Fallout New Vegas Preview
Ah my beloved Fallout, finally back where it belong; back East in Nevada and Mojave Desert, but not, of course in its original isometric style. But that’s the old school fan in me talking. So what do we have to look forward in this latest standalone incarnation in this post-apocalyptic series?
In this incarnation you don’t start playing as a Vault Dweller, but are instead identified as ‘The Courier’ carrying important information to the New California Republic, a faction that old fans will recognise from Fallout 2 who has now come to dominate the whole of California and is spreading beyond.
However you get off to a bad start. You wake up half buried in the sand, after being shot in the head. Luckily you are then rescued by a robot named Victor with a TV for a head. Amazingly enough, you are not plagued by horrible brain damage and get fixed up by the very helpful Doc Mitchell, who then quizzes you starting character creation, before he suits you up with a vault 21 suit, a old pistol and..Of course…your pipboy 3000!
Your mission after slipping into your new slacks is to find the item you were carrying and explore the environment you find yourself in. Starting with your first town, Goodsprings which will be introducing you to the game, giving you your first missions hunting geckos (back from fallout 2!) and like Megaton, you’ll have the chance to destroy it later on and also chose to ally or fight against a local gang. So far so standard, but what else is there to intrigue and entertain new players?
Well, there are a slew of new enemies, including a few old faces from Fallout 2, such as the Nightkin Supermutants, combat ready badass mutherfuckers who will have access to stealth boys to sneak up on you and twist your head off like pulling a grape from the vine.
There’s also a load of new weapons, including a grenade launcher, throwing spear, a Nine Iron and a nice stick of dynamite for when you want to blow stuff oldskool style.
A nice change from F3 is that you can repair your items up to 100 per cent straight away without needing a high repair skill, and you can also customize them with larger clips, scopes and different ammo types. You’ll also be coming up against creatures and people wearing armour that has to be worn down before you can start to damage them, making it feel more realistic and challenging rather than just having blanket protection.
Now at a glance, you’ll notice that there is very little difference in how New Vegas looks in relation to F3. Obsidian is using the same engine to create and populate New Vegas as in F3, but with a few tweaks. So it looks like we’re still going to be looking at a mass of grey, brown and yellow, but hey, it’s a post apocalyptic RPG, that’s kinda the scenery.
Reputation replaces Karma as your moral compass, which makes a bit more sense. It’ll better reflect your standing with the various factions in the desert, from the old established brotherhood of steel, the growing New California Republic, and the evil slavers, Creasers Legion. Not to mention throwbacks to the original Fallout with minor factions like the Gun Runners, Followers of the Apocalypse and the Crimson Caravan.
You can now control your various companions by using a new ‘companion reel’ allowing you to issue commands and better control those who’ll be fighting alongside you. This should make for a much more fluid combat scenarios and relive the traipsing through menus to get what you want done.
Now being Las Vegas, there is also the needed addition of gambling, and possibly cheating to up your caps. You have poker, Black Jack, slots, anything that a self respecting casino would provide. I wonder if you’ll have the chance to beg for extra caps when the chips are down…
But perhaps the bests fauture, in my eyes, is the new Hardcore mode. Why? because it makes teh game more challenging without just giving your enemys a lot more health. Now you’ve got to deal with the weight of ammo, keeeping yourself hydrated, fed and rested. Those stimpacks are no longer magical insta healing potions, and those crippled limbs need a doctor or a doctors bag to patch yourself up.
It looks like we’re in for a very solid game. While some people have compared New Vegas to the DLC to F3, but I think that’s being unkind. Yes it is going to be very similar, but with some good changes in terms of the interface. I’m hoping for a much stronger storyline, but I’m confident Obsidian will deliver.
-That Bloke In The Beanie
