Fallout: New Vegas Review
Image from store.steampowered.com
I’m sad to say, but it is our final week of the general Game Developer’s Association meetings.
This week, we’ll be talking about the classic computer RPG Fallout: New Vegas. It’s been a long time coming, so meet us one last time this semester in Gaylord 2030 at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday to learn more about one of our favorite games.
Rachelle is the biggest New Vegas fan out there, and since I have not played it nor have had the time too (way too may papers…), she wrote up one! Here is her review in all its awesomeness!
The Rachelle Review
Fallout: New Vegas is a game that takes the spirit of RPG, open-world exploration, and player choice to the maximum to give a unique experience for everyone. The Fallout series centers around a reality where nuclear war has brought the apocalypse to the modern world and a new world engulfed in post-nuclear fallout lives on.
In the year 2281, nearly 200 years after nuclear bombs were unleashed, the city of New Vegas stood tall, despite several surrounding factions hoping to take it over. One of six couriers are instructed to deliver a package to the mysterious Mr. House of New Vegas, except one does not quite make the journey there….charming fellow Benny, the man in a checkered suit, intercepts one of these couriers, shoots them dead in the head, and takes the package for himself.
However, they do not meet their end…only the beginning.
The player, who cheated death and saved, now has the entire world to explore, meet new people, encounter deadly enemies, and decide the fate of New Vegas after finding the man who shot them and left them for dead.
Unlike the original Fallout series, New Vegas, like its 2010 preceder Fallout: 3, takes place in a 3D open world RPG shooter where the player is able to use an arsenal of weapons, items, and equipment to shape their gameplay experience the way they want.
The basis of New Vegas and the original Fallout series is its usage of RPG and storytelling while also keeping the player’s choices in mind. In New Vegas, the player’s character is given several ways to built their character’s traits through the S.P.E.C.I.A.L system (strength, perception, charisma, intelligence, agility, and luck) as well as smaller traits like speech, lockpick, medicine, and more. New Vegas also has a perk system that players can choose from based on their level and skills, for example “black widow” where a female character can do more damage to male characters, that can also influence a player’s stats. These perks can also influence the story in surprising ways as well.
The story of New Vegas has been heavily praised for its ability to follow the player’s choice without interruption or barriers. The post-apocalyptic mojave is filled with many factions like the New California Republic (NCR) in the east, Caesar’s Legion in the East, and many smaller ones like The Great Khans, the Boomers, Freeside, the Kings, the Powder Gangers, and much more—each of whom the player can develop a reputation with. Have a negative reputation, and a faction might be set out to kill you, or if you are idolized, the faction will help you when times are tough. Along with factions, the game has a wide range of NPCs to talk to, learn about, and side quests to interact with.
The dialogue system of New Vegas is a huge highlight for me, and it’s a reason why I think New Vegas has a deeper root towards game lore and player choice than newer editions of the series. When speaking to NPCs, the player is able to explore large dialogue trees to find out more about the character, as well as use their skills to find unique dialogue and routes.
For example, a player with a high speech can barter with characters, or if they have high medicine, they can inspect characters rather than give medicine. If the player has unique perks, like Black Widows mentioned earlier, they can also sometimes find unique dialogue. One example is the ability to sleep with a character and with the black widow perk, the player is given the option to kill them in their sleep. To me, that is extremely rewarding, and just plain fun, because I was not told to pick this perk, I choose it, and I am now able to use it in unique dialogue instances.
Another great part of this system is the silent rule of “there’s always another way”, which New Vegas loves to follow to a T. For example, the player is able to talk to a character in order for the ability to carry more weight on a mission. If the player has a high enough skill in speech, they are able to complete the dialogue quickly, and get their additional carry weight. But what if you don’t have that many points in that skill yet? Don’t worry, “there’s always another way”. The player is also able to talk to this same character and through specific dialogue trees and choices, the player is able to persuade them to carry their weight…without ever needing the skill check. This occurs many times in the game, not just for dialogue, where the player is able to do what they please and know there’s always another way.
A large humble brag you say about the creators of New Vegas’s story is that they emphasised player choice…even if the player wanted to pull an Undertale genocide or pacifist run on New Vegas (which have been proven that you can do and still beat the game). The player is able to choose whatever option, route, or elimination of characters that they choose and the game does not mind—it encourages it. For the heart of New Vegas is its RPG roots, and the ability to give players a chance to explore this strange open-world at their own pace, and make their own choices. For me, New Vegas was a chance for me to fall in love with non-linear games, games with rich stories, and games that emphasize that your choices matter and have meaning. And that’s what gives New Vegas meaning to me.
