It never ends! First, our esteemed host, Atomic Gamer.<blockquote>Of course, it's not all sprawling deserts and blowing tumbleweeds, as the title also does a fantastic job of capturing the look and feel of its setting with plenty of eye-catching touches. Small towns are dripping with Old West-meets-nuclear winter touches, government installations have an affective Area 51 flavor, and Route 66-like landmarks, such as a giant dinosaur statue, keep things interesting. Additionally, a look-and-touch approach is being taken with these presentation-pushing structures littering the dilapidated landscape. That giant dino, for example, doubles as a sniper's nest, allowing squatters to sit in its mouth, take cover behind its choppers, and pick off wasteland wanderers with ease. There's also a town that hosts a rickety old wooden roller coaster as its centerpiece. And again, this is an item that can be traversed or used to complement your strategic combat options. Also, I didn't get to see these areas during my demo, but the developers are promising plenty of surprises on the Vegas strip and at Hoover Dam.</blockquote>Giant Bomb (thanks Ausir).<blockquote>Show of hands: who used companions in Fallout 3? I didn't. Did you? Obsidian wants you to use them in New Vegas, though. They're encouraging you to make friends by giving you the companion wheel, an easier and more immediate way to give your buddies orders about how to behave, outfit them with weapons and gear, and tell them to heal themselves. I'll be honest, I really like to lone-wolf my way through Bethesda-style open RPGs, but if you do want to enlist aid in New Vegas, it looks like the wheel will make it a lot more pleasant to do so.
The designers are going to greater lengths to give the companions personalities and back stories. The one I got to see was Raul, a feisty ghoul being held captive by a cross-dressing super mutant named Tabitha, who was herself protected by the nightkin, a stealthy breed of super mutant that can turn itself nearly invisible. Whether or not you enlist Raul's help--and he did seem quite capable with a firearm--in typical Fallout fashion, it was possible to more creatively solve the nightkin problem by using a radio broadcast to pit the super mutants against each other rather than blasting your way blindly through every last one of them.</blockquote>Yahoo!<blockquote>New Vegas's developers aren't ready to talk about what they'll be doing with the city's iconic, thrill-packed Strip, but they're not above dropping a few clues. You'll certainly be able to visit it, although you'll need to earn your way in. Specific, real-world Vegas businesses aren't likely to be included -- this is supposed to be an alternate future, after all -- but judging from Fallout 3's often eerie portrayal of D.C.'s ruined landmarks, there's bound to be something you'll recognize. And we're betting some traditional Vegas pastimes will be on offer, too.
Wandering the waste.
But one real-life area they were ready to show off is Helios One, a sun-powered electricity generating facility closely modeled on the Solar One power station that's located about an hour south of Vegas. You're tasked with repairing it, but having done so, you're presented with a choice: do you give the power to the outwardly benevolent New California Republic? Or to their foes, Vegas-based slavers Caesar's Legion? Or both? Or do you keep it for yourself, turning the power station into your own personal superweapon? </blockquote>
The designers are going to greater lengths to give the companions personalities and back stories. The one I got to see was Raul, a feisty ghoul being held captive by a cross-dressing super mutant named Tabitha, who was herself protected by the nightkin, a stealthy breed of super mutant that can turn itself nearly invisible. Whether or not you enlist Raul's help--and he did seem quite capable with a firearm--in typical Fallout fashion, it was possible to more creatively solve the nightkin problem by using a radio broadcast to pit the super mutants against each other rather than blasting your way blindly through every last one of them.</blockquote>Yahoo!<blockquote>New Vegas's developers aren't ready to talk about what they'll be doing with the city's iconic, thrill-packed Strip, but they're not above dropping a few clues. You'll certainly be able to visit it, although you'll need to earn your way in. Specific, real-world Vegas businesses aren't likely to be included -- this is supposed to be an alternate future, after all -- but judging from Fallout 3's often eerie portrayal of D.C.'s ruined landmarks, there's bound to be something you'll recognize. And we're betting some traditional Vegas pastimes will be on offer, too.
Wandering the waste.
But one real-life area they were ready to show off is Helios One, a sun-powered electricity generating facility closely modeled on the Solar One power station that's located about an hour south of Vegas. You're tasked with repairing it, but having done so, you're presented with a choice: do you give the power to the outwardly benevolent New California Republic? Or to their foes, Vegas-based slavers Caesar's Legion? Or both? Or do you keep it for yourself, turning the power station into your own personal superweapon? </blockquote>
