While I gave the first 2 Fallout titles the skip, the launch of Bethesda’s Fallout 3 and Fallout 4 gave me a real appreciation of the 3D Fallout titles and the lore that the games carried. I played Fallout 3 exclusively on the Sony PlayStation 3 in 2008, and I remember waiting eagerly for the Broken Steel DLC to be released in order to get the level cap increase and also to be able to continue the game post the original ending.

Fallout 4 was released to great anticipation in 2015, and while at first I played the game on the Sony PlayStation 4 (those who read my blog must know that I really like the game), I went on to have another playthrough with all the DLCs taken in when I got my PC last year.

The One That Got Away

However, between the release of Fallout 3 and Fallout 4, there was the 2010 release of Fallout: New Vegas, developed not by Bethesda, but Obsidian Entertainment whose founders worked on Fallout 1 and 2. This was the game that gotten away as the reviews emphasized that the game was really buggy with major performance issues on the PS3 which was my only gaming platform at that time.

Since then though, New Vegas has received accolades for its story, with many reviewers and gamers agreeing that it’s THE BEST Fallout title out there. So, 12 years after the release of New Vegas, I decided to purchase the Ultimate version of Fallout: New Vegas which came with a whole bunch of DLCs that afford certain start-up bonuses for players when they start a new game.

The Mojave Wasteland

For those unfamiliar with the game, New Vegas places the player as “The Courier”, out doing a delivery run for the mysterious owner of New Vegas Strip, Mr. House, only to be ambushed, relieved of his delivery package and left for death after being shot in the head. From then on, players can proceed with a mission of vengeance (or forgiveness) while encountering (read: befriending or antagonizing) various different factions in what is dubbed as the Mojave Wasteland.

Those who have played a Fallout title may recognize some of the factions that you will encounter in the game. This includes the New California Republic, out to consolidate its hold on the Hoover Dam, the Brotherhood of Steel, holed up in a hidden valley but still intent of carrying out its mission to horde technology, and Caesar’s Legions, consisting of a whole bunch of raider tribes consolidated into a war machine inspired by ancient Romans replete with slavery.

There are towns and locations to visit, where players get to also influence how the factions in a particular locale will perceive the player by performing certain tasks/quests.

Plenty of Talk and Things to Do

Being an Obsidian game, New Vegas is very verbose with its dialog-options, and coming from Fallout 4, this was a nice change of pace. I must admit that for the first two-thirds of the game felt really interesting and draws players in. Some of the more interesting stuff that I ended doing were:

  • Helping an NPC kill another NPC in the town of Novac by getting the latter in a kill zone (in front of a large dinosaur statue no less) to be shot with a sniper rifle by the former
  • Launching a bunch of crazy ghouls into space,
  • Investigating the on-going shenanigans in a NCR military camp and subsequently raising moral
  • Making it in one piece through an live artillery firing range to befriend a reclusive settlement.

The writing for New Vegas is certainly different from Fallout 3 and 4, and this goes for the gameplay mechanics that have been tweaked for a more RPG-feel, unlike the run-and-gun feeling you get with Fallout 3 and 4.

Bugs, and Then Some

Fun missions and dialogs aside, there are several things to be wary (or even be weary) about. First up, the graphics in New Vegas do not age well. If you are in a toss up between playing New Vegas or Fallout 4 first, please go with New Vegas first, you’ll thank me later. Coming from Fallout 4, the drab graphics in New Vegas were difficult on the eyes, and I must confess to falling asleep while playing the game.

Secondly, the game is really buggy. There was a point mid-game that I started to save really often as the game kept crashing; thankfully this became less frequent towards the end-game. There were also instances of certain enemy types (typically radscorpions) being stuck underground, making it impossible to shoot them. Some speculate that the rushed-delivery cycle imposed on Obsidian was the reason for the release of a really buggy product which despite initial fixes, continue to vex gamers.

Seeing It To Completion

The crashing and the general bugginess of the game didn’t stop me from finishing the game. With 70 hours invested into the game, I ended up siding with the NCR as they destroyed Caesar’s Legion and annexing the Mojave Wasteland.

One of the factions that I’ve befriended, the Followers of the Apocalypse were kicked out of the Mojave Wasteland by the NCR, only to join up with The Great Khans (who I convinced to leave Mojave about 2/3s through the game) and prosper in Wyoming. Both New Vegas and the original Fallout 3 (pre-Broken Steel) share the same issue whereby completing the final mission ends the game, no free-roaming unlike post-Broken Steel or Fallout 4.

I’m tempted to reload an earlier save to see what happens when I side with the Legion instead, or try to keep the Mojave as independent as possible. So, would I recommend New Vegas? Yes, without a doubt. You may need to cultivate of saving often, and as I mentioned earlier, it’s best to hit New Vegas BEFORE playing Fallout 4. If you’ve played Fallout 4 prior to New Vegas, you might want to prep with some coffee or Red Bull :).