Fallout: New Vegas

[Mav]

Hrmm...that's not exactly a ringing endorsement, but it was to be expected of course.

Funny you would choose to paraphrase the single comment that would allow you to voice your Negative Nancy-ism for the game. Whatever, I too like to sometimes come into threads about specific games and piss and moan about ****.

[Sabretooth]

Maybe he was implying that the rest is all good and that single comment is his only cause for worry? Stranger things have happened.

[DarthParametric]

Indeed. Most of those comments were actually surprisingly promising given Obsidian's track record. And it's not like I just popped into this thread for the first time and randomly voiced some dissent. I've made it plain from the beginning that I have no great love for Bethesda or Fallout 3, and that the legacy of FO3 was likely to have a very negative impact on New Vegas by virtue of the restraints no doubt placed on Obsidian.

[jrrtoken]

Just started a game. The best thing that I've noticed so far is I don't have to rely on VATS any longer; shooting feels like shooting, with no input lag or mouse jerkiness.

 

And no, I haven't encountered a single bug yet. So there.

[DarthParametric]

Pretty favourable reviews so far - seems to be sitting around 8.5-9/10. Plenty of comments about all sorts of bugs in the console versions, but a lot seem to be carry-overs from pre-existing bugs that have been around since Oblivion.

[Rake]

Can anyone who has the game comment on the preorder bonuses? Can you get some of the weapons/armor in game later on and the preorder bonus just gives it to you early? Or are they exclusive?

[jrrtoken]

Can anyone who has the game comment on the preorder bonuses? Can you get some of the weapons/armor in game later on and the preorder bonus just gives it to you early? Or are they exclusive?

Every preorder pack contains an exclusive armor and an exclusive weapon, and then some non-exclusive extra goodies. The Steam preorder had an exclusive shotgun and leather armor, and then some free repair kits and a pair of binoculars thrown in. None of them are really super-duper, as you'll either find or craft better stuff within an hour or two.

 

The only real "bug" that I encountered so far was an anamoly with the quicksave function, where your progress would be overwritten with the original quicksave uploaded via the Steam Cloud. However, a Valve employee on the Steam forums said that it's a problem on their end of things, so it's kinda-sorta not a real game issue.

 

I've been reading some of the reviews, and most of them seem to complain of bugs. Most of the glitches, freezes, and crashes, though, was stuff that I previously encountered in FO3, so it's more of a "given" that this would occur with Bethesda's Gamebryo. Then there's pathfinding issues with NPCs, which has been present in near-every AAA title that I've played in the past 3 years. "Bad graphics" is also a frequent trend, but apparently everyone forgot about Moira and most of the cast of Bethesda's last game. Still, these same criticisms were magically absent in 90% of reviews of FO3 and Oblivion, so I don't know, maybe they have a PE<3 or something...

[Meowster]

Bah, been playing it for the last hour or two and I am in love. Everything has been wonderful, aside from this colony of Deathclaws that attacked me. Voice acting has been great, and it is wonderful to be able to start with two radios instead of just one. I've mainly been listening to New Vegas Radio.

 

Just from exploring the wastes, it's pretty easy to see that it is quite beautiful - not so dreary like F3. Also, I'm playing on Hardcore mode, it's pretty nifty. Still haven't tried weapon crafting yet.

[Achilles]

Decided to brave the witching hour and pick up my pre-order last night. Picked up the CE game guide as well. Spent a couple hours reading the graphic novel and said game guide before hitting the sack. Hopefully I'll be able to get some game time tonight.

[jrrtoken]

Yeah, the voice acting is probably some of the best I've seen in any recent video game, actually. I mean, if you're expecting something "deep" that isn't the point; it's superb in delivery within the setting. Everyone talks like they're from "the West" or from "the South", but it isn't a forced caricature (except for the characters that literally are caricatures), but a rather natural one, as if they're native to the region.

 

It's rather jarring at first, because seeing a Bethesdan face with a non-cringe-worthy voice comes as quite a surprise. Many of the faces also look more "human", without always having baby-smooth skin. For example, most of the presets in character creation are rather "wrinkly", and there's even an "Age" slider which increases or decreases the folds.

 

The wasteland itself is also rather "vibrant" in composition. The debut homestead of Goodsprings has this outlook hill (which is rather interesting by itself) which gives you a panorama of adjacent wastes, and from the get-go there's peculiarities to quickly explore. There's a certain euphoria achieved when walking out of a podunk town only to spot a weathered, pearly-white & plexiglas cross jutting from the barren scenery. Then, there's finding a refrigerator with a certain someone inside it beside a local highway. It's all just scenery, but it's cool stuff nonetheless.

 

If you're playing hardcore mode, crafting consumables is almost Cooking Mama-esque in the amount of recipes that are available. It's certainly interesting to find consumable appendages on the corpses of praying mantises, as well as foraging for jalapeño peppers and ears of corn. Crafting ammo is also rather complex, as you literally need to have all of the components of a single bullet to produce one, from gunpowder, to lead, to brass, and a cartridge to keep them in.

 

From what I've played so far, it's a much better game than Fallout 3 in many ways, even if that means the smallest details.

[Ctrl Alt Del]

Okay, so if you're already a Fallout 3 veteran, is it worthy playing this game on Harcore right from the first playthrough?

[jrrtoken]

Okay, so if you're already a Fallout 3 veteran, is it worthy playing this game on Harcore right from the first playthrough?

