War... War never changes...



Fallout: New Vegas

Released: October 19-22, 2010
Published by: Bethesda Softworks
Developed by: Obsidian Entertainment

Story: 9/10
The main quest of New Vegas was fairly interesting to me. More so than Fallout 3. Fallout 3 was also too short. I could beat that main quest in a day. However, New Vegas has a fairly long main quest. That could be good or bad for some people, but I appreciate a story that takes effort to finish. It also has several paths to take, and a few endings to achieve. Again, this could be good or bad for some people. There are also more characters who feel like characters, not just NPCs thrown in just to advance the plot. 9 is a pretty high number, but the main reason I have it so high is the DLC. New Vegas' DLC DESTROYS Fallout 3's DLC. They are well put together, and each of them gives you extra information about you, the Courier. I really enjoyed the DLC. I made sure to play them each time I played.

Gameplay/Controls: 6/10
It really depends on how you play. I've played both with a controller and keyboard/mouse. Honestly, it feels like any other FPS RPG, except that third person with the keyboard feels like you are piloting a drunk person by holding their shoulders and shoving them side to side. However, with a controller movement in third person feels more natural. Playing with controller has it's downside as well though. Aiming was a bit of a problem for me. It's kind of jerky, and keeping the sensitivity where I could still turn around at a decent rate, I was still over-adjusting. So it could have been better.

Sound: 6/10
As far as sound effects go, they are sound effects. Not much to note. The music in New Vegas keeps with the 50's theme. But I gotta admit, I didn't like the music choices as much as the Fallout 3 songs. Yeah sure, it's Vegas based, but it didn't keep my head rocking side to side when I was just strolling around. It more was more like "This song again? Didn't I JUST hear that like 10 minutes ago?"

Graphics: 7/10
Depends on your PC. Or, god forbid, your console. It really didn't blow me away. It's the same engine as Fallout 3 and Oblivion, so the graphics are the same pretty much. There is a little bit more detail than Fallout 3, so that saved it from a 6/10. But again, it's nothing amazing.

Replay Value: 7/10
As far as the story goes, it's worth 2 or 3 play-throughs, just to see the different endings. HOWEVER! Mods are what really keep this game going. Cause admit-ably, it can get a bit stale after a couple of plays. Here's the link to an entire site dedicated to user made mods. New Vegas Nexus.

Overall: 7/10
Overall it's a pretty good game. I also really enjoy modable non-linear games, namely Bethesda games, so it may be slightly biased. The prices on steam perfectly match how I feel about it though. 20 dollars for the base game, and 40 for the Ultimate Edition which includes all the DLC.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/22380/
So take it from Main, this is a good buy. Now I'm off to play Morrowind.