Fallout: New Vegas A Big Gamble

The Next Apocalyptic RPG Could Be a Crapshoot

Hi...I'm here to f**k s**t up.

It's already less than a week before the highly anticipated wasteland RPG series "Fallout" releases its latest installment "Fallout: New Vegas." The game is getting loads of pre-release hype, and rightfully so. Fallout 3 was a groundbreaking game in the industry that redefined the way people play open world games thanks to the crew at Bethesda Softworks. Bethesda, best known for their work on the Elder Scrolls series, created what I call "beautiful disaster" in it's view of a post-apocalyptic Washington, D.C. To an untrained eye, Fallout 3 may have looked like Elder Srolls with guns, but with a bigger emphasis on combat thanks to the V.A.T.S system, and new RPG elements like karma and companions to toy around with, the game became a radiation free haven for gamer geeks. This time however, a new development team is taking over in bringing the next installment of the successful post-apocalyptic franchise, and I'm a little concerned with what we may see.

A company called Obsidian Entertainment has taken the reins from Bethesda in Fallout: New Vegas, and they've been tasked with the daunting challenge of making a bigger, badder, and bloodier game than their predecessor. No small feat if you ask me. From the gameplay footage and screen shots released so far, New Vegas looks like a nice game, but I'm still not convinced that the full package will make me want to wander the Mojave desert for 20+ hours. Just by looking at Obsidian's resume, I'm keeping a little distance from New Vegas. Obsidian first came to light back in 2003 with the development of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II. For anyone who played the original game, KOTOR was a benchmark for console RPG's thanks to it's customizable main character features, a fluid, deep combat system, and a fun story driven morality feature. Once KOTOR II hit the market, it was fun, but not genre defining like the first game. In fact, the big problem I had with KOTOR II was bugs. The game had too many moments where it would freeze, glitch, or force you to reload your last save point because your character was stuck in the environment. Not only that, the story was nowhere near as impressive as the first game, which had one of the best endings in gaming history.

Since KOTOR II, Obsidian has dabbled in a couple of other high profile games like Neverwinter Nights 2, and the recently released Alpha Protocol. Alpha Protocol was yet another highly anticipated game that Obsidian failed to deliver. The game's plot revolved around a spy, espionage theme where you play as a Jason Bourne-esque CIA field agent. The game was touted as a third-person action RPG that featured dozens of customizable weapons, and a complex dialogue system that would drive the story forward. The game was both a critical and commercial flop. In all honesty I never played the game because it didn't appeal to me, but based on a collection of reviews, the game was plagued with glitches and bugs, and the combat was stiff and inaccurate. Not to mention the story was never convincing and the dialogue system was ineffective. Sounding a lot like what New Vegas is going for if you ask me...

This guy left the Casinos while he was hot...wha, whaaaaaa

I don't mean to bash on Obsidian, it's just they haven't really proven to me that they can handle the workload when it comes to a game like Fallout. Despite my fears, there are some good things to point out. First, it's Fallout. Obsidian is using the same engine that Bethesda used, and they're making some of the much needed improvements to the game such as some tweaks to the way you handle companions and your dialogue system. They're also fixing certain combat elements of the game like the target reticules, and there's a new mode called hardcore, which ups the difficulty of the game, and forces players to monitor their water consumption, sleep, and backpack management. Many of the developers are also veterans of Black Isle Studios, which worked on the first 2 Fallout games many years ago...so they should have a firm grasp on the essence of the series. Obsidian also has the advantage of toying with a new locale like Vegas. Areas like Hoover Dam, the Mojave, and of course, the Vegas Strip, are all at the players disposal, and this brings me to my next point.

One of the big things New Vegas has going for it is the Vegas locale. Players can enter and exit the strip whenever they please, and get in a few games of mutant blackjack, among other games, if they wish. Still, this to me is just another gimmick that was added just so developers could squeeze more gameplay time out of players. We've seen card games and gambling in games before. Red Dead Redemption is another open world game that allows you to play card games with fellow outlaws if you wish, so I'm personally not that impressed when I hear about casinos. Still, I have to give credit to Obsidian by throwing a nice curve ball in their approach to designing the New Vegas strip by implementing a 1960's atmosphere to the game.

On another side note, Fallout: New Vegas looks bland. I don't mean as a whole, but in terms of the environments and character/enemy animations. Of all the clips I've seen of the game, New Vegas looks very stale at times. Some of the enemy models don't appear too detailed, and environments seem to be hit or miss. It just seems too, for lack of a better word, "blockish," and the frame rate is extremely choppy (another staple of Obsidian games). I don't want to jump to conclusions on the game just yet because these are demo builds, but I hope Obsidian can capture lightning in a bottle with their new game. I want Fallout: New Vegas to be a fantastic game. It's just I have to keep my distance judging from what I've seen by Obsidian. Until then, I feel like this article will make me a target to the legions of Fallout fans out there who may or may not want to use the V.A.T.S. system to take me out. If I were you, I'd go for my legs, I have weak knees.

Here is one of the many clips of the game out there...judge for yourself if you agree with my comments regarding environment/character animations. Enjoy.