Fallout: New Vegas

The post-apocalypse is such a contradiction in terms. The very idea of there being a post-apocalypse should be nonsense, since the apocalypse it meant to be “the end of things”. However, over the past few decades a rich seem of post-apocalyptic fiction has grown and matured, and the Fallout series has been leading the way in terms of video games in this field. In 2008, Fallout 3 brought the much-loved role-playing franchise into the new world, updating the classic gameplay to suit a more modern audience. While Bethesda Softworks’ game borrowed many traits from Oblivion, was rather buggy and wasn’t particularly beautiful, it was nonetheless a richly detailed and immersive game, which took you to the ruins of a retro-futuristic Washington D.C. and let you wander about as you saw fit. There were many locations to explore, characters to talk with and quests to be solved. All in all, it was a spectacular experience. New Vegas on the other hand may at first glance look like something of an anomaly: Not a fully-fledged sequel, but more of a spin-off. However, this is a game which is keen to point out that looks can be deceiving. Fallout: New Vegas is far better written, less buggy and more true to the series roots of Fallout that its predecessor, and in many places manages to overcome the aging graphics engine which holds it together. Although it occasionally suffers from a lack of originality, there is more than enough new and exciting content to make your stay in the Post-Apocalyptic Mojave Wasteland a very enjoyable one.

If you’ve played Fallout 3 or any of the Fallout series prior, you will know that the game takes place in an alternative, retro-futuristic future. The split from our timeline is thought to have occurred sometime in the 1950s, with society stagnating and many social norms and ideals remaining relatively stable for the next hundred years. This Brave New World is one which we imagined might be possible in the 50s, and which Fallout brings to life. Although the transistor was never invented, great leaps forward in science and engineering have been made so that by the mid 2050s, robots were commonplace and everyone drove cars with mini nuclear-cores. However, the world was not a stable place, with a series of Resource Wars between the United States and Communist China growing ever deadlier, including an attempted Chinese takeover of Alaska. Finally, things came to ahead on 23rd October 2077, when all-out nuclear war was declared. The bombs fell, and most of humanity was erased from existence. However, it was not the end which many had predicted, to borrow a phrase. In the US, many citizens hid in vast underground bunkers called Vaults, built by Vault-Tec to protect the general public in the event of a nuclear catastrophe (or at least, this is what Vault-Tec let everyone to believe). Those not protected by the Vaults were killed, mutated or eventually devolved into murderous raiders. The United States of America as a functioning country has ceased to exist, and instead smaller factions have established a hold over various areas. The game takes place 204 years after this war, 4 years after the events of Fallout 3. For the most part, references to Fallout 3 are extremely minimal, and I am prone to thinking that this was a wise decision.

For the first time in the series you are not actually a Vault-Dweller, but instead are a Courier who has grown up outside in the Mojave Wasteland: An area comprising parts of the former states of Nevada, California and Arizona. At the heart of the Mojave is New Vegas: the former city of Las Vegas which was not directly hit by a nuclear missile when the Great War raged, and thus much of the infrastructure remains relatively in-tact. At the beginning of the game, you are shot in the head and left in a shallow grave by Benny, a guy in a chequered suit who talks like he’s Sammy Davis Jr. All you know is that Benny wanted the package you were taking to New Vegas: a platinum casino chip. However, you are rescued and dug up by a robotic cowboy called Victor, who takes you to Doc Mitchell in Goodsprings for you to be stitched back together. Upon regaining the use of you legs, you step out of Mitchell’s front door into the wide world, and from there the game can go almost whichever way you please. If you so desire, you can ignore the main questline and just set off to explore, seeking your fortune wherever it may be. Like Fallout 3, the Wasteland is one massive expanse which you can trek across, peppered with interesting towns, abandoned buildings, caves and other monuments. The main plotline of New Vegas is certainly better than that of Fallout 3, both being longer and more complicated. The inclusion of factions into the game, such as the New California Republic and the brutal Caesar’s Legion mean that the ending of the game can differ substantially depending on which faction you sided with, which can make multiple playthroughs rewarding. While not all of it makes sense there are a number of memorable characters which make the journey worthwhile, such as the enigmatic Mr. House, CEO of RobCo Industries who maintains control over the New Vegas Strip thanks to his army of robot Securitons. There is also a very large cast of more minor characters, and the voice acting has improved to the extent that you will be very hard pushed to think of two people who are voiced by the same person.

