Overdue Review: Fallout: New Vegas (PC)

Butler stops playing Fallout: New Vegas long enough to review it.  Did it live up to its mighty predecessor?  Find out after the jump! 

I have been playing New Vegas for so long at this point that I have forgotten how to write proper introductions, so let's just dive in to the meat of the matter here.

Fallout: New Vegas is the sequel to 2008's smash hit, Fallout 3, and is set a few years following the events thereof.  If you have been living in a hole for the last 12 years, Fallout takes place in various wastelands across the US following a catastrophic nuclear war between us, China, and Russia in the late 2000's.  You are placed in the shoes of a courier (messenger/package carrier for various wasteland interests) who gets shot in the head and left for dead by a smooth talking casino owner named Benny (voiced by Matthew Perry, of all people).  You are rescued by a kindly small town doctor who helps you "reconstruct" your memories (this is how the game integrates character creation).  A few tutorials later, and the rest of the game is essentially "screw around in the wasteland, occasionally taking a break to pursue your attackers".  Along the way, you encounter factions vying for control of the wasteland, though the two most important are the militaristic New California Republic, attempting to re-establish democracy at any cost, and the brutal Caesar's Legion, an army that conquers according to the ideals of the Roman empire.

Also, cyberdogs!

Before I go much farther here, I may as well point out that if you liked Fallout 3, you will like New Vegas, as the games handle virtually identically.  New Vegas, when it is not plagued by the bugs of the initial release, simply handles things with a bit more finesse.  Many of the changes are relatively minor, but they do affect the game in a big way.  Leveling is not nearly as broken as it once was, with fewer skill points awarded per level-up and perks offered only every other level up or so.  Enemies are also a little more resilient, and weapons seem a bit weaker, making for a generally more difficult experience.  This is a great thing, however, as Fallout and Fallout 2 were pant-crappingly difficult, while Fallout 3 allowed you to become master of all you survey by the time your character reached level 10.  New Vegas always seems to present a moderate challenge, but never one that is so difficult as to render the game un-fun.

You probably noticed Rex the robodog up there and wondered what the hell that's all about.  Well, one of the biggest changes implemented in New Vegas is the ability to travel with up to two CPU allies (of which Rex is one).  Traveling with allies not only gives you an extra set of hands (or guns) in combat, but bestows your character with extra perks as long as that ally is in your party.  They generally don't require much babysitting, and if they do get knocked out, they come to in a minute.  Any kills they make go in to your character's experience pool, so there is very little disincentive to travel with other characters, and it provides a fun new mechanic to work with, as well as a way to balance out areas where the game gets particularly challenging.

You have to admit, few would readily "step to" this.

There are a few caveats I must offer alongside my overall recommendation, however:  As I mentioned above, this game was released with some bugs, and they are still being hammered out.  This is a kind of big problem, though, since at this point the Oblivion engine on which the game runs is 4 god damned years old.  Objects will levitate at random, collision detection can get incredibly spotty, and the frame rate tends to start chugging if there are more than about 5 or 6 enemies onscreen.  It's rare, but it happens.  Characters will still stare rigidly in one spot staring in to space and still only have about 5 faces and voices between them, but they are saved by the game's incredibly meticulously designed setting, which is so vast and impressive that I have played for almost 40 hours on one file and still have not completed the game or even reached the level cap.  Some of this, unfortunately, is due to a very padded out map with lots of empty space, and a buildup at the end that has an eye-bleeding amount of multi-tiered fetch quests.

But as annoyed as I should feel with all of these flaws, I just can't bring myself to speak against this game with any heart.  Even when I was at my most bored or frustrated with the fetch quests, I would diligently pursue them to their end because I was that fascinated with the world, setting, and characters presented in this installment of the Fallout series.  It may have gotten off to a rocky start, but New Vegas is a really positive step for this franchise, and I hope an indicator of even more finely honed installments to come.

EDITOR'S NOTE: This is where Butler's final picture should

have gone, but he left to go play more Fallout.