Posted on: Wednesday, August 11th, 2010
Posted in: News
Comments: 100
Fallout: New Vegas – More of the same. Good or bad?
From my play time with Fallout: New Vegas at E3 2010 I came away from the experience a bit underwhelmed. I suppose I expected too much, some really new and interesting additions that would excite my desire to roam the wastelands once again. Instead what we get is a few small improvements and tweaks to the gameplay that we enjoyed. They are playing it safe, or being lazy – I cant figure out which yet.
I tried to do my best to even play-up these additions when interviewing the awesome Pete Hines, in the hopes that he might reveal something hes been hiding up his sleeve (like a post-apocalyptic vehicle for travel across the wasteland) but to no avail. More of the same is a fine line to walk amongst gamers – apologists of the franchise will say that’s exactly what they want, others will point out the disappointment of not having the series evolve enough.
So what do you think? Based on the interview and what you know of Fallout: New Vegas – Is more of the same, good or bad? In either case it seems as if the general public has already spoken. Pre-orders for New Vegas have already outpaced its predecessor and excitement levels couldn’t be higher. I wish I was one of them.
I’m sure its going to be a great game, how could you go wrong if you change so little? But I cant help but think of what Obsidian might have done had they dug a bit deeper.
- Related Posts:
-
Diablo 3 is out! …and so is Error 37!
May 15, 2012
-
The Wild Hunt for Witcher 3! CD Projekt RED Visit
April 30, 2012
-
Fartin’ Around with Skull Girls
April 25, 2012
-
DBZ Kinect. This is Real. And Coming Soon.
April 17, 2012
Gaming Comics
Joe vs. The Giant: Part 4
Joe vs. The Giant: Part 3
Joe vs. The Giant: part 2
Joe vs. The Giant: Part 1
Achievement Unlocked
Recent Reviews
Risen 2: Dark Waters Angry Review
May 8, 2012
Mount & Blade: Napoleonic Wars Angry Review
April 23, 2012
Star Wars Kinect Angry Review
April 13, 2012
Mass Effect 3 Angry Review
March 16, 2012
Asura’s Wrath Angry Review
February 24, 2012
Partners
100 thoughts on “Fallout: New Vegas – More of the same. Good or bad?”
Really dont have much to say. I really liked Fall out 1, 2, and 3 and I am loking forward to fallout New Vegas. Its one of my favorite games old and new and I expect good things. I only hope its not so buggy its unplayable. =)
Will probably buy this game when it hits the bargain bin. Would of rather waited a few years and got a game with updated graphics and different style of gameplay. Enjoyed Fallout 3. Good storyline and interesting redesign of the fallout series. Thought the graphics could of been better though. At best this should be considered a Addon. Not worth sixty dollars but well worth 20 or 30. Not sure what the decision was to not update the game engine or graphics other than trying to get something on the market quickly to make some money. At least the game offers several hours of gameplay. Nothing worse than spending Sixty bucks and 6 hours later have completed all the content.
Though some people still consider a six-hour game still a full game. >.>
*see the fable games for evidence on that*
Fallout 3 occupied me for hundreds of hours. Even if they undercut that in New Vegas and it’s just 80 hours or so, the time is still worth the money because there are much worse ways you could spend your money than a massive sandbox game that improves in every way on a previous sandbox game. Boo hoo, the graphics aren’t updated. Newsflash: It’s not a sequel. It’s a GTA: Vice City style spin-off to tide people over. GTA: Vice City was released at the full price of a game at the time because everything BESIDES THE ENGINE was new or improved. In my opinion, New Vegas actually improves more than Vice City did for GTA 3, but people latch onto little things because the Fallout series is one of the franchises where someone always has to cry foul over SOMETHING.
Fallout 2 came out, people complained that Fallout 2 used the same engine and gameplay as Fallout. Fallout 3 came out, people cried foul because it WASN’T exactly like the first two. This is just another case of Fallout 2 syndrome, and IMO, Fallout 2 ended up being my favorite game in terms of freedom and story. So, keep asking for your graphics, then you’ll have something else to complain about because more attention was put on the engine than the improvements over Fallout 3.
I most sincerely hope that this game will be as good as the old ones (1&2). Played through the 3rd and one DLC for it but for me the game was just a huge disapointment. Dunno why really cause I tried pretty much everything with this game, I let it cool down a bit on my shelf, but everytime I started playing it again, I had fun for like 30 min, and then I just started to get pissed off. Between me and my friends the opinions about it were pretty much split in half (Love/ANNIHILATION). Maybe a bit too high expectations, dunno…
Hope they take a few steps back. Thumbs up for the original team doing this one, hope they can create an ever better game than the old ones. Even still Fallout 3 was a good game and a lot of people liked it, I just wasn’t one of them. More F1&2, Vegas will be in my shelf, more F3… no ty.
