-quests and incidental things available you will find the endgame to be a lot more difficult. Luckily, the optional tasks and side-quests are fun and engaging so you will want as much as you can get.

• Replay: Aside from being bolstered by the vast amounts of content here, replay is helped along by a variety of endings and a variety of factions to align with. These factions all have their own quests and  story lines.  The experiences you have in the game and the story points you see are totally dependent on who you choose to align with. Further, your skills and attributes will take your character in different directions. There are tons of possibilities here and you are well rewarded for replaying the game over and over.

• Controls: Fallout 3 got the controls right and New Vegas doesn’t shake things up at all. VATS is back and the targeting is tight and responsive. Navigating the menus is easy and intuitive  and you never feel like you are fighting with the controller.

• Graphics: The graphics are gorgeous. A lot of assets from the last game are reused here and the character designs are pretty much the same as last time around. The environments take on a much more western look and the sun bleached desert looks just as good as anything DC had to offer.

The Good

• Story: The story is more compact than the previous entry and the consequences are ultimately much less dire but there are plenty of twists and turns to keep it engaging and interesting. The story is also fairly fluid based on your choices so even if it is a smaller story, there is still a lot there and your character makes a fairly massive impact on the future of the west. It isn’t a sprawling epic but it keeps you wanting to come back to find out what happens next.

• Atmosphere: This is a little nebulous but the different environments really have character and feel very much like Vegas and the surrounding desert. This gives the game a great feeling of authenticity even when the locations are not analogous to the area. The atmosphere gives the game a bit of extra flavor that improves the overall package very well.

• Gore: The gore seems to have been bumped up a notch and it is glorious.

• Companions: While you were able to have companions last time, the mechanic is expanded to allow you to have at least two companions but a few more if you work it out correctly. They also no longer die if they fall in battle. This time out they fall unconscious and revive when the battle is over. This makes it more worthwhile to pick them up and they are very useful.

• Writing: The dialogue in the game is very snappy and funny. Choices when you fail a speech or barter skill check are particularly amusing and really add to the experience.

The Bad

• Glitches: While there are patches planned to cover these, the game is enormously buggy. I had a companion disappear for no reason during the final level never to be seen again, had characters disappear from the game forever and had a black screen that required restart. Reports around the net list several others. This is just unacceptable and if they don’t fix it the game will really suffer for it.

• Navigation System: The navigation system hasn’t really changed since the last game and it was pretty shitty there too.It seems to have gotten worse though and I found myself very frustrated wandering around looking for where to go while the chevron for a place marker mocks me and fails altogether to show me where to go.

• End is the End: Like the last Fallout, once you reach the end of the story you are done. This really sucks since there is so much to do. The story and variety of endings may be the culprit here but it is really lame to have to just stop when there is so much more you can do.

Conclusion[8.0 out of 10 (assuming they fix the glitches otherwise it is 7.0]

Fallout New Vegas isn’t as good of a game as Fallout 3 but it doesn’t need to be. It is a new installment in a great series and if this quality continues we are in for great things in the future. And if you are upset for however long it will be before the next one you can take solace in the fact that you will probably still be playing this one right up until the release of the next one.