Alright. As of late, I've become a shut-in playing this game. As Kikatsu mentioned, some one would have made a thread about by now. Problem is, everyone's been too busy playing to get one out.
So, without further ado, my first impressions:
QUESTS! They're fun! No more of this 'let's go to point A and kill X amount of Y for a few minutes'. Well...there are some missions like that. But not all. One mission had me play the role of a guardsman outside a weapon shop.
Combat seems a lot better. With the addition of iron sights to most weapons(Laser guns don't have sights. Who knew?), the game feels a little more combat oriented. I still have vats do all the work, but it's always fun to whip out my 10mm SMG and peer down the sights as my bloody mess perk does its job.
Upgrades are a needed addition. You can now put new tools on your guns to make them a lot more badass. For example, my laser rifle has a scope and a beam splitter.
The longevity of the game has also vastly improved. I've been playing for ten hours and I just got to the Strip. Even then, I'm not even half way done with the game! And this is after I took about twenty side quests! I haven't even explored most of the locations and only found one vault.
So add your notes up here about the changes and cool things you found!
"THE HULL HAS BEEN BREACHED AND THESCIENCEIS LEAKING OUT!"
I am totally dissapoint...totally... so many things that differ from Fallout cannon...Obsidian created a good game non the less but it's a typical Obsidian game loads of potential but terribly buggy and rushed...
Quote:Patroling Mojave makes me with for a nuclear winter!
In the Fallout universe there is no such thing as nuclear winter being based on the 50s understanding of nuclear weapons and technology.
The Story is good though it makes me nostalgic about Fallout 1
Oblivion, Fallout. These games and others like it have had one thing in common: You are a good guy. Sure you can more or less pretend otherwise, but the structure wasn't really there to be a bad guy. New Vegas winks, hands you a gun and wonders if maybe the best way to rule the wasteland wouldn't through fear. When the first riches laden peasent runs up to you with hands held out, begging for aid, you look down at that gun and wonder.
I claimed I would wait a long while before buying the game.
I waited about 18 hours after release. Go me, waiting to not be able to get the pre-order goodies. Well played.
To save you people the time of reading my intro review let me sum it up. I think Fallout 3 was a very good game. It was rich in detail and extremly ambitious. I know it was made by a company that is looking to make money. I think that it was also made by a company that sincerely enjoyed making the game they did and the result, with the modding potential freely provided, goes a long way to showcase their commitment to producing the best entertainment they could.
New Vegas is a better Fallout game. You understand this before the intro video is completed. I like things that are familiar. I like the original Fallout games. This game feels like the natural progression of F1&2. Many people questioned if FO3 was true to the spirit. I don't think they can question this game.
I'm currently about 4 hours into New Vegas, barely pushing out from the start. I consumed Fallout 3 with a voracity and found myself wishing I had taken tha main quest a little slower. This time around I'm striving to curb my natural desire to consume the main quest. Slow exploration is something I'm putting a great deal of emphasis on.
Oblivion and Fallout 3 both had an issue that I found troublesome in regards to exploration... There were tons of amazing locations which I had almost no desire to explore. Everything felt the same in those games. My time in NV, while limited, suggests that care to attention has enfused these regions with unique rewards, dudes to shoot at or some other other compelling facet which rewards me as a player for checking out that hollowed out arrow to see what I might see.
One I ran past a sign and died horribly. On my second run through the area I took the time to read the sign. It casually mentioned something about deathclaws. Guess I should pay more attention to the environment.
On that note! The hilly nature of where I am currently playing is superior to the "bowl" terrain of FO3. I can't casually observe said deathclaws from 18 miles away due to FOV settings. My low perception is going to kick me in the bum.
Hard core mode: Cannot say enough. This is an improvement.