A little additional stuff I’ve been thinking about:
Personally, I’m glad that the Fallout series doesn’t try to sell itself on ‘wow factor’ features like some people seem to want. What always ‘wow’s me about the Fallout series is freedom within the confines of specified characters, which is how I think more RPGs should go, as well as the grey morality of some situations. I guess what sold most people on Fallout 3 was, having not known about the previous games, the VATS combat system and nuking Megaton. Y’know, the same people that keep referring to Fallout 3 as an FPS rather than an RPG.
It seems quite odd to me that people want a ‘selling point’ and a ‘wow factor’ to an RPG in a Post-Apocalypse setting, do you get what I mean? The only big post-apoc RPGs I know of are Fallout and Shin Megami Tensei (well, SMT isn’t that big, but it’s getting bigger, thank to the Persona Sub-series), and both series are radically different. Fallout is down to earth and about the aftermath of a man-made, technological apocalypse, the only similar games are noticeably less polished, like STALKER or the recent METRO game. Meanwhile, Shin Megami Tensei is a Japanese RPG focused on a combination of technological and supernatural (god and demon-based) apocalypse scenarios.
So New Vegas looks like Fallout 3. Is that really a big problem? They’ve had less than two years to make it, and for an entirely new engine and graphics would have taken too long (and like I said, Bethesda is most likely already doing a new engine for the next Elder Scrolls game). After making a new engine they would have to rebuild all the systems anew from the ground up so they work with the engine, all the animations that were previously available from Fallout 3, plus the ones they made just for New Vegas.
I think people are being too harsh on the project just because Obsidian is attached, despite the fact that they don’t really deserve the seething hatred they get, and they’re actually one of the best reasons that this game will most likely be better than Fallout 3. Unlike when KotOR II or Neverwinter Nights II were in development, they have the people who have worked with the engine helping them, allowing for more to be done in the short period of time, and unlike Alpha Protocol, they aren’t building a game including the lore, systems, style and everything from scratch with a bipolar publisher flip-flopping on their design choices every other day.
You all ask ‘what is new about New Vegas?’ The answer is simple, ‘everything except the engine’. Which is all the more reason why I suspect Bethesda is making a new engine. Like I said, Bethesda is working on no announced games exclusively and last year, they released a book as a prequel to an upcoming unannounced Elder Scrolls game (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Infernal_City Which was written by a coach at my college.). So I consider this game a fan service, something to tide people over until the new engine and, presumably, new numbered games.
The fact that Obsidian is not terrible at writing is what has me excited.
more of the same sounds good for me. but i was realy hoping for a drivable vehicle, like when you restored and got to use the old roadmaster(or whatever the car was called) in fallout 2
Havent watched the interview yet, but I have to say in advance I do not really care if Vegas is more of the same. I considered posting this on your E3 vids, but did not. Anyway here is the reason:
The reason why “more of the same” does not matter to me is that Fallout New Vegas is NOT Fallout 4, it was never supposed to be. New Vegas is not developed by Bethesda either, but Obsidian who consists original Fallout game developers.
If you know about game called Van Buren that was supposed to be ORIGINAL Fallout 3 back then but got cancelled, if I understood correctly some content that were supposed to be in that game are now in New Vegas.
So all in all, what makes New Vegas EXTREMELY interesting to me is now we get a chance to compare who can do/could have done a better job at making Fallout 3 content, both having same starting point (game engine and FPS/RPG genre that is), Bethesda or original Fallout crew. Hell, there are some who do complain about that Beth made Fallout 3 and moan its not a true sequel. Lets see if Obsidian can do a better job.
Personally I do believe Obsidian can nail it here, their story and character writing skills are great. Too bad so far their games have failed in overall execution mostly.
Now, back to watching the interview…
Excellent Joe. My only expectation with this game is that it will feel like Vegas. I can gamble my sweet moolah away at the blackjack table and watch the showgirls. What would be a nice surprise, heck even fun would be to buy items from shady people…such as drugs, weapons/weapon perks, slaves, women…really anything that a store in a post nuclear America wouldn’t have.
seriously if they have the same guys sorting out the bugs then that’s bad i had nothing but trouble with bugs
I will admit to not having played any Fallout game before 3, so my views are likely skewed. Only having it on console, I never got to play with, or a need to really scour through, any of the user-created content, new weapons, etc. That being said, I’m looking forward to New Vegas quite a bit. Perhaps especially the weapon modifications and Hardcore Mode.
The opinions that this should be DLC seem a bit out there for me, personally. Considering the original “good” ending had the PC dying while firing up Project Purity. No spoiler warning, it’s been out too long to justify that step. Yes, Broken Steel “fixed” that, but for the original storyline, having the same character headed out West after that would seem to be a bit of a paradox. Feel they’re fully justified in introducing a new character for this game. Also feel that being able to bring a character out there with straight 100′s for the skills would throw everything out of balance, and might cause unrest when everything is set back to base amounts to re-balance for the new adventure. Especially from those that went all over the Capitol Wasteland gathering up skill books and Bobbleheads. As far as that goes, it would just seem simpler to make a new iteration for the series.
