Fallout: New Vegas First Look
Fan service? Maybe. Awesome? Yes.
At first glance it might be possible to look at Fallout: New Vegas and think of it as nothing more than an expansion to Fallout 3. It uses the same engine and the core gameplay has largely been kept intact, so it does share some resemblance with its uncle. But it only takes a second look to see that Obsidian Entertainment is placing its own unmistakable mark on the Fallout franchise. A new Hardcore mode, tweaked combat, weapon mods, gambling, and a game world as big as Fallout 3 are just a few of the things fans will be raving about up to and beyond the release of this next entrant into the much-loved game series. Obsidian, a development studio founded by some of the same people that created the original Fallout games, is back on the scene in a big way.
First, a little background info for those that perhaps don't follow Fallout as closely as others. These games take place in an alternate universe where Earth has gone through nuclear Armageddon, crushing society and splintering the survivors into warring factions desperate to scrape together an existence from the barren wasteland. The catch is that this alternate future is based upon the sci-fi comics of the '50s and '60s, filled with atomic cars and talking robots. Add in some dark humor, deep role-playing mechanics, and a wide open world to explore and you've got a recipe for Fallout.
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picks up three years after the events of Fallout 3, but don't expect the story to continue in a linear fashion. This is its own self-contained tale with its own original characters -- it stands alone. This time the setting is in the remnants of Las Vegas, aptly named New Vegas. The nuclear war didn't destroy everything out here in the desert, though there wasn't much to begin with. Things have held together relatively well all things considered, leaving plenty of places to explore from downtown New Vegas and the Hoover Dam to the towns and settlements of the surrounding Mojave Wasteland.
Fallout: New Vegas starts off with a bang. From a gun. Firing a bullet. Into your head. It seems that some people didn't want the package in your possession to make its scheduled delivery. These crooks leave you to die in the desert outside of New Vegas, but a strange robot with a cowboy personality who goes by Victor rescues you and brings you to a genial man named Doc Mitchell to get you all fixed up.
It's with Doc Mitchell that you'll go through the streamlined character creation and customization setup. Those who played Fallout 3 will be right at home here -- all of the same options exist for creating the look and feel of your character, plus a new age slider has been added -- but the entire process goes by much faster than the protracted childhood of the last game. In a break from tradition, the main character is not a vault dweller raised in a protective fallout shelter that many fled to as the war began. This allowed the developers to get you right into the action should you already be a veteran. After a few questions about your personality, adjustments to the SPECIAL (Strength, Perception, Endurance, Charisma, Intelligence, Agility, and Luck) base stats, tagging a few skills, and receiving a new Pip-Boy 3000 arm mounted computer, you're set free to run off into the wild blue yonder.
![[IMG]](http://xbox360media.ign.com/xbox360/image/article/108/1086462/fallout-new-vegas-20100428000722211-000.jpg)
Another clever take on character customization.
Adjustments to the structure of the opening moments have been made for both newcomers and experts alike. Rookies might want to settle in for some Rorschach tests, word associations and grim humor at the hands of Doc Mitchell while the game decides how to craft your base stats before heading outside for a series of tutorial missions.
Pros, on the other hand, can blast through the opening, pick their own stats, and skip the tutorial quests. They can even select the brand new Hardcore mode for some added difficulty. Be warned: Hardcore mode lives up to its name. Taking that option will make the game much more realistic by -- among other things -- adding weight to even little things like bullets, forcing the player to regularly eat and drink water to stay alive, requiring a doctor visit to heal broken bones, and making Stimpaks heal over time instead of instantly. Not for the weak willed, but Obsidian is promising a treat for those that make it through to the end.
Like most role-playing games, New Vegas starts off with a relatively straightforward task -- find out who left you to die in the desert. Along the way, you'll run into various factions and groups vying for control of the region and it won't be long before you get sucked up into the biggest confrontation of them all. The bureaucratic New California Republic is looking to move in and take over the Hoover Dam, a miraculously operational facility. The slaver crew known as Caesar's Legions has other plans.
But before you can get caught up in that war, you'll have to take your first steps towards revenge. That adventure begins in a town called Goodsprings, which is where many of the new features of Fallout: New Vegas begin to show their faces. The biggest of these are related to combat.
![[IMG]](http://xbox360media.ign.com/xbox360/image/article/108/1086462/fallout-new-vegas-20100428000731070-000.jpg)
Why can't all robots just be friendly?
