Post by solidbatman on Apr 20, 2011 17:27:54 GMT -5
-Visuals- 7/10
Bytor gave Fallout 3 a 9.5 in the visuals category, and seeing that Fallout New Vegas looks better that Fallout 3, it should get a higher score. Problem is, though, that the engine has aged, considerably. Rocks still look plastic, there is still little character interaction with the ground, and the frame rate is very choppy. Don't get me started on the freezes I suffered, including one that forced me to replay a solid hour of the game. But since I'm an optimist, I can find some good things about the visuals. NPC facial animations look much more natural and while the rocks and ground still look unnatural, the buildings and draw distance are much improved. The Vegas Strip was a bit underwhelming even with all the lights. It just lacked character. It didn't feel like Vegas, it felt like an out or place street that has become a military furlough hot spot. The rest of the waste land certainly feels like a brighter version of the Capital Wasteland, just brighter. The Fallout series has always been about creating a believable 1950's post- apocalyptic world, and Obsidian gets the job done here.
-Sound- 8/10
The voice acting is fine, the music is fine, if not unnoticeable. The voice acting did see an improvement. There is a lot more diversity in the voice acting. Rather than every old guy sounding the same, some old guys have deep voices, other higher pitched voices. This goes across the board.
-Game play- 9.8/10
Better than Fallout 3's game play in nearly every sense. There are more quests, more endings, more weapons, more locations, and more factions. The Karma system is back, but the new reputation system judges how people will react to you instead. Completing certain missions for one faction will make your reputation with that faction better, but it may hurt your reputation with another faction. Gambling in the Strip is another new feature, one that I cared little for. Maybe others with a love for card games will enjoy the casinos.
Weapon mods can now be purchased in New Vegas. These include a larger clip, scopes, and more. Weapons also have more than one type of ammo that can be used. Armor piercing shells, hollow tip shells, and buckshot shells are just a few of the many types of weapons. Workbenches are back as well and now, used up ammo can be recycled if you are short on caps, or you can break down ammo for unused guns and create ammo for guns that you do use. Item creation is another new aspect to New Vegas. With the right ingredients, perks and recipes, you can even create your own stimpacks.
The V.A.T.S system is back. This allows you to stop time and aim at specific body parts of your enemy (or friend if you're like that). Oh, I shouldn't forget to mention the collectible snow globes. If you enjoyed bobble head collecting in F3, then you should enjoy snow globe collecting. The only difference is that snow globes do not give you any perks, but some one in New Vegas pays a huge sum of caps for them (I'm serious, it's a lot of caps). All of your favorite perks are backs from F3 as well as some new perks. A perk, for those new to the series, is a bonus you receive after reaching a certain level. There are plenty of perks, all of them given creative names and a nice bonus to go along with it.
-Story- 9.8/10
Going with the theme of more, Obsidian created a story with over twice as many outcomes as Fallout 3. The game opens with you coming down with a serious case of bullet to the head thanks to some thugs out of the New Vegas Strip. They take your package that you were to deliver to the town of Primm. As chance would have it, a Securitron named Victor saves your life and takes you to a doctor in the tiny town of Goodsprings. You embark on a quest to find the men that left you for dead. The story seemed simple at first but quickly became a deep complex story. You end up having to take a side in the upcoming Battle of the Hoover Dam, which supplies power to the Mojave Wasteland. I really enjoyed the story due to the fact that I was essentially writing it. There are so many possibilities in completing any given missions. No two games will be the same.
-Overall- 9/10
At no time did I feel like I was playing an expansion to Fallout 3. The environments, game play, and story add together to make a great game. Aside from the few graphical hiccups, I had no problems with this game.