Fallout: New Vegas

A brief history 

2008's Fallout 3 was the first in the series that most people ever played, this was due to the fact that it was the first to be available on consoles, and since it had been over ten years since Fallout 2 (some spin-offs were released in the meantime). When Fallout 3 was released to the world it was well received by reviewers and the gaming community in general due to it's almost-unprecedented non-linear approach its gameplay. The new IP owner, Bethesda, are well-known for their Oblivion franchise, and used a further modified version of the same game engine for Fallout (built off-of the Gamebryo engine). Due to this fact, Fallout took on the same gameplay as Oblivion; but instead of staffs and swords their was guns and crowbars. Many of the fans of the original Fallout games were upset by the game's new design, using less witty humour and swapping the turn-based top-down view to a 1st person view that played as a shooter (you can switch to 3rd person but it doesn't look right). These fans were even more upset when they learnt that the original series creators were unable to maintain their contract of releasing Fallout Online, an MMO game for the PC, which they had been given two years to release after-which they had absolutely no rights to use the intellectual property. But regardless of the original fan's cries, the modern gamer was celebrating a brilliantly made game with over 60 hours of value (which became 100 for many once the DLC was released). 
If there is any more history-type information you want to check out go and see the game's Wiki. 
 

Fallout: New Vegas

 Fallout 3 and it's DLC packages were an absolute stellar package that achieved a high-level of financial success, so two years later it was destined to be followed-up by a standalone expansion pack which boasted great new features such as the "companion wheel" - a wheel that allows the player to easily give common commands to their NPC followers. Not much had to be changed; the formula was find, and the fan-base was ready. What no-gamer expected, except for the most cynical sorts, was for the game to be a blatant cash-in. This accusation is fully warranted, for the Xbox360 version at-least, since the game is incomplete. "But how can it be released incomplete - as if they'd do that?", -you may be asking, so here is a brief summary without going into detail; this is one of the most bugged games ever released, and THE most bugged AAA title to date. What would otherwise be an excellent sequel to an excellent game, is a game riddled with minute-long (occasionally less or more) loading screens (between areas that take ten seconds to traverse), missing followers (characters that aid the player, enemies falling through the ground, polygons appearing in the wrong places and all-out un-intended randomness. The glitches are easy to ignore, because the game is one-of-few that allow you to save and reload everything whenever you want. What makes this game unbearable to play once you have been playing for a while is the Loading, as previously mentioned that take forever. I can just about guarantee to you that about half-way through the game you will spend more time staring at loading screens than actually playing the game. This is because the game has an alternate town of vegas in the middle of the expansive wasteland, and it seperates sections of this area with these terrible loading screens. When you are playing the game in the wasteland everything is fine because it only takes once to load and then streams everything else. They can release patches all they want, but I'm seriously doubtful they can mend these loading screens.
 

Okay, pretend there is no problems, I don't care about future buyer's-remorse...

 
New Vegas is one of the most ingenious games ever created. The story, setting, characters, gameplay, & length make this one of the most amazing games ever made. Even though it can be easy to create a compelling story out of the now-cliché post-apocalyptic setting, the team at Obsidian/Bethesda/whatever have crafted a tale of revenge and triumph that will draw the player in and keep them hooked (until the...). Not only is the story good, but the way it is told; and apart from right at the start there is no pre-rendered cutscenes and you have control over every situation. No movie enables it's audience to get so deeply involved. You have control over so many things, and as I was trying to convey before, it feels like you are a-part of that universe. Someone give you shit? Blast their heads off! Get a bad deal? Pick-Pocket them of their store-room key. A large portion of the gameplay is dialogue with characters, you have multiple choices on what you make your character say, and they all have an effect on your situation, some more profound than others. One difference between F3 and FNV is that the distinct factions are more distinct. The karma system has now been revamped, tracking each group's disposition toward you is going. You can align yourself with the bad guys, the other bad guys, or the good guys that aren't really that good; the game even gives the option to screw them all over, which makes the game far-tougher. The other new feature in this game is the "Hardcore Mode", which lets the player, regardless of actual difficulty, struggle maintaining their sleep, food, and water. This really does add another layer of depth and makes strategy more fun because your decisions are now that bit more complex. As mentioned in the well-deserved rant in the previous section of this article, was that Fallout enables the player to save and load whenever they please, so long as their character isn't engaged in dialogue or using the Pip-Boy. Yes, that's another great feature. The player is aided by a computer system that their avatar creates like a watch (yes you can customize your appearance when you begin). This computer gives you access to maps, notes, quest information and inventory management and is an integral part of the Fallout experience. 
 
There is just so much depth to this game that beginners may feel a bit overwhelmed at first, but it is easy to get the hang of after a couple of hours (take as much time as you want, you're not being forced along like in COD). Because of this depth, Fallout is one of the greatest game series ever made, and I haven't even mentioned half of the features. 
  
The aesthetics of Fallout NV are almost perfect, and do a great job for the story (that you partially-control). From the robots featuring televisions with illustrated faces displayed on them, to the sand in the wind, everything is done well. It is worth pointing out that the engine used in this game, regardless of terrible bugs, is also extremely outdated (between an Original xbox game graphics and your average Xbox 360 game's graphics). However, as mentioned previously the aesthetics are almost perfect, and that is enough for you to forget about their minimal-rendering. 
 

So should I buy it?

 You should only get this game if you are buying it for the PC. While there is still bugs on the PC version, there is a terminal that you can type commands in to fix problems in when they arise, and most importantly, there will be enough RAM for the game to remember everything without requiring unbelievably long load-screens. According to many PC gamers comments that I have read in discussion forums, is that when they play, it loads between-areas in just a few seconds.  
 
While the X360 hardware makes this game slow, it is no excuse, because Fallout 3, while still slow, was not unacceptable like this game.
 
So there's my review. I hope you enjoyed it, and right now I'm wondering if I am going to put it up on eBay. I gave the game 2.5 stars, but it really deserves just one star for the long loading screens. I would prefer it be half the game that it is and have quick loading screens, and I mean it. Sorry about not separating paragraphs, but I couldn't really be bothered, just like this game's publisher (Zenimax). All they care about is profits and all I care about is my opinion.