As for the additions, I’m still wary about the new companion system and how much the AI and interface as a whole has actually been tweaked. I love the thought that I can put a scope on a hunting rifle, finally. As well as manufacturing my own ammo, along with being able to use slugs instead of buck in my shotguns. I’m looking forward to seeing the full list of Traits and Perks that make the final cut, but I already know that I’m taking Four Eyes as I’ve been waiting to make a character that actually imitates my own situation in that area. I’m torn on if I’d like vehicles in here or not, as part of the fun of the game for me was wandering around aimlessly, seeing if the next group of buildings on the horizon was inhabited or not, or if there were Yao Guai waiting on the other side of a hill. Somehow, walking across the wastes just felt… right to me, and I’m thinking F:NV is going to feel the same way for myself.
Yes, I’ve pre-ordered, yes, it was from GS, and yes, it was because I wanted the canteen. Also, yes, I’m planning on getting FO 1 and 2 before this hits, I just need to get paid again.
im not really impressed, they should have went back to their roots with the game, they should have put it back to the point and click rpg type instead of a fps, i was hyped for this because obsidian , the original creaters of the first 2 fallout games, would go back to the point and click rpg. also they should have made it turn based, like the original fallouts. i was impressed though that the characters had a deeper story to them and were more realistic which was one of the problems with the third game, because the characters were two demensional and it never really went deep into the storry with your companians, in the third game i felt like my companians were not part of the story at all and that was the same with even some of the characters in the story
All I want to know is do the companions have reactions to different situations. In Fallout 3 I had Fawkes with me on the last quest and with all the sh*t shooting at us and everything blowing up it was kinda stupid to see him just following me and not reacting to anything else but the Enclave soldiers.
Companion wheel! Like Hoopy the Hoop? Anyhow, looks Fallout 3. I want to talk Vegas into nuking themselves.
persoally i kind of see this like vice city it was not a huge improvment but they added small tweaks and a better story to make a really great game
personally im excited to see fallout new vegas with better writers (bethesda has crappy writers and obsidian has the original writers)
i dont really care if its more of the same fallout 3 was my favorite game this gen that i have 200 hours in my belt and want some more new content
plus you cant call it a mission pack when it is going to have the same amount of gameplay as fallout 3
and hardcore mode will add a challenge
Hardcore Mode is the main reason I want this game.
I think this is a worthy successor, and not just an overblown expansion pack. Fallout 3 was fun, very fun. I probably sank 150 hours into the vanilla game, and then 200 hours with various mods. I only stopped because I ran out of new things to do. The gameplay is solid, and I *do* want more of the same. It seems they’ve addressed most of the few gameplay complaints, and it sounds like the amount of content is going to be similar to that of Fallout 3. The gameplay changes, new environments, and different tone should probably be enough to make me sink at least another couple hundred hours into this franchise.
Dude, not cool blaming the QA team for the buggyness of Alpha Protocol. The final call for the game being shipped came from Sega/Obsidian, who chose to release a game they knew was broken instead of pushing the date back a second time.
I don’t understand why this is too big for it to be an expansion. They should do what Dragon Age did for example and release it on a disc, it doesn’t need to be full price. They say it’s standalone because of all the changes but as even a hardcore fans will say, (as well as the developers) they are all minor so it can be done. Don’t tell me the DA expansion was short and didn’t add much, this game, as long as the original it may be, isn’t really adding much besides the minor tweaks. It is after all using the same graphics engine and that’s the biggest file put on the disc. I think they trained peoples minds with the release of those minor expansions to where they feel it’s too much for an expansion pack.
I know it’s adding a new city but that is an excuse, as mentioned before the graphics engine is the biggest file. The map just runs off this and isn’t really that big. Maybe I’m just spoiled from my old PC gaming days, I feel like they’re swindling players that haven’t had those expansion pack experiences from the old days.
So you’re saying an entirely new campaign with new characters, a new landscape at least twice the size of the first, a completely new protagonist, and several new gameplay mechanics is only an expansion pack?
So that means Modern Warfare 2 should have been a free update to Call of Duty 4, right?
Oh, and by the way, Fallout 3 had FOUR expansion packs. Remember that? You just want them to keep adding on to the previous game for eternity?
You sound like the Left 4 Dead fans, whining that the sequel was taking too long, then when they release it just a few MONTHS after the first, claim that it should have been an expansion pack.
Make up your mind. You can’t have it both ways.
Fallout 2 still the best of fallout games and one of the best RPGs ever made side by side with Baldur’s Gate, Planescape torment and others.
Fallout 3 was great, it was a very good transition of the 2d fallout to a 3d fallout, but while in terms of action, the game has increased it’s level, the “role playing” part was not so developed as it was in Fallout 2. There are less dialogue options and the effect of them are lesser important than in Fallout 2. There are more of adventure in Fallout 2 and less of combat while it is the oposite with Fallout 3.
As has already been said some of the old fallout guys are working on this one, this time, so maybe we might expect some good game coming, mixing features of the old and the new fallout hopefully.
