DirtyOldShoe
Some kind of lucky
I tote New Vegas as one of my favorite games, @Dr Fallout requested a full review of it and here it is. This is including all DLC.
18.5/22 points
84.09%
Interior/Clutter Design: 0.5
Very minimal, you don't notice so much in places like the Prospectors Saloon, but other places like Nipton are pretty bare. Novac is pretty good, while Legion camps are pretty bare as well. The DLC's all have some nice interiors and caves, very well designed and cluttered, while the Mojaves caves are some-what bare-bones. The Vaults in NV are pretty well designed and cluttered.
World Design: 0.5
Some people complain that the map of New Vegas is bottle necked from how you can get the area of New Vegas. I've not had an issue with this and find that there are three main routes, ranging from easy to difficult. I like the Desert feel, very reminiscent of Fallout 2 for me. Some areas could do with more foliage and less invisible walls imo, but it wasn't bad per-say, just could be improved on. I also would have like it if more of the interiors, or that doors actually function. I don't expect all of them to work, but an additional 50 or so would have been nice.
Atmosphere: 1
The atmosphere of Fallout New Vegas is by far one of its greatest qualities. For me, Everything from the people who live there to what they eat and where they are all complement the stories that are told within. From NPCs telling you tips on how to survive to placement and proximity to logical enemy to non-enemy placement. The factions all have a logical place and the reputation system gives all of them more weight and purpose. The game does have 50's aspects but I felt that science played a bigger part and actually forgot most of the time that there was 'supposed' to be a fifties feel. I felt that I could get immersed in the world and that that world would react to my character providing player agency and almost endless replayability.
Suspension of Disbelief/Balance: 1
The question "What do they eat?" is always answered. I feel that Fallout New Vegas was so well conceptualized and crafted that my Suspension of disbelief was almost never broken. Instead of listing everything that Obsidian did right, I will provide a short list of what was most breaking in this category. The legion's death squad, but only because it was the same 4 guys each time they spawn, and invisible walls. For me, literally everything else played well and 'made sense. As everything else, which constitutes so much of the game, was done so well any points removed from the kill squad and the walls is easily replenished.
Main Story Writing: 1
It is a new story, and that story changes based on how you play. Having a clean slate for a player really does allow you to make your own story within the limitation of the medium. The sheer amount of possibilities for the main story is ridiculous. The Story can be approached from many angles from kind to cruel to grey or completely avoided. The writing for the main quest respects the player, their intelligence and their choices. The main quest can be completed quick, or long, drawn out or never and in so many ways. I honestly can't think of any way they could have improved without sacrificing something fundamental.
Side Story Writing: 1
From deep companion backgrounds to uncover over time and valuable experiences. (siding with opposing factions offend them, actually doing things that are connected to their story, through out your travels earn meaningful points to their full story.) Every choice you make can change the shape of life and the Mojave, cleaning up Westside is always a favorite, or getting someone a gig in the Tops to perform awesome new songs. The best part of all these side quests is that they do something and you can see the results of your efforts.
Faction Story Writing: 1
Sometimes you don't even know you are doing a faction quest. Clearing out a quarry full of Death Claws. Investigating Nipton. Walking into the Prospectors Saloon. Every choice you make matters. There is always multiple ways of completing the quests and the writing fits all these groups, to their struggles and the gains they seek, even for the pathetic slaver group.
Dialogue: 1
As a token with all titles using Bethesda's engine, there is a limit to the amount of voice actors. The voice actors have a sense of urgency, vile, distrust, sarcasm and emotion. The lives of the characters have been thoroughly thought out to their lives, how they live, what they do and how they would get by. Why they are there and what Mojave has sculpted them into. Greetings make sense as they are mostly simple and cautious upon first meeting and aware enough that you are pointing a gun in their face. Some aspects are awkward like a kid talking about prostitutes like an adult would, but as everything else here was so well done, any deduction is replenished ten fold.
