Back to the wasteland ....
What is the Plot?
You play unnamed courier sent to deliver a platinum chip to New Vegas but you have been ambushed by Benny voiced by Matthew Perry – who steals the chip and shoots you in the head. You are found by a robot named Victor who brings you to Doctor Mitchell in a small town of Goodspring. The good doctor nurses you back to life and this is where you begin your character creation and skill, attribute, name, gender definitions. Following the trail of Benny opens up a whole new world to explore. This is more than a revenge story as you progress in the game; you realize that Benny was a small fraction of this fallout universe. New Vegas is run by Mr. House who wants absolute control of Vegas and its surroundings by eliminating the competition using securitrons or depending on how you choose to play. The center of conflict is control of Hoover dam. The NCR and the Legion want to take control of the Dam for their own benefits and it is left for the player to decide who controls what and when.
How does it play?
New Vegas plays just like Fallout 3 with some tweaks here and there that make the gameplay a little bit tighter and smoother than its predecessor. For a start, the gunplay has been tweaked for better shooting. The Pip-boy returns to your wrist for some pause and play action. Some information in the Pip-boy has been improved but in my opinion is still bulky and in the way as ever before. Every time you level up into even number levels for example: level 2, 4, 6, etc, you get to choose a perk but it does not work when you level up into odd numbers which is really dumb because imagine what players can do with perks on every level-up. World and interior maps should have been improved with better quest tracking. Imagine not knowing where your quest is in a building if it is located on a second or third floor. There should have been a pointer that points upwards or downwards indicating where your quest is. The world and interior map views are also poorly designed in my opinion because in today's graphics, terrains should look a lot better than simple black and white even though it is set as if it is in the 60s. One of the best parts of combat is crippling enemies and actually watching them groan in pain which is awesome.
One of the best additions to this game is factions. These factions are groups of people with different religion and experience who roam the wasteland trying to survive. In your travels you will encounter various factions that will need your help and depending on how you treat them, you will be accepted by the community or hated.
Overall if you played fallout 3, then this should be easy because it is the same combat system in place with better tweaks. There are new items in this game like super stimpaks or doctor's bag which add a new level of immersion when in combat. A fallout game won't be complete without the infamous VAT system which enhances the overall experience of the combat by allowing you target individual limps and shoot them off your enemy. Overall the gameplay is better than Fallout 3 and smoother in some places.
How does it look and sound?
New Vegas is running on the same engine that was used in Oblivion and Fallout 3 and by the time you finish this sentence you will start to wonder why Bethesda has decided on this because character animation is extremely stiff and the all run funny. This engine had one the best lip syncing back in the day but now is becoming a pain just to watch. Notwithstanding, it is still a marvel to stand and look at a horizon and know you can walk there which is spectacular. The engine brings New Vegas to life from the strip to the red canyons. New Vegas looks and sounds spectacular with surround sound speakers.
Verdict
This is a definite buy for anyone looking for more than 30 hours great gameplay. Although it is familiar to fallout 3, this should not deter you from experiencing this engrossing adventure.