In terms of gameplay, New Vegas improves on Fallout 3 in a number of minor, but nonetheless important ways. Slight changes to the way combat works mean that the game now feels a bit more like a first-person shooter, thanks to the ability to be able to look down the iron-sights of a gun. Melee weapons are more useful than they were in Fallout 3 and now also have their own special moves. V.A.T.S. (the Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System) makes a happy return, and it is still just as enjoyable to watch a fiend’s head go soaring into the air after pulverising him with a hailstorm of bullets. A dynamic kill-cam is also introduced to show you when you kill the last enemy in a group, although I personally found this feature rather irritating and turned it off after a while. Weapons can now be equipped with mods to make them better and can also hold different types of ammunition, which can change the amount of damage inflicted upon enemies. Character companions, who were mostly useless in Fallout 3 thanks to their propensity to die, are a lot more dependable here. In normal mode, when travelling as your companion they are tagged as essential and therefore only are knocked unconscious when killed, similar to the method which Mass Effect uses. The companion wheel allows you to issue various orders, such as telling them to wait, open their inventory and so on. Each of these companions also has an accompanying side quest or two and are much more fully-realised characters whom you will enjoy having along in your team. Karma is still a factor, although it has been almost entirely supplanted by Reputation, which will affect how the members of various factions (NCR, Freeside etc.) view you, depending on how you have treated them in the past. It is also possible to play the game in hardcore mode, which among other things makes dying of dehydration a possibility and adds another layer of depth to the game. Generally speaking, these small but significant changes help to keep most of the gameplay in New Vegas feeling fresh and approachable.

Graphically, New Vegas isn’t a particularly great looking game. The creaking Gamebryo engine is definitely showing its age because it’s been around since The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, and the quality of the animations, character movement and other aspects lead to New Vegas certainly not being the prettiest game in terms of graphical fidelity. Nonetheless, despite the occasional bugs the game is able to convey an excellent sense of scale through the use of its open world, and the atmosphere this creates is superb. The Mojave is vast and crumbling, much like the Capital Wasteland, but the colour palette here is brighter and hotter than it was in DC. New Vegas, with its glitzy casinos and weathered outer slums, trying vainly to hold onto some of that Pre-War glamour is the ultimate symbol of vice and corruption, and much of the mood of the game is mirrored by the surroundings. While there are occasionally huge, impassable mountain ranges which you must navigate around, the entire game feels just as wide-open as before and due to the fact that there are a lot more NPC’s around to chat to, the area also feels more alive. Although talking with characters still consists of them turning to face you and stiffly locking eye contact, there is a lot more emotion here than there ever was in Fallout 3, and many geo-political issues concerning race and culture are drawn into the mix a way down the line as well. Despite the limitations the aging software powering New Vegas imposes, the game nonetheless is extremely proficient in drawing you into this exciting world, and when you are in its grasp it will be tough to escape.

The sound has evolved slightly from Fallout 3. Enclave Radio and President Eden are gone, but Radio New Vegas is here, and broadcasts a variety of Vegas-themed music, such as Frank Sinatra’s “Blue Moon”. All of this licensed music is superb, from the mournful “Stars of the Midnight Range” to the upbeat “Ain’t That a Kick in the Head” by Dean Martin. The DJ, Mr. New Vegas (wonderfully portrayed by Vegas star Wayne Newton) is great, and just makes you wish there was more DJ chatter and more songs for him to talk about. Aside from Radio New Vegas, there is also the hilarious Black Mountain Radio, broadcast by the disturbed Super-Mutant Tabitha and her sidekick, Rhonda. Their on-air chats concerning how great the State of Utobitha is are some of the funniest lines in the game. The orchestral score itself has one or two inspiring pieces of music including the main theme and the incidental tunes which play whilst you wander over the wastes are more varied than Fallout 3, recalling some pieces of music originally used in Fallout 1 & 2. As mentioned previously, voice acting is very good across the board and general sound effects, gunshots, ambient noises and other effects pass off cleanly without any incident.

Generally speaking, I would not feel particularly uncomfortable in dubbing Fallout: New Vegas “The real Fallout 3”. Whilst Fallout 3 occasionally felt rather sombre and lost much of the black humour which was a series staple in the original games, New Vegas brings it back and incorporates it into the storyline. The game isn’t a revolution, but an evolution based upon the major strengths of its predecessors. To date, it is probably one of the purest Fallout games there has been, with a huge game world, interesting characters, various factions competing for survival and extremely satisfying gameplay tying it all together. Although you can criticise it for walking over the same ground which Fallout 3 did, it fills the same shoes with different feet. Fallout: New Vegas is a highly addictive game and for those who are already enamoured with the Wasteland, this presents the perfect opportunity to get back out there. Because we all know deep down that Fallout, like war, never really changes.