Fallout: New Vegas (Sony Playstation 3, 2010)

I've only been playing Fallout: New Vegas for about a week and a half. Before I purchased it on Ebay for $35 (greatest hits price, anyone?), I was actually hesitant to purchase the game, reading other reviews that stated that game unfortunately felt like just a giant DLC. I wasn't sure if it was just a humongous expansion pack.

Once I had time to play a game like Fallout, quite honestly when I had a couple weeks off of work giving this game the time that it deserves, I don't believe that Fallout comes across as just another DLC, but that it instead feels like a whole other disc-based experience, complete with a extensive litany of side quests that will honestly keep any Fallout fan, let alone a new venturer to the series, occupied for countless hours, weeks, and months with compelling gaming.

Fallout: New Vegas, while perhaps lacking the novelty of the general wasteland experience that its predecessor provided, still manages to create a living, interesting world in which the struggle to maintain the slightest dignity of humanity takes the player to the brink of their own attitudes and opinions. The player is drawn in by the blatant profusion of social mayhem that embodies most of the characters that surround him/her, and this is an appealing aspect of the game because we realize, even hypothetically, that the world of Fallout is the world in which we live today, albeit the tongue-and-cheek humor that diffuses the certainty of earthly destruction by the hands of humans, and their meek efforts in fixing, or hiding the damages.

To stray from the philosophical, which Fallout indeed provides insight into in a far more entertaining way than most films, and all television, I do want to tackle a few gameplay aspects that I feel have been improved upon since the last installment because it is undoubtedly important.

For starters, I enjoy the weapon modification that they added to this game. It works in the sense that basic guns can transform into unique guns (scopes, extended clips, silencers, etc.) that not only give the gamer an edge in battle, but also make him/her feel like they have a specialized inventory, which is hugely effective for the appeal of the role-playing experience. When I pull out my Laser Rifle + with all the stuffing, I feel much more bad-ass than if it was just naked.

Secondly, the companion system has been *greatly* improved. I greatly appreciate the ease and convenience of the action wheel. Also, I have been travelling with two companions for a while now, and man do they do damage. Luckily, you get the experience for all the compiled kills between you and your companions, but you do not get the challenge points. Sometimes, you're lucky to steal a kill from your partners, as they are very accurate, and quite powerful. However, you are better of travelling with a companion or two for two reasons: one, they will kill people and creatures for you that normally you would not be able to, and two, they can carry a lot of cargo for you when you are out on your travels. The only drawback is that you may have to leave them behind (wait here) in some safe spots once in a while so that you can have a less frustrating time taking care of certain quests in which the last thing you need is an itchy trigger finger.

Lastly, the game has only froze on me less than ten times in all the hours I've been playing. Compared to the last Fallout, this is a huge difference, and a huge relief. I know that this may be different for others.

Alright, with all the time that FLNV has been out, I can say with out a doubt, that this far exceeds Fallout 3, and many many other games that have come out. With so much to do, and SO MANY ways to do so, I mean, you make whatever choice you want, and the game has to twist and turn to follow YOUR choice. Story characters going unconscious? Screw that! Anyone, and everyone can die, and lets say that someone was Ceaser the leader of the evil party in the game....then so be it. The story would have to go with it, because you chose it to do so. Now when the game first came out, it had problems with running, lots of lag and what not. I'm glad to say thats no longer a problem. Not only was this game amazing on its own, but the DLC that has come out for it, is also really good, all but the 1st, dead money. If you were to get any DLC for, I tell you, it has to be the GRA for $4. If you played Fallout 3, and liked it, this is your best bet in a game. Now what I hear from a lot of people is that this game is bad, and its only a big add on for Fallout 3. Well....funny thing about those people...they haven't played that game! heh, imagine that. I have not played a game so much in such a long time, I have over 76 files, each one a different character. Its just that good! But hey, don't take my word for it, go get the game yourself, get to level 50, buy the best guns in the game, and hunt the hell out of some Deathclaws.....then tell me what you think. I love elder scrolls....but with how great this game is, I would love another Fallout, not another Elder scrolls right now.

This is one of my favorite series of the gaming community but i still enjoyed fallout 3 more than new vegas, New Vegas has more open areas to roam and is very enjoyable, however it is missing some points of the fallout series, to try to survive the horrible post apocalyptic era, this game deals with more politics and less mutant bashing and more human fighting in the game. For instance in the game you get to dress up as whatever group (There are many different groups some evil and some "Good" you get to side on which ever one you want) and if you dress as one group that some people dont like you get shot up, so if you enjoy changing identity and having to deal with other humans along with a side dish of mutants then i highly recommend this game.

Pros: The Mojave wasteland (Wasteland of new Vegas) Is much greater in size and have MANY more quests to do than in fallout 3, Also has enhanced graphics(Thats a given) and it also holds many different and unique guns compared to fo3. Plus it has Companions (Allys that help you fight enemy and follow you), and it has iron sights which help gives this game a FPS (First Person Shooter) feeling to it (I however hardly use it).

Cons: The Big one is the bugs (or glitches) these bugs have come to annoy me due to sudden freezes before I was able to save and having to shut off my ps3 and restart the game. another con is the Characters...They are just not remember able, unlike three dog "Mr.New Vegas" Is extremely boring and very hard he also almost never gives your character praise like Three dog did...If you never played fallout 3 you might not get the reference or care but most fo3 fans dont like listening to "mr.new vegas" BUT the music itself is good still some awesome western songs included in there :)

My final rating 4/5 This game still holds much of the fallout experience that i loves so much but is missing so much, the character you play as barely has a background story and so many bugs it just makes you want to quit but still a fun game and i still enjoyed it.

The game is epic, like some of the Zelda games. The world is monumentally huge. The story is engaging and provides for tons of choices. The graphics could use a little tweaking, I get a glitch every now and then, like when I found myself trapped inside a giant dinosaur (not in the gift shop). But overall it is still an awesome game with a better than average sandbox play mode. I am very happy I bought the game.

This game is somewhat of an add on to fallout 3. It takes place in the same time frame but a different area. They made the VATS system more reliable and fair while adding an aiming system. Now players may aim down the iron sights of their guns. A hardcore mode has been added where you must sleep, eat, and drink otherwise negative status effects will befall you and possibly death. Ammo has weight and stim packs do not work instantly anymore. It is very challenging on the harder difficulties. A good RPG based shooter. Will keep you entertained and busy for countless hours.