NPC Design: 0.5
Quest related non-hostile NPC were done very well. Based off of concept art for most of them. For the time frame these character in my opinion are top quality. Generic NPCs will always be a complaint as they draw from level lists and you get repeat faces, In Fallout New Vegas the only NPCs to use leveled lists are filler and are more of a scenery back drop. There was no mistake in giving a quest giver a leveled list face. I personally feel that all non-hostile NPCs should not use leveled lists and they should only be used for enemies. The lists should also have a wide selection of faces to draw from so repetition does not set in. For the use of leveled lists repetition sets in with Raiders and a few prospectors/settlers. Even though the quested NPCs were done so well. I have to deduct half a point for the poor use of leveled lists with Raiders and Settlers and for not making the residence of Prim unique. The people on the Strip do use leveled lists but they are diverse enough for it to not matter to me.
Combat: 1
At the time it was better then the predecessor and many who use TTW I hear like it for adding Iron sights to FO3. I don't play Fallout New Vegas to shoot things but it does work well. Could it be better? Everything can be. Is it downright bad/ broken or immersion breaking? No. I can't find any faults with the technical side and the enemies never came across as bullet sponges. NPCs are combat aware and function how I expect. There is enough diverse fighting styles that and fighting templates that combat has not gotten old for me.
AI: 1
Do NPCs get stuck and glitch out? No. Do NPCs have packages to do things? Yes. Do they have difficulty doing those things? No. Do your followers bug out, stop following or act more odd then normal? No.
Weapon/Armor Design: 1
Though there was a lot of variety, there wasn't much customization. I do like degradation on weapons and armor though. I am a bit meh on the armor and cloths, but I love the weapons.
Crafting: 1
Crafting was pretty good. A lot of food, demolitions, repair kits, doctor bags. No weapon crafting, but there were mods and tons of weapons to choose from.
Player Character: 1
Because the player had only a title and no back story it left the door wide open for DPA-RPG and replayability. Blank slate is the best way to go in an DPA-RPG.
Player Creation: 0
It was really just a re-skin of Bethesda's and Bethesda's was not good, limited options and blurry hard to navigate interface.
Attributes/Skills/Perks: 1
Attributes tied in with the player seamlessly, though a bit too easy to improve later in game. Skills were balanced and rewarding and perks were also rewarding through the somewhat hidden 'challenges' system.
Loot: 0.5
The loot in Fallout New Vegas was limited but also rewarding. What there lacked in mass unique loot was somewhat made up for in unique and rare items in set locations. The junk that scatted the land seemed indigenous to the area, though more junk and foods would have been welcome.
Voice Acting: 1
Awesome and memorable, non-repetitive, so much emotion and inflection. Name any NPC and I could probably quote them or explain my understanding of their personality.
Player/NPC interaction: 1
Everywhere and in every way, hard to put into words. Companion wheels brought Fallout back to the original drop down companion options. So well done.
Replayability: 1
As stated so many times so far. Fallout New Vegas has so much replayability if only for the player not having a back-story, but there are so many other contributing factors.
Exploration: 0.5
Exploration was good for quest and location discovery, but not much else. I was very curious to see the Strip when I first played, but unfortunately many locations are not overly cluttered, the ones that are, are instant favorites, the others are somewhat forgettable.
Sound/Music: 1
Stunning and incredible 10/10 Zion is a god of music. The radio music is a delight. The New songs for Tops are brilliant. Only complaint is the repetitive NCR track in NCR areas.
18.5/22 points
84.09%
Interior/Clutter Design: 0.5
Very minimal, you don't notice so much in places like the Prospectors Saloon, but other places like Nipton are pretty bare. Novac is pretty good, while Legion camps are pretty bare as well. The DLC's all have some nice interiors and caves, very well designed and cluttered, while the Mojaves caves are some-what bare-bones. The Vaults in NV are pretty well designed and cluttered.
World Design: 0.5
Some people complain that the map of New Vegas is bottle necked from how you can get the area of New Vegas. I've not had an issue with this and find that there are three main routes, ranging from easy to difficult. I like the Desert feel, very reminiscent of Fallout 2 for me. Some areas could do with more foliage and less invisible walls imo, but it wasn't bad per-say, just could be improved on. I also would have like it if more of the interiors, or that doors actually function. I don't expect all of them to work, but an additional 50 or so would have been nice.
Atmosphere: 1
The atmosphere of Fallout New Vegas is by far one of its greatest qualities. For me, Everything from the people who live there to what they eat and where they are all complement the stories that are told within. From NPCs telling you tips on how to survive to placement and proximity to logical enemy to non-enemy placement. The factions all have a logical place and the reputation system gives all of them more weight and purpose. The game does have 50's aspects but I felt that science played a bigger part and actually forgot most of the time that there was 'supposed' to be a fifties feel. I felt that I could get immersed in the world and that that world would react to my character providing player agency and almost endless replayability.
Suspension of Disbelief/Balance: 1
The question "What do they eat?" is always answered. I feel that Fallout New Vegas was so well conceptualized and crafted that my Suspension of disbelief was almost never broken. Instead of listing everything that Obsidian did right, I will provide a short list of what was most breaking in this category. The legion's death squad, but only because it was the same 4 guys each time they spawn, and invisible walls. For me, literally everything else played well and 'made sense. As everything else, which constitutes so much of the game, was done so well any points removed from the kill squad and the walls is easily replenished.
Main Story Writing: 1
It is a new story, and that story changes based on how you play. Having a clean slate for a player really does allow you to make your own story within the limitation of the medium. The sheer amount of possibilities for the main story is ridiculous. The Story can be approached from many angles from kind to cruel to grey or completely avoided. The writing for the main quest respects the player, their intelligence and their choices. The main quest can be completed quick, or long, drawn out or never and in so many ways. I honestly can't think of any way they could have improved without sacrificing something fundamental.
Side Story Writing: 1
From deep companion backgrounds to uncover over time and valuable experiences. (siding with opposing factions offend them, actually doing things that are connected to their story, through out your travels earn meaningful points to their full story.) Every choice you make can change the shape of life and the Mojave, cleaning up Westside is always a favorite, or getting someone a gig in the Tops to perform awesome new songs. The best part of all these side quests is that they do something and you can see the results of your efforts.
Faction Story Writing: 1
Sometimes you don't even know you are doing a faction quest. Clearing out a quarry full of Death Claws. Investigating Nipton. Walking into the Prospectors Saloon. Every choice you make matters. There is always multiple ways of completing the quests and the writing fits all these groups, to their struggles and the gains they seek, even for the pathetic slaver group.
Dialogue: 1
As a token with all titles using Bethesda's engine, there is a limit to the amount of voice actors. The voice actors have a sense of urgency, vile, distrust, sarcasm and emotion. The lives of the characters have been thoroughly thought out to their lives, how they live, what they do and how they would get by. Why they are there and what Mojave has sculpted them into. Greetings make sense as they are mostly simple and cautious upon first meeting and aware enough that you are pointing a gun in their face. Some aspects are awkward like a kid talking about prostitutes like an adult would, but as everything else here was so well done, any deduction is replenished ten fold.
NPC Design: 0.5
Quest related non-hostile NPC were done very well. Based off of concept art for most of them. For the time frame these character in my opinion are top quality. Generic NPCs will always be a complaint as they draw from level lists and you get repeat faces, In Fallout New Vegas the only NPCs to use leveled lists are filler and are more of a scenery back drop. There was no mistake in giving a quest giver a leveled list face. I personally feel that all non-hostile NPCs should not use leveled lists and they should only be used for enemies. The lists should also have a wide selection of faces to draw from so repetition does not set in. For the use of leveled lists repetition sets in with Raiders and a few prospectors/settlers. Even though the quested NPCs were