I’m going to buy this game and hate myself for it….
Obsidian have killed everything they touch. If FO:NV is anything like their older stuff it’ll buggy, unfinished and pants. I really hope they don’t with this though.. I loved playing through Fallout 3
I don’t get why people are upset saying ” it’s the same basic system so it will suck” i’m sorry but that sounds just Fucking stupid it’s like asking for new gameplay in Mario or Street fighter it could potentially ruin a game. if the system isn’t broken don’t fix it, so why are you and spoony complaining, you liked Fallout 3, so what’s the problem Joe?
Also, anyone who has followed Bethesda for a while knows they make a new engine with each New Elder Scrolls game. The way I see things, they’re extending this policy to Fallout. This way, they make the new engine and game play systems with Elder Scrolls and release a new Fallout game or as many Fallout games as needed to tide people over till the next Elder Scrolls, each time upgrading both series side by side on the same engine. Fallout: New Vegas being developed by Obsidian and Bethesda doing no publicly-announced project tells me Bethesda let Obsidian create Fallout: New Vegas to tide over the fans of their work in these games while they focus on a new engine and Elder Scrolls game.
I can almost guarantee you that’s what they’re doing, and I’m glad they’re doing it, because I love both these franchises. Getting more of one while another is being massively worked on is good to me. That just means the next Elder Scrolls title and the Fallout following this one should be even MORE impressive, and Fallout: New Vegas already impresses me greatly. There’s enough ‘new’ here to me because the setting from Fallout 1 and 2 haven’t gotten the Fallout 3-style treatment. And I find the First-person perspective much more emotional and engrossing than playing Fallout 1 and 2 in a helicopter view with Tactical-RPG combat. So having a Fallout 3 style sequel to Fallout 2, which basically, this is, is like my dream come true. And I’m just lucky enough that the people who made Fallout 2 are working on it with those that made Fallout 3 helping. This is like the Fallout dream team here.
Visuals in a game only serve to let you know what everything is. If they fail at that, then the graphics suck, I can tell what everything is in New Vegas, so there are no problems here. Just give me New Vegas and I’m happy.
Good day!
I think you’re indeed right Joe. Looks like more of the same.
I guess this wouldn’t be such a bad idea if it was billed as an expansion pack with a price to match but as a full-on game? I don’t know. I kind of expect a bit more overhaul for a sequel even within the same generation. Look at the Grand Theft Auto series, they kept the GTA3 tag all the way through to Vice City and San Andreas and only bumped it up to 4 with Nico Bellic even though the radical changes each time were pretty damn astounding. I kind of expected the same here but maybe I’m a pernickidy sod.
For instance one of the things that bugged me the most about F3 (a brilliant game though it is) is still around to stay. The dodgy character models. I know this is a GIANT world so I can’t expect the graphics and texture quality of ME2 or the like without killing my system but even the body movements look as clunky as a puppet with its strings being pulled by a drunk. Maybe this will get smoothed out…hopefully anyway.
In addition I also worried, like you seemed to, that the companions will be meaningless drones that just follow you, often causing eye rolls as they get themselves killed whilst offering nothing to the experience. In a game with so much open choice (especially over where you go and who lives and dies) it must be hard to give focused character studies ala Dragon Age. The fact that they’re at least trying to improve the status quo does ease my mind slightly.
All and all, a decent interview Joe. You tried your best to milk him sometimes for detail and he occasionally stonewalled or diverted you but you never ceased to do your job. You ask the questions we all want answers to without fail, every time.
Lets see if New Vegas hits the jackpot or craps out.
Cheers,
Boosty
From what I’ve seen, a lot of what you’re talking about wont be an issue.
Given that Fallout 3 came out several years ago, the graphics in this outting are a tad bit better, but not enormously so given that it uses the same engine. The characters do look better though, and are given far more expression through a larger group of voice actors and, as you mentioned, improved animations. I’ve already seen NCR soldiers drunkenly stumbling through the Vegas Strip, and half-naked women dancing in a Vegas fountain. The new animations abound add more life to the NPCs.
Also, as for the Companions, they will all have a variety of quests and special instances that pop up in certain locations. That and most of them are being voiced by celebrities. Raul the ghoul is being voiced by Danny Trejo, a complete mexican badass and a great “bad guy” actor. Given this, I’m certain that all the companions will have much more to do than to spout the same 6 lines and follow you around. Each NPC companion also gives you a special perk that aids you so long as they are in your party.
Thanks for the response!
I’m not sure if we agree on the improvements that much. The combat pieces for instance don’t look that superb to me (especially in comparison to the competition), still seeming quite jerky as do the NPC actions. For instance the push ups and stage dancing in the E3 demo looked dreadful to me. But this is just my opinions of course!
On the topic of voice acting talent pointing towards great interaction I’m not so sure. Hey, F3 we had Liam freaking Neeson and Malcolm McDowell! And the dialogue scenes there were preeety rubbish. I don’t mind or care who they get to do voices (as long as they can emote of course) if we do get deeper interactions with the people we meet and travel with. Perks aren’t really my thang. I’m more of a junkie for immersion.
