Now that RPGs like Final Fantasy XIII are out of the way, the next one on every RPG gamer’s list for this year is Bethesda Softwork’s Fallout: New Vegas that is scheduled for a Fall release. Fallout: New Vegas is an entirely new game, not a sequel to Fallout 3 or anything like that. On the show floor, only playable for the press, I managed to play the first few levels of Fallout: New Vegas and I am impressed as to how Obsidian Entertainment managed to keep most of the enjoyable elements from Fallout 3 while still adding new features as well.
The demo that I played was on the Xbox 360 platform. A Bethesda PR representative walked me through the game while playing the demo for almost half an hour. The first part that the representative showed me was a place where the Vegas Strip is supposed to be. By living in Las Veas, I know on the top of my head on how the strip really looks like, and by playing the game on the destroyed Vegas strip, I can say that Obsidian did a good job in having that “Las Vegas” feel in the game. The casinos and the people that resides in the strip are very well detailed. Since the Strip is a wasteland in Fallout: New Vegas, the players can see the environments to be deserted similar to what other Fallout games has to offer.
Since Obsidian Entertainment is using the same engine that Fallout 3 used, New Vegas is not different at all to one another. For fans who played Fallout 3, expect New Vegas to have the same feel. The controls are the same, the game flow is the same as what you would play in Fallout 3. The only thing that I found new that the representative showed me is that the player can now have a companion and the player can ask that companion to do whatever the player wishes such as looting while they’re following the player.
New Vegas will have mini-games. At a certain point of the game, the player can play in the Casinos to earn money. The games that I got to play and see were Blackjack, Poker, and Roulette. Playing any of these will help the player to get more money in order to buy equipments. The menu, and the HUD are similar to Fallout 3. I wonder if the money glitch will work on this game.
As for the story of Fallout: New Vegas, the representative didn’t elaborate on this much. However, he mentioned that a player can choose what faction they would like to join. There are no right and wrong choices as the game offers more than one ending. The old California faction is in fact back in the game and it’s one of the factions a player can choose to side with. When asked if Fallout: New Vegas will have an expansion pack, the representative said to just wait for the announcement and don’t be so nosy…
For fans of Fallout 3, New Vegas is something to be on your most wanted list. It plays like Fallout 3 but the new features it offers and the new story are the things I’m most excited to find out. Check back with us near the release date for our review and coverage of the game.