Weapon variety: Many of us recall the scene from the Good/Bag/Ugly where Tuco robs the weapon shop. He strips his gun to the bone and rebuilds it with optimal parts. That I can now do the same is fantastic. A few custom touches to my .357 is an exceptional way to add longevity to weapons which otherwise quickly fall by the wayside.
The extended variety of weapons is delightful. I no longer feel any great need to mod up in order to deviate from an otherwise bland assortment of weapons.
Natural progression.
FO3 was a short game. Following the main quest had you from a wide eyed vault rat to a combat armor laden chinese assault rifle toting badass within two hours, if you were moving slowly. NV I'm moving along, shooting as I might. I have a wicked unique .357 I picked up, a cowboy hat and some leather armor. I don't think I'll be in a position to upgrade from that anytime soon. This is ideal.
Realistic environment: Oh hey, powdergang armo... Oh what. I'm ID'd as a member of the powder gang for donning their armor!? FFFFFFFffffffffffffffffffffff that's awesome. So forget the idea of casually capping off some NCR soldier for their combat armor. Last thing I need is to get black listed because they spotted me in stolen loot.
The quests I've encountered are entertaining and, so far, have managed to avoid making me feel like the entire wasteland was on hold until I could come along and solve their problems. Sure, I could help. But no one really needs me to.
From the way the story is progressing and the pieces I've been able to put together it seems as though many parts of what I surmise to be the ensuing climax will take place regardless of my presence. This sentiment may be artificial, but the environment feels richer for it.
Oh. I like that they've made the quest system a tad less "dumbed down". In FO3 most times I didn't even need to listen to what people said. I just followed the quest arrow. If things were hostile I shot them. If they weren't red I talked to them. Eventually I would finish the quest.
This review is a bit wandering, but I've only one night in. We'll see what comes next.
Damnit Dusty. Now I really wanna play this game. Sounds like you are taking in the experience as I prefer. Slow progression, realistic repercussions to choices made, environmental ques easily overlooked, etc. Consequence was a theme I found severely lacking in Fallout 3, which pained me given all the important choices that caused at least some deviation in the available actions in the first Fallout games. I'm really looking forward to playing this game now.
I'm curious about difficulty. I was able to walk through Fallout 3 Vanilla on the hardest difficulty. I really do prefer to die if I make a mistake or rush into a battle without preparing and playing intelligently, just like I feel I would in a real nuclear wasteland.
I love the idea of finding a pipe rifle and scouring the lands for radroach meats to sell at a market, just to survive. The roll play aspects are often overlooked in games like this, and if the immersion level is similar to that of Fallout 3, I suspect that I'll be absent of any responsibilities for some time after acquiring the game.
The difficulty at present is rather challenging. Moreso than Fallout 3. I'm spending a little time feeling things out before bumping her up to the highest difficulty level, which is where I prefer to be.
In terms of repercussions do note that we're returning to the regional system. The actions you take determine how the locals feel about you. The locals does not necesarily mean the townspeople. Note my original point about being able to walk a different path. Sadly the local nogoodnicks rather think that I'm a bit of a "jerk" at this point.
One thing that I find very compelling but have not had the means or opportunity to fully explore is some manner of new fangled alchemy system. Everything from campfires to chem labs to whatever now has the potential to allow you to mix item A and B together to form mystery object C. Be object C a tanned gecko hide, some manner of chemical miracle cure or armor piercing ammo.
In other words the repair, science, wilderness and so on skills now have a derth of possibility that extends far beyond their original "hack computers/repair stuff" potential.
The being a doctor skill is now extremely important.
EVERYTHING IS IMPORTANT. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGH.
Speech also makes a comeback with the removal of the utterly pointless % system of FO3. Speach was a skill you never touched as the f5/f9 buttons basically gave you an instant 100 in that region.
Skills now play a role in determining conversation outcomes. Many avenues, including quests, can be closed to you if you don't know what you're talking about.
A very cool mechanic are magazines. Read a magazine, get a temporary 10% boost to a skill. Think of it as a "small guns" potion, as an example.