“Look at the Grand Theft Auto series, they kept the GTA3 tag all the way through to Vice City and San Andreas and only bumped it up to 4 with Nico Bellic even though the radical changes each time were pretty damn astounding. I kind of expected the same here but maybe I’m a pernickidy sod.”
What? Do you see a ’4′ after Fallout here? It’s Fallout: New Vegas. It’s exactly the same situation as Vice City was to GTA3 (and btw, it was Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. No sign of the ‘GTA3′ tag there).
Yeesh, a little picky there. I merely meant that though it was part of the same generation there were massive improvements with Vice City over GTA3. I disagree with people who think that there are only minor tweak differences between the two. The changes were pretty drastic.
My point is that even though I don’t expect this fallout to be brand new from the ground up, I expect the game to justify itself not just being sold as an expansion pack or DLC.
Dam wheres new Tokyo or New Hong Kong XD
And i belive the level cap should be OVER 8000!!!!
I think you mean 9000.
I hope what I think about this game is not true. That it is just a DLC being released as a full game, that way they can charge full game price and get more money just like ODST.
I’m happy that it’s back in the hands of the original developers… I didnt like how betheda handled the RPG’s elements in the 3… And i’m gla it’s not Obsidian who do the beta testing lol…
But i’m still worried… i hated so much the thrid one
I think this game will be good, more of the same isn’t a bad thing really. It is an rpg so long as the quests aren’t too much of the same I don’t mind. This isn’t like CoD MW where the story is shit and they don’t really make new changes. They just add a stupid new gadget or two. Then again those games are meant to be entertaining as in you go nuts and kill your friends over and over and over. While that is good fun, I get sick of it.
Also using mods people made does seem lazy, but so long as they also make things of their own design I don’t see the problem. We just have to wait and see the final product.
While New Vegas doesn’t offer anything as Earth shattering as a dune buggy (which is something beind done in RAGE anyways, another Post Apocalyptic title being published by Bethesda), it offers a wide range of seemingly minor tweaks that, when combined, will make this game far better than its predecessor.
#1: Weapon Mods.
In Fallout 3, having several copies of the same weapon was fairly useless unless you planned to use it for parts or sell it for caps. In New Vegas, there are such a wide array of weapon mods that you can pick a favorite weapon and make many different versions of it to suit your playstyle or the situations that you might encounter. Night vision scopes? Extended mags? Various stocks and barrels? Different scopes? Silencers? All these and much more are in the game.
#2: Twice as many weapons.
This is fairly self explanitory. More variation in weapons, tons of ways to make them fit your play style with mods.
#3: Expanded Companions.
Not only will the companion wheel make managing your buddies far more effective and less tedious, but they will all have far more character this time around. Most, if not all of them will have a series of quests and instances that occur as you travel the wasteland, come upon certain locations, or simple progress their questline. The fact that several of the companions are now confirmed to have famous actors signed on to do the voices, makes it a pretty good assurance that they’ll have a lot to do. Which leads me to the next point…
#4: Greater NPC variety.
More voice actors, many of them top-tier talent, and lots of unique groups and returning characters from the original games. You’ll have far less instances of being able to recognize the same person voicing 50 other characters in the wasteland.
#5: Factions and Reputation.
New Vegas has a large variety of different factions and settlement, both big and small, as well as minor and powerful. Factions such as the NCR, a group based out of California that is trying to bring common government and the rule of law back to the wastes. Or Ceasers Legion, a group of slavers who emulate the storied teachings of Rome herself, lead by a very charismatic leader. Or the return of a somewhat broken Brotherhood of Steel, still engaged in a war with the NCR over prized technology. Or even fairly small and quirky groups like “The Kings”, a greaser style gang that emulate Elvis. Your character will have a persistant “Reputation” with all of these various factions. Depending on who you chose to side with, or against, and your actions out amongst the wasteland, the different factions will have either positive, neutral or negative feelings for you. These decide what sort of quests, opportunities and even what houses you can own (such as having a room or domicile within the base of a friendly faction).
#6: Skills have more meaning.
I’m sure that anyone who played Fallout 3 will remember those somewhat rare instances when, due to having a particularly high stat in a particular skill, that you were given a unique dialogue option. Most of these options had very little effect on what happened. In New Vegas, the skills that you choose will bring up far more useful and interesting dialogue options with NPCs, and it’ll happen far more often. Your skills will also directly determine how you tackle certain objectives, completely changing the way you play the game from one playthrough to the next. The games leveling system has specifically been rebalanced to prevent “GODLIKE JACK OF ALL TRADES” who litterally have 100 skill points in virtually every field. While this might sound like a bad thing to some people out there, it will allow for much more interesting diversity throgh subsequent playthroughs.
#7: Improved character creation.
