Fallout New Vegas is a game set in the post apocalyptic wasteland of the Mojave leading up into city of Las Vegas. The storyline, in part, is the backdrop as a primary point of conflict for the New Californian Republic military and a rogue armed warlord Caesar and his Legion, styalized on Roman themes; with you the unlucky courier being thrown into the mix. What sets up a rather fantastic premise for a game based on the post apocalyptic genre turns into a game that begins to overstay its welcome going past the 60 hour mark.

The first issue with the game is the tacked on SPECIAL and Skill system. This system setup seems to promote RPG elements but then turns out to have no great bearing on any of the gameplay aspects outside of crafting, NPC dialogue, lockpicking, and use of the VATS system - thus making the leveling portion of that aspect of the game feel needlessly wasted and leaving only the selection of Perks that can be chosen every other level to feel useful. In fact the game could do away with the SPECIAL and Skills entirely and the combat, the primary source of gameplay, would not miss it.

Which leads us into the other problem with Fallout New Vegas. It fails on attempting to be an enjoyable shooter. Basing the game's weapon diversity on ammunition type creates inexplicable imbalances for why one rifle that fires 5.56mm has a grossly lower DPS than another rifle that fires 5.56mm; once we step outside of the SPECIAL/Skills system that poorly attempts to create a scaling value of arbitrary worth in weapons for a sense of RPG style progression. One thing that the developers of Fallout New Vegas did get right were the weapons. From standard to unique, there is a wide variety of weaponry that will please anyone who enjoys taking a variety of pew pew out to pop open heads with - from plasma to laser weaponry, to wildwest style cowboy repeaters and six-shooter magnums. And everyone should take the pleasure of going out and dropping a Fat Boy on a herd of Fallout's version of cattle.

The soundtrack for the game is another place where FONV shines. It fits thematically with the genre the game is set in and with the story of how the game progressed to where it is as a post apocalyptic setting. The department responsible for the sound and music chose a very nice selection of 1940s to 1970s era music that features Frank Sinatra, Marty Robbins, and Peggy Lee.

The music fits the setting and theme of the game, it is the setting that is in my opinion, the biggest drawback of the game. One of the important things about a post apocalyptic setting is to achieve that sense of desolate wasteland while balancing that mix of interaction where there is the splashes of color that mark human existance. The game does try to achieve this balance but falls short until the story progresses into New Vegas itself. These splashes of color could have come from the various places that it is possible to visit with over 50 locations to go outside of New Vegas itself - the gas stations, shacks, vaults, and other places but these places are so small and the run through them so fast that they are hardly memorable and fail to satisfy that need for 'something else' in the game that provides color and texture. I believe the game needed a smaller wasteland and larger interiors to explore.

Lastly, if you come late to the game like I did. Don't do the DLC until after you've completed the main game. The gear and equipment that come from the DLC completely ruin the sense of balancing the game does attempt to do with the weapons and armor, and makes even the hardcore experience no more than a trivial walk through the rest of the game.

Fallout New Vegas is a game set in the post apocalyptic wasteland of the Mojave leading up into city of Las Vegas. The storyline, in part, is the backdrop as a primary point of conflict for the New Californian Republic military and a rogue armed warlord Caesar and his Legion, styalized on Roman themes; with you the unlucky courier being thrown into the mix. What sets up a rather fantastic premise for a game based on the post apocalyptic genre turns into a game that begins to overstay its welcome going past the 60 hour mark. The first issue with the game is the tacked on SPECIAL and Skill system. This system setup seems to promote RPG elements but then turns out to have no great bearing on any of the gameplay aspects outside of crafting, NPC dialogue, lockpicking, and use of the VATS system - thus making the leveling portion of that aspect of the game feel needlessly wasted and leaving only the selection of Perks that can be chosen every other level to feel useful. In fact the game could do away with the SPECIAL and Skills entirely and the combat, the primary source of gameplay, would not miss it. Which leads us into the other problem with Fallout New Vegas. It fails on attempting to be an enjoyable shooter. Basing the game's weapon diversity on ammunition type creates inexplicable imbalances for why one rifle that fires 5.56mm has a grossly lower DPS than another rifle that fires 5.56mm; once we step outside of the SPECIAL/Skills system that poorly attempts to create a scaling value of arbitrary worth in weapons for a sense of RPG style progression. One thing that the developers of Fallout New Vegas did get right were the weapons. From standard to unique, there is a wide variety of weaponry that will please anyone who enjoys taking a variety of pew pew out to pop open heads with - from plasma to laser weaponry, to wildwest style cowboy repeaters and six-shooter magnums. And everyone should take the pleasure of going out and dropping a Fat Boy on a herd of Fallout's version of cattle. The soundtrack for the game is another place where FONV shines. It fits thematically with the genre the game is set in and with the story of how the game progressed to where it is as a post apocalyptic setting. The department responsible for the sound and music chose a very nice selection of 1940s to 1970s era music that features Frank Sinatra, Marty Robbins, and Peggy Lee. The music fits the setting and theme of the game, it is the setting that is in my opinion, the biggest drawback of the game. One of the important things about a post apocalyptic setting is to achieve that sense of desolate wasteland while balancing that mix of interaction where there is the splashes of color that mark human existance. The game does try to achieve this balance but falls short until the story progresses into New Vegas itself. These splashes of color could have come from the various places that it is possible to visit with over 50 locations to go outside of New Vegas itself - the gas stations, shacks, vaults, and other places but these places are so small and the run through them so fast that they are hardly memorable and fail to satisfy that need for 'something else' in the game that provides color and texture. I believe the game needed a smaller wasteland and larger interiors to explore. Lastly, if you come late to the game like I did. Don't do the DLC until after you've completed the main game. The gear and equipment that come from the DLC completely ruin the sense of balancing the game does attempt to do with the weapons and armor, and makes even the hardcore experience no more than a trivial walk through the rest of the game.