The crafting system is one that I feel holds a ton of potential... To be honest it's almost frustrating how many options are out there at present, I know that I wont be able to tap into even a quarter of the content on my first playthrough and I'm utterly lost as to how I can proceed in a way that I'll find most rewarding.
I'm sticking to my original FO1 build. A charismatic, intelligent weakling who can't take more than two bullets but has a nice rounding of luck.
But, for some reason, I'm feeling a strong urge to ditch the guns this time around and go for the sneakymcstabalot build.
Because sneaking up on people and stabbing them is the literal definition of excellence.
But then I -know- there's going to be boxing somewhere. Sneaking up on people and punching them is the other literal definition of excellence.
Sniping people from a mile away, while fun, just doesn't feel as classy as putting a machete where their face used to be.
It came in the post for me yesterday, and I installed it and played it. When the doctor was talking to me at the bedside at first and there was no words going with the speech, I was thinking "Oh crap, I have to actually listen to the people now?" But after my character was standing the all-so-familiar words to follow the speech returned.
I took Hardcore mode. Now I have to eat, drink and sleep. None of these have passed over two hundred yet, because I'm cautious. Whenever one of my limbs gets crippled, I have to visit the doctor to get them fixed. ARGH! And health applies over time. This can be quite amusing when you're fighting Legion Assassins and they're hitting you with sub-machine fire and your health is going up.
Weapons. My best is still the 9mm pistol, the varmint rifle, or my trusty lead pipe. Clubbing people into a bloody pulp: what could be more enjoyable?
The music is something I'm not too fond of. There are a few good songs which I listened to quite often a few months before the game was released, but there are many which just don't take my fancy...
I have the difficult on hard, and I've kept the iron-sights on too. They've added the feature in, so I may as well play the game as the makers primarily intended. There was one part, where I died about five times trying to get past while I was still adjusting. Damn Geckos!
Disguises are cool. Walking right behind Powder Gang members and hitting them with my lead pipe, doing my sneak critical. Even more blood.
I haven't found any mods for any weapons yet though. And that brings up something else: a some-what harder time finding decent guns. I've been playing the game close to six hours now and I'm still using the varmint rifle. In Fallout 3 you had the 10mm pistol which you dumped when leaving the vault. After six hours playing Fallout 3 I probably had an assault rifle, maybe even a chinese assault rifle if I was lucky. Or even a plasma rifle if I did the right quest...
But here I'm still with a pistol and the basic varmint rifle, and with the iron sights and the precision needed to use them combat can take a while.
Anyway, just want to ask: anyone know any good places to find gun mods?
[17:45:39] Wolfs Ghost (Murphy): Tom, you have problems. Go kill yourself.
[19:25:12] Johnny (Jam): Tomtom, I will beat you with a spoon.
[14:22:56] Prarabdh Thakur: KILL HIM WITH A SHEEP.
[17:40:48] Eagle (Junes): Tom should be slapped with a spoon.
[11:32:18] Warspite: Thank you for being so awesome Tom. <3
[18:17:36] Metano: I love you tomtom
[20:06:24] Warspite: I will seriously give you epic head.
' Wrote:Edit: also, Tomtomrawr, fappin' like a boss.
Another thing that came to my head: I miss Three Dog!
[17:45:39] Wolfs Ghost (Murphy): Tom, you have problems. Go kill yourself.
[19:25:12] Johnny (Jam): Tomtom, I will beat you with a spoon.
[14:22:56] Prarabdh Thakur: KILL HIM WITH A SHEEP.
[17:40:48] Eagle (Junes): Tom should be slapped with a spoon.
[11:32:18] Warspite: Thank you for being so awesome Tom. <3
[18:17:36] Metano: I love you tomtom
[20:06:24] Warspite: I will seriously give you epic head.
' Wrote:Edit: also, Tomtomrawr, fappin' like a boss.
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