Creating the look and…well…character of your character has been greatly improved. You will now be able to tweak your characters appearance to a much more significant degree, as well as being able to change their age (something that was absent in Fallout 3). Not only will your characters basic skills be far more important and integral than with Fallout 3, but now you’ll also be able to pick “Character Traits” from the start. These are somewhat like perks, but also quite different. These traits will give your creation more character and flaws. For instance, you could chose the “Four Eyes” trait when you create your character, which will give them improved Perception (vision) when wearing a pair of glasses, but decreased Perception when they’re not. There are a myriad of these traits, which allow you to make a character with more interesting advantages and flaws right from the start, and are independant of perks. It’s also worth noting that your S.P.E.C.I.A.L. stats are more important as well. For instance, this time around creating a character with extremely low Intellience will allow you to do an “Idiot Playthrough” whereing your character has a wide variety of totally unique and stupid things to say in conversation with NPCs, some of them helpful and others…not so much. Which just adds even more replay value.
#8: The return of damage thresholds.
This is also something that was ommitted from Fallout 3. Damage threshold is the point at which a weapon causes enough damage to be effective against a certain type of monster or armor. For instance, a small 10mm pistol will be virtually useless against an opponent in heavy power armor. It all goes towards making characters in armor (as well as yourself) more difficult to take down without using some manner of tactics. Which leads into…
#9: Different weapon ammo.
There are tons of different ammo for the various weapons you’ll find in New Vegas. Some will cause more damage but degrade your weapon faster, others might be powerful but rare and hard to come by, other common but ineffective. Armor piercing rounds are especially effective against armored foes, while hollowpoints are devastating to those without armor. Theres more here to talk about than I care to go into.
#10: Hardcore mode.
This operates outside of difficulty, so you can play Very Easy Hardcore, or Very Hrd Hardcore. Hardcore makes it so that ammo has weight, your character needs to eat, drink and sleep to survive, and that various food and drinks have much more interesting effects, as well as other things that haven’t been revealed yet. The mode offers a much more survival oriented experience for those who crave such things.
And even more stuff. Like being able to annihilate enemies with a giant space laser, but I’m just tired of writing!
While nothing huge has been added, the whole range of new features adds a ton of extra complexity and replay value, which is exactly what you want in a title like this.
Already pre-ordered this piece. Since I was about 9-10 yr’s old playing the first Fallout ive been hooked to the gameseries. And im excited about it since the Black Isle dudes are back in the picture wich is a huge relief.
But ofcourse im still on edge, just because I want it to be a great game it doesnt mean it will be.
But whether it’ll be better then 3? Well Fallout 2 added alot of stuff and content but at its core was alot like the first game. So that shouldnt be a problem. Just because its a sequel on the same engine it doesnt mean it will automagicly suck.
And for all of you pinheads who say it should be a DLC or expansion because its on the same engine. Well by your fricking logic any game ever made with the Unreal engine should be a expansion and/or DLC for the Unreal Tournament series. Douchewads.
Keep yer chin up! And remember to Duck’n'Cover! :3
I did play Fallout 3, but I am not as much as a hardcore Fallout fan as much as my other friends, but I nonetheless did buy Fallout 3 and enjoyed it, however given the fact that there is heavier competition next year as opposed to 2008. Fallout New Vegas is one of the games I am not as likely to buy. There is something to be said to be wanting to play a game with friends, but then realizing that you don’t have the game yourself. You can tell just by looking at New Vegas that it could be considered Fallout 3.5, and it’s not like Starcraft 2 where you were longing to get that great gaming experience you had 10 years ago. This was only 2 years ago so Fallout isn’t as fresh as Starcraft 2 is right now.
Why would I not get Fallout 3 and get a game like CoD: Black Ops? not because I think its a substantial improvement over MW2, but the fact that all of my friends are playing it. And that’s another issue, a game like CoD could not do that much to build on its gameplay, but a game like Fallout would have trouble getting away with that. If Fallout New Vegas added something (successfully) like co-op, I would be completely happy to get it. My friends would be playing it and me and 3 other buddies could go raid the metro together. The problem is I only have so much money to pay for games this holiday season. And I am sure many other gamers will “play it safe” and buy all the mainstream popular games like Halo Reach, Black Ops, or even Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood (if it’s multiplayer is successful). And that bugs me as well because Fallout 3 and Bioshock were both refreshing single player games in a world filled with online gaming. Still I only have so much money, so I might end up like every other mainstream’d gamer and “play it safe” by passing on Fallout 3 and buying something else instead.
Sorry, when I said Fallout 3 in the next paragraph, I meant New Vegas. And I am not saying that the game itself represents Fallout 3.5, but I am saying that there would be people that would consider it as such. (just in case whoever read my last came to that conclusion).
People you don’t get mad, they real deal still to come Elder Scroll 4. That is what matter.
