PC Games I am Playing Week: Fallout: New Vegas

Howdy pardners and welcome back to Day 2 of PC Games I am Playing Week.  Today I speak of a game that is *gasp!* four whole years of age.  Yes this antique is the continuation of the Fallout series originally crafted in 1995 by Interplay Entertainment and has swapped hands to Black Ilse Studios only to have Black Isle file Chapter 13, return, lose rights to Fallout thus did not release Fallout 3: Capital Wasteland by Bethesda Softworks and then work injunction with Bethesda Softworks under Black Isle’s new company name Obsidian Entertainment.   Confused?  Well you should be.   So strap on your six guns, gather up some companions and watch out for strangers.  This is Fallout: New Vegas.

 

Sheesh, Hoss is packing some iron.

Spoiler…  Spoiler never changes.

The game I am referring to moves us back to the Mohave Desert, to an area more or less untouched by the war so its 1950’s influence, clothes, lingo and music still grace this giant sandbox but where there were cowboys, beef barons and gamblers with a heart of gold is now under the continuous onslaught of Fiends, slavers, raiders and rampaging super mutants and feral ghouls.  Where landmarks of the old Nevada standing have been made into renewed communities trying to survive this harsh world as two factions battle for the Hoover Dam and all the power it can provide.  The New California Republic, a foundation of former law enforcement and military ideals and Caesar’s Legion, a ruthless reincarnation of the barbarous Roman Emporium duke it out for all the marbles.  

One man keeps them both at bay, Mr. House and his fleet of Securitron robots.  He now owns all of New Vegas and plays to keep things running smoothly and the caps flowing in like so much chilled champagne.

Disagreement with the locals.

  

Your character is NOT a vault dweller.  SHOCK!!! 

You are a courier hired to carry an unknown package to a specified destination when you get jumped by a fellow in a dapper checkered suit and some Great Khans, shot in the head and left for dead.  That is your beginning intro!  As you come to in the town of Goodsprings you find that life on the Wild Wasteland is full of danger and wonder.  Rarely are the two far apart.  You need to bolster up some skills, arm yourself better and frankly get that package back to your client posthaste.  Perhaps you can indulge in a bit of revenge while you are at it.  

Like Fallout 3; the same game engine for smooth play, graphics and synched dialogue is identical.  You do however have options to newer weapons, modifying them, living off the land, freestyle wandering, side quests and different dialogue skills.   As always with this continued game system an amazing voice cast is essential in the telling of your tale as it unfolds.

 Ron Perlman (Chronos, Blade II, Alien Ressurection, Hellboy and Hellboy 2: The Golden Army) returns as the narrator of this post-apocalyptic land along with familiar voices such as Michael Dorn (CHiPs, Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) as Marcus the former Super Mutant Sheriff in Fallout 2, Felica Day (The Guild, Eureka and Supernatural) as Veronica, a bright eyed girl from California with stars in her eyes and a pneumatic gauntlet on her right hand and many more.

Hardcore mode was introduced to give more of a real feel to the game such as: dehydration, poisoning, hunger pains, withdrawals from drugs and medicine and finally healing injuries.  With 6 add-on adventures, an ultimate edition and more than its fair share of real life cosplayers; New Vegas has ran with the same steam that Fallout 3 has had and brought a whole new generation of gamers to this universe and then some.

Harland's...a bit blunt and right to the point.