New Vegas is still an open world role-playing game and the combination of real-time shooting and VATS (a targeting system that pauses the game and allows for a more classically RPG style of combat) has not changed. Newly added is the ability to find and equip weapon mods and specialty ammo, further tweaking and improving an arsenal that already contains twice as many weapons as Fallout 3. If that Grenade Machine Gun isn't good enough, you can always add an extra mod on it to make its rate of fire even faster. Scopes, extra clips, special ammo and more can be found for most weapons, and every change you make to the gun is reflected in its look in the game.
Some additions have been made to the flow of combat as well, making New Vegas a much more flexible and fluid looking experience. During real-time combat, new camera options have been added and the mechanics have been tweaked. You can now aim down the sights like most standard first-person shooters, and the game options can be tweaked to add in the cinematic, slow-mo kill cam previously only available through VATS. If you do bring up VATS, you'll find new options for melee targeting including special moves. No matter your battle preferences, prepare for a similar gore fest to Fallout 3. During the demo I watched as the player took an uppercut swing with a 9 Iron golf club to the face of an enemy. His head flew off in a stream of blood.
![[IMG]](http://xbox360media.ign.com/xbox360/image/article/108/1086462/fallout-new-vegas-20100428000634823-000.jpg)
The new companion wheel makes friends friendlier.
Another major addition to the flow of combat is the new companion wheel. This is a single-player RPG and you directly control only one main character, but along the way you will come across numerous companions who might be persuaded to join up and help you out. With the companion wheel, you'll be able to quickly dish out basic commands to let your helper know whether to fight or flee. You'll also be able to much more easily manage their health and equipment. And if you make a dumb decision by giving a trained sniper a shotgun, the companion will let you know it.
There's lots of new firepower, for sure. But you'll need it when facing off against some of monsters that inhabit the area around New Vegas. As Obsidian has a history with the Fallout franchise, it is making sure that the longtime fans see things that make them get all nostalgic. New beasts like the mutant Big Horner are joined by some old foes. The Gecko (normal, Fire, and Golden variants) and the elite Supter Mutant Nightkin are back, the latter of which can switch on some active camo to make things extra tricky. While the Nightkin is invisible, you won't be able to target them in VATS.
Things get trickier yet when you add in the new armored defense some elite enemies can present. When targeting some of the stronger units in New Vegas, you might see a red shield appear on the screen. That would be your indication to switch weapons to something more effective. Perhaps a Plasma Caster would be called for.
If you haven't figured it out by now, my first look at Fallout: New Vegas was rather extensive, and it did a great job of showing off just how massive the game is. In addition to the opening town of Goodsprings, I also got a look at Primm (a real-life town that includes a roller-coaster), Novak, Black Mountain and the Helios 1 Power Plant. Along the way I got a look at several quests that ranged in complexity from simple Gecko hunts, to sniper defenses inside the mouth of a huge Dinky the Dinosaur statue, to giant set pieces that involved turning solar plants into massive solar weapons.
The most interesting part of the watching the quests play out came in the explanation of the extended system of notoriety and karma. Once again, you're free to be as nice or nasty as you please and your overall karma level will reflect it. At the same time, each faction or town you come across will react to your reputation you have with it. Help out the Brotherhood of the Steel and they might give you some protection or let you inside a locked down training camp. Piss off Caesar's Legion and they might send a hitman your way. Smaller towns might simply give you discounts…or tribute. With this system you're free to be both good and evil, shaping the way the world reacts to you along the way and ultimately affecting the outcome of your game.
![[IMG]](http://xbox360media.ign.com/xbox360/image/article/108/1086462/fallout-new-vegas-20100428001129686-000.jpg)
A look from within Dinky the Dinosaur.
I'm quite impressed with all that has been added and tweaked – Obsidian clearly did its homework and thought long and hard about what aspects of Fallout 3 could be improved upon without changing the formula too drastically. I've listed a lot of the new features here, but still haven't even gotten to all of them. Even the conversation system has been tweaked to better integrate all skills and better let you know the odds of succeeding in a persuasion option. And I didn't get to see the main strip in New Vegas at all – a place promised to hold surprises for those that can survive the treacherous road in.
If there was any disappointment with my first look at Fallout: New Vegas, it came with the look. Though work has been done on the engine to improve the flow of combat and conversations, little if any was done to make it more visually appealing. It will have been two years since Fallout 3 came out by the time New Vegas hits store shelves and the animations and character models are beginning to show their age.
![[IMG]](http://xbox360media.ign.com/xbox360/image/article/108/1086462/fallout-new-vegas-20100428001036282-000.jpg)
The demo closed with this massive super weapon being activated at Helios 1.
For me, that's a small concession. All of the additions to the gameplay sound exciting and the core of what made Fallout 3 so fantastic is completely intact. Want more of a great thing with plenty of new additions to make it feel fresh all over again? New Vegas has your back.
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