Great game, lives up to Fallout 3 but doesn't really outdo it. Fallout 3 definitely had the upper hand on every aspect.

User Rating: 7.5 | Fallout: New Vegas X360
By Socialist696 | Review Date:
The Story: I found the story to be lacking. Not only does it just begin immediately with no buildup what so ever, it doesn't ever have the drive that Fallout 3's story did. You feel no desire to know what happened, why it happened, and how to resolve it. You wake up shot in the head, dug out by a robot and you just go from there. Not very interesting, very cliche. Compared to Fallout 3's opening, buildup and character development, I found NV to be very weak in this area. While Fallout 3 was more linear as far as the main story goes (only 2 endings - life or death), NV did build on a more flexible character story. But you never really feel like its anything different than the others since they all result in the same final quest, the only thing changing is who you're fighting for and where you start. The Factions are also bland. The 3 main factions : Mr House, Caesars Legion and the NCR are very interesting (all with great details, agendas, styles and backstory), but once again it matters little what side you choose as the end result is still pretty much the same. You also have the decision to eliminate one of the faction leaders early and go at it yourself to rule Vegas, but, once again, the end result and resulting quests are almost all the same. I found the side quests to be more interesting then the main quest, so thats a plus and a nice break to get lost in and theres plenty of them.

Gameplay : The gameplay remains unchanged from Fallout 3. With the addition of new weapons/items, a new Survival mode which throws in sleep/hunger/hydration needs, weapon sights, and enemies, the game remains almost like DLC for Fallout 3. The weapons are ever more sweet, the items list has been improved, and the enemies are challenging keeping the game fresh so anyone whos played Fallout 3 can hop right in and play as if it were nothing yet it remains challenging. The only issue is that the game tends to freeze up alot (since its quite huge) which is a pain but autosaves help reduce the risk of losing your data. Apart from the new additions, this is once again Fallout 3 set in a different location with a few upgrades.

The World Map: My biggest complaint with New Vegas. This world is so boring and bland compared to the Capital Wasteland of Fallout 3. The Mojave is a waste, desert wasteland with little towns scattered about and only one small city (Vegas). Apart from that, its just miles of nothing, cliffs, and enemies with fillers thrown in. Compared to Fallout 3, this is just a let down entirely. The locales and culture are also less interesting than Fallout 3, focusing on a Old West theme (wtf?) of cowboys and spaghetti westerns. Considering all the potential this game had, this is the reason for my reduced score. It was just a serious letdown going from the massive, Urban Capital wasteland to a barren, cowboy-inspired desert wasteland with nothing worth exploring unless you're on a quest there. If you can get by this large downgrade, this game is great and a good follow up to Fallout 3. It stays loyal to the fun, but I feel the developers could've made the setting much more interesting and innovative than this.

Other Helpful Reviews for Fallout: New Vegas

Load Comments (0)