I think we as gamers always expect new additions and major tweaks to feel satisfied with a game, but then games like nhl and madden come out with minor additions (sometimes just roster changes really..) and sell buckets. Me personally I’d rather just be entertained by what is there than worry about what wasn’t put in it. Sure they could have put vehicles in it (they still might, who knows) or jet packs or the ability to play as a robot, but then at the end of the day, we always wish they could have put something more in it. So I think it’s safe to say that at least for the main game, they are playing it safe because quite frankly, obsidian hasn’t had a great track record with sequels (kotor anyone?) and more of the same is fine for me, because I know they can always shake things up with the inevitable DLC.
While the new set of things does sound intriguing, i am still remaining pretty neutral about this title. I really liked Fallout 3, but at the same time, i also played a LOT of it, and don’t get me wrong, i am kind of excited that i might return to that same world…but on the other hand, maybe that world will be too much the same? Sure, they’re adding factions, but we ALL know that most gaming studios are lazy, and such non-linear mission picking tends to make the game shorter, but we shall see when the game really does come out.
But in summary, i am excited about this game, but i also think Bethesda are also trying to milk this money cow before doing something innovative with the Fallout series. Anyways, i’ll probably wait for your review Angryjoe, before considering anything
.
The best part about Fallout is the modding community (especially the PC version). Sure you can say that Bethesda is doing nothing to Fallout: New Vegas, but I think it’s because that they will help the modding community do even more. For example, Fallout 3 has a great Mod system called “FOOK” (Fallout 3 Overhaul Kit) that completely changes the game’s item like Armour, guns and even characters. It’s sad that Fallout: New Vegas Consoles won’t be able to play with the mods, but the PC fans will definitely get much more content.
I want you to upload th mafia game interview that Spoony was talking about. He said you were joking with him and he was having none of it and was completely serious.
I like how Pete Hines actually admits in this interview that user-created mods DO have an impact on the sorts of features they decide to incorporate into future installments. I seem to recall that in an older interview he really dodged that question. A a member of the modding community for The Elder Scrolls and Fallout 3 it’s nice to see him acknowledge it a bit here. It’s also kinda hard to deny that sort of thing too because they actually hired the guy that made Morrowind Combat Enhanced to work on Oblivion. lol
I also really like how he spoke about the approach they were taking to the game. Yeah, it’s basically more of the same in a number of ways-but with a good deal of nice little features that help enhance the game play and in some cases fix things that were a bit “broken” in Fallout 3 (i.e. companions especially).
Speaking of companions, it looks like they’re taking an approach similar to the sort of thing that I’ve been mentioning in some of my blogs. I don’t like it how the fact that companions are “optional” in the game is used as an excuse to make them half-assed without any depth, back story or related quests besides one you might go on to attain them to begin with. Also, their AI and just the way they were set up in FO3 made you feel more like you had to babysit them. Dogmeat was probably one of the best companions in the game just because you didn’t have to manage ammo or stimpacks with him.
I’m calling bullshit on this game tbh.
Joe asks him “What’s new and exciting about Fallout New Vegas and how does it differ from Fallout 3″? To which the jackass replies “Well, we added allot of new features that the fans from Fallout 3 wanted, NPCs, quests and so on”.
Basically he’s saying “Well, we went in to fallout3nexus cruised over the top 100 r-rated files and made them our own, aint we greeeeaaat?
”
And that is not some poor joke. Weapon modification mods and all together new weapons AND new NPCs are some of the most downloaded player-made mods. Bethesda really dropped the ball.
No. No you are not. I have no problem with giving the players the ability to mod and change the game more to their liking, quite the opposite. However when you allow players to do this I would assume that they would bring something HUGE in their next game. The DLC and Expansions for Fallout 3 should have (and did to some extent) done what Fallout New Vegas is doing. Bring in a few new NPCs, quests and landscape.
Hmm, I think I will pick this game up, but if it doesn’t feel better than regular Fallout 3, it may be the last of the Fallout games I buy.
Well i think it has potential to be a very fun game, if they change it up more. If it looks too much like fallout 3 it won’t be that great and end up just boring everyone. It’s a good start to have new weapons and more quests, and it would also help to have a higher level cap and more perks and stuff like that, but they need something more eye-catching (or some word of that nature) that gets people to want to play the game more. It would also be nice to have a car like in fallout 2, and they could do a lot more with that since we have more technological and graphical capabilities. And since they have some of the team from the original fallout games, it has a chance of being as good as the originals. I’m guessing this game will either be like resident evil 5, where they took re4 and changed about nothing but the graphics which made it a boring game, OR it could be one of the greatest games of the year. I hope it’s the second one…
and please god don’t release everything in the DLC’s….
oh yeah and…
“STRIPPERS?!?!?”
From what I’ve heard of Fallout New Vegas, I do not see this as “more of the same”. Granted, a lot of stuff may seem the same, but the system appears to be clearly refined (such as removing the divide between Big Weapons from their Small, Energy, and Explosive counterparts). On top of all that, the setting is far different from the Capital Wasteland of Fallout 3, so I would not handwave this as a “standalone expansion”.