Yes. If you want to play New Vegas more as an RPG, Hardcore should always be a given.

[Tysyacha]

What about if FPS really "isn't your bag"? Would it be worthwhile for me to play or not?

[mimartin]

Everyone talks like they're from "the West" or from "the South", but it isn't a forced caricature

ugh, no...just no.

The voice acting is really good, but the southern voices still sound like something you would hear in a television show or movie and not the voices you hear in real life.

 

I will say that I do agree that thus far Fallout:NV beats Fallout 3 (and more importantly AP) by a long, long shot. I also agree with it being the small things that are putting this game over the top. My PC was getting the lay of the land practicing killing the local wildlife and came upon a group of coyotes, had second thought about killing them when I saw the coyote pups.

 

No bugs or any problems whatsoever thus far. Only real complaint is I wish they would have released the GECK at the same time. As with all games Bethesda is associated with my PC should be able kill NPCs with her looks. Was really hoping Obsidian would have fixed that, but I’m sure modders will do so soon enough.

 

What about if FPS really "isn't your bag"? Would it be worthwhile for me to play or not?

Personally I would need a few days to answer that. I can’t see how anyone could make that determination until they actually complete the game.

[Sabretooth]

They still have VATS for the non-shooter types, right? And besides (@Tysyacha), you can run away from encounters if you don't like shooting. Or sneak. Like Michael Thorton.

[jrrtoken]

No bugs or any problems whatsoever thus far. Only real complaint is I wish they would have released the GECK at the same time.

It was released on the first day, here. The Steam version should be released soon, check the "Tools" page.

 

What about if FPS really "isn't your bag"? Would it be worthwhile for me to play or not?

Given the difficulty of "Normal", just play the game on "Very Easy" and it should be a cakewalk. If that's your thing, of course.

 

I will say that there does seem to be more incidences where quests are almost entirely dialogue-based, which is definitely an upgrade from Fallout 3. Now, that's not saying much considering that it's still an action RPG to the core, but I'd say New Vegas is also similar to VtMB - again - if that's your thing.

[Sabretooth]

(This BBCode requires its accompanying plugin to work properly.)

[mimartin]

^ I've restarted 3 times trying to get my PC to not be so utterly hideous and I have not gotten that bug. I wonder if that is widespread or if someone messed around with something they should not have?

 

Or sneak. Like Michael Thorton.

Just don’t try to hack like Michael Thorton.

[Lord of Hunger]

It wasn't experimental, but it ran just about as good as an experimental engine with its poor performance and constant crashing.

 

Didn't know Pirates used Gamebryo though...

I guess you were told wrong then. All they created for Oblivion was the "Radiant AI", which, despite all their song and dance to the contrary in the lead up to release, was just a bunch of half-assed scripted events.

Well, thanks for the clarification. I'm guessing that Radiant AI may eventually evolve to something more advanced. Heck, it seems to have been improved in New Vegas.

 

Speaking of which, I tried out New Vegas and I can say that as I guessed was going to happen, every thing that could have been improved from Fallout 3 seems to have been improved. It's less buggy, the dialog and plot is vastly upgraded (thank you, Avellone!), the guns are more accurate, the combat is balanced, and there's simply MORE CONTENT. Money seems to be more common than normal for a Fallout game, but considering it's the Vegas strip (where fortunes are created and destroyed daily) I'm not surprised.

 

My only glitch was the tendency of a few NPCs to sink into models. I'm guessing a few patches and that will either be reduced or eliminated altogether.

 

So far I have nothing but praise for New Vegas. The Bethesda version of the Gamebryo engine seems to be perfect for the sheer amount of content that Obsidian creates in their games.

[Sabretooth]

the dialog and plot is vastly upgraded (thank you, Avellone!)

 

[Qui-Gon Glenn]

ugh, no...just no.

The voice acting is really good, but the southern voices still sound like something you would hear in a television show or movie and not the voices you hear in real life.

This coming from a Texan {folks from Georgia will tell you that the South only consists of Southern states, Texas oddly not being one of them}

 

City folk more or less talk city style. Round these parts, you go to the country, you hear the country, whether it be in Georgia or Alabama, Florida or Mississippi. I have lived in Austin and DFW, and can attest to a definitive Texas accent, which to the untrained ear sounds Southern, but is clearly Texan all its own. And there is city Texan, and country Texan...

 

Not sure if you have noticed this mm, but you might could have? Probably, given your age, but in case you have not, I have heard those folk talking in real life.

[jrrtoken]

It's less buggy, the dialog and plot is vastly upgraded (thank you, Avellone!)

The lead writer was John Gonzalez, not Avellone...

[mimartin]

This coming from a Texan {folks from Georgia will tell you that the South only consists of Southern states, Texas oddly not being one of them}

Personally, I consider anyone north of Beltway 8 to be a Yankee.

[DarthParametric]

<freaky Exorcist NPC bug video>

Wow, that's both seriously creepy and strangely awesome.

 

The lead writer was John Gonzalez, not Avellone...

He just has to have been in the same room as the rest of the dev team once for some people to wet themselves apparently.

[Lord of Hunger]

The lead writer was John Gonzalez, not Avellone...

Yes, but Avellone was the Senior Designer and no doubt had considerable influence on the story and characters.

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The companion Veronica, for example, possesses many of the traits of both the Handmaiden and Mira. Mr. House is very similar to G0-T0 as an AI posing as the head of a shady organization.. While these are probably not exact carry-overs, the resemblance is there.