Lasting First Impressions of "Fallout: New Vegas" from Bethesda Softworks
In 2008, Bethesda presented the world with their vision of an alternative future in which a nuclear war devastated the Americas in the 1950s forcing survivors to find shelter and survive underground in "Vaults". Fallout 3 became an instant hit and many gamers found themselves enthralled with the world of the Wasteland and spend many hours scouring the land for quests and loot. Fallout 3 found itself with a Game of the Year title and fans clamouring for more.
Skip ahead 2 years and those fans have had their wish granted. Bethesda Softworks handed the reigns over to Obsidian Entertainment to continue the Fallout tradition, and continue it they have indeed. Fallout New Vegas is simply more of what made Fallout 3 so successful. Fans of this series will have a wonderful time entering the Wasteland once more to create a new hero for themselves (or a new villain if they so desire).
Unfortunately, that’s all that will be found. More of the same. Visually the game looks identical to Fallout 3 (albeit with a bit more splashing of colour this time) and plays just the same. Players who mastered Fallout 3 will jump into New Vegas and can immediately skip over the typical tutorial missions as there is nothing new to learn here.
Some people live by the rule, "if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it" and that works well for Fallout. While there may be nothing new or innovative found in New Vegas, Obsidian has triumphed in giving fans more of what they loved and what made Fallout 3 brilliant. Fallout: New Vegas isn’t a new game, it is the next chapter in the Fallout 3 saga. Whether or not this will be enough to elevate the game to star status like its sibling remains to be seen.
Bethesda, I gave you an hour and I’m simply INDIFFERENT. I’m impressed enough to keep playing the game and enjoying the world of Fallout, I simply feel like I’ve seen it all before and, after 2 years, I was hoping for something new to discover.
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Ummm… So, did you like it or hate it? You’re missing your tagline.
I wondered if that would be missed. So I’ve added my final thoughts.
You’ve already touched on the fact that if you weren’t a Fallout 3 perhaps an Oblivion fan, this game might not be for you. If you don’t like RPGs and HUGE open world games, this game probably isn’t for you. The other previously mentioned games and games like GTA4, there is a ton of content and you have to keep yourself on track to enjoy it. I think too many people just “get lost” in the possibilities.
I wouldn’t think 1 hour is enough to get a feel for Fallout 3 or Fallout New Vegas. When I played Fallout 3 I had just finished Fable 2, which is a drastically different experience. An hour in, I was not very impressed without Fallout 3. 6 or 8 hours later I loved Fallout 3.
You should probably revisit this posting after 6 or 8 or more hours of gameplay. I know that goes against the “impressions at one hour” theme, but followups would be welcome, I think.
I absolutely agree that one hour on a game such as this normally wouldn’t be enough but in this case, the one hour was enough to understand that this wasn’t anything new. Having played many hours of Fallout 3, Fallout New Vegas is simply more of what we already played but with new characters and a new story.