I think it’s both good and bad, I think it would help a lot if they make all new graphics, textures and models, so the game would feel like a different game, it would have a fresh looking. In the other hand I think they can do a pretty good work, giving the game a new ”world”, how know what they will bring to us, anyway I’m going to try it for sure.
About cars in the game, I think it is very unlikely this to happen, cause it would give so much work to do, the fallout 2 engine was not designed to be adaptable with cars colision, probably to make it they would have to make almost a whole new game, wich they aren’t.
More of the same only with a lot of new stuff, huh? Well… this could be good if you’re familiar with Fallout 3 and you’re expecting a bit more from the game, also good if you’re COMPLETELY TERRIFIED BY THE IDEA OF THE GAME BEING CHANGED! Bad because this seems to be simply an upgrade of Fallout 3 only without the add-ons which you know will be piled up all into one disk eventually for the same price the original game went for (which unfortunately means DLC crazy folks will have paid a lot of money, and don’t tell me there won’t be a GotY edition either cause you’re insane), also there’s probably going to be a shit ton of bugs and glitches to top it all off.
It would be really nice if they did a massive overhaul on this game, first change I’d make, make the humans, mutants, etc actually express body emotion instead of standing perfectly still and locking eyes with you, it’s like they’re staring into your soul! I’VE GOT NO EMOTIONAL ATTACHMENT TO THESE UNCANNY CHARACTERS! I must rob them blind and shoot them in the head after… it must be done, it is Zool’s will!
lol
Yeah, overcoming “the bethesda stare” wiould definetly help.
Very true regarding the robot-esque conversations. Bethesda should have allowed the use of the conversation system Obsidian created in Alpha Protocol. I hope the ending isn’t BS like the last game.
I am interested since the NCR will be there and I was a huge fan of the first two games. Really, I hope they improve the writing. The main story for Fallout 3 (the game was still overall pretty fun though) was terrible and punished you for trying to think. I don’t want cutscenes that force me to do stupid things or have the game call me a coward for sending my comrade (WHO IS IMMUNE TO RADIATION) to do a job that will have him get blasted with radiation.
Seems like they are taking some pages from Fallout 2 (New Reno’s factions and seedier elements) which is a good thing.
customization is good and it actually makes since with the Falllout world.
Still, I’ll wait till you, spoony, bennet, and whoever else review it before I make a decision.
Oh, the other thing that makes me interested is that this will be the first canon game that let’s you play as a person who has never been in a vault
The only area in which I would be bothered about “more of the same” is if the enemies are too similar to Fallout 3. There really wasn’t a lot of variety in that game, and I’m hoping for something more in New Vegas. As for the look, feel, the mechanics, etc, I would be satisfied with the large amounts of similarities that appear to exist. Even a sequel that is identical in gameplay would have guaranteed new locations to explore and quests to complete, which is all I need. The many little additions, such as weapon modifications, are just icing on the tasty, tasty cake.
Seems like it’s more of a standalone expansion rather than a completely new Fallout game, which isn’t a bad thing, though I will probably wait for a sale or something rather than picking it up on it’s release.
It is a full new game world, and that means something too big for DLC. They added WEAPON MODS FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!!!
As as a fan of the original fallout, I think that gamestops Pre-order package is an AWESOME deal that a die-hard fallout fan like me can’t pass up.
*sniff* *sniff*
I smell a plant
Sounds like a very interesting game;
* increased companion options + quests.
* weapon mods.
* new area to explore.
Familiar, yet more content. Looking forwards to this…
I still jump into Fallout 3… I need a new fix
I think more of the same is a good thing, but I hope they add way more upon it. I like that theyre sticking to the same formula, because it still appeals to people who played FO3, and youll be familiar with it.
Truth be told, this is the only game I’m really excited for that’s coming out. Sure, it’s more of the ‘same’ but if that sames like Fallout 3… Is it really a bad thing? I guess I’m on the mentality that “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. I know that’s a little cliche to say but I had a blast with Fallout 3, including all the DLC. Another experience except in Vegas would be worth while.
Plus having better control of your companions is more than an improvement (in fact I never really used a companion in Fallout 3, because the AI for them was horrible).
Then modding a weapon does seem interesting, but I am a little iffy on that. I’m wondering if there are a set limit to the modding, if that makes sense.
Finally the whole faction thing does seem very interesting. Very interesting. That will add some more game play after finishing it.
Maybe I’m just of the camp that thinks more of the same isn’t bad.
They really should add a dune buggy or ATV in this “new” entry into the series. Using the Pip-Boy to teleport is convenient but it takes you out of the experience of roaming the wasteland. You also miss a lot of the side quests he mentioned if you Pip-Boy travel, walking is just too slow. You figure since survivors have repaired generators and water treatment facilities someone would fix a car.
Awesome interview!
Im eagerly waiting on the game.
1 thing im curious about…. whats the LEVEL cap? 20-30-052652360923?
we will have to wait and see hopefully they are not just holding back and are going to put all the good stuff for DLC.