Fallout New Vegas

Fallout: New Vegas

PC / X-Box 360 / PS3

“They asked if I had a degree in theoretical physics. I told them I had a theoretical degree in physics. They said welcome aboard.”

A nuclear war has happened. Cities have been reduced to rubble and ruins. The majority of the human race has been wiped out. Society has collapsed and all that’s left is small factions of people looking after their own interests.

This isn’t Mad Max or Terminator Salvation. This is Fallout: New Vegas. Set in a post apocalyptic future, in the city of sin and flashy lights. The world has mutants, rival gangs, monsters and robots all wandering. I missed the first couple of Fallout games and jumped into the Fallout universe with Fallout 3 (PC/360/PS3), where I spent 7 months exploring the wastelands of Washington.

Thankfully playing the previous games of the series is not a pre-requisite of playing New Vegas, the game does a wonderful job of introducing the player to the Fallout universe and gives hints/advice for the first quest.

I’ll admit I’ve not completed New Vegas and I don’t I will do for some time. I’ve been playing for several hours and only done a few side quests and 2 main quests. However, this being a Fallout game I’m expecting 30+ hours of game play. What I will point out to anyone that is new to Fallout is this – it is not a first person shooter. Do not go into this game expecting Call of Duty.

Fallout is just as much about planning, strategy, collecting items and maintaining relationships as it is shooting enemies. In fact, running in all guns blazes will more than likely end up with your character dying faster than Ricky Gervais at an American awards show. The game can feel a little daunting at first, but then again waking up in a in a nuclear wasteland would feel daunting as well. It takes a while to get your bearings and for the adventure to begin.

Talking to characters introduces you to new friends, enemies, quests and locations to explore. It also helps to unfold a rich storyline and gives the player more understanding of the massive world they can explore. Although some characters only have a few chat options, others have dozens, and these can lead to very different outcomes. Teaming with a faction or killing a random individual can cause whole factions to try and kill you on site.

Fallout: NV portrays the desert wastelands very well, showing destroyed vehicles and crumbling desolate buildings. Although the graphics don’t exactly compare to linear games (like Call of Duty) they do hold up extremely well. Wander the desert for a few hours and watch as the New Vegas strip lights up, and I would be surprised if it doesn’t make you stop and gaze at it. And the bullet-time slow down cameras show how utterly devastating a single bullet can be. Although seeing an enemy crouch on top of a recently thrown piece of dynamite can also be very funny.

The characters that the player can bump into feel like a wild bunch of 1950’s casino goers, mixed with insane ex-casino mafia/employees, soldiers and robots that are more confused than the humans. Add into the mix mutants, monsters and crazy scientists and you’ve got more wackiness than an episode of Looney Tunes.

The music of New Vegas varies from drab, dreary and slightly eerie tunes that play as the player walks around the desolate desert to up beat “Rat Pack” tunes when in the casinos.  I feel like it really adds to the games atmosphere.

If you want a game that you can spend hours exploring, planning the little details, making friends/enemies and decisions that can turn whole towns against you (as well as having the fun of out gunning a gang of enemies), then I’d recommend taking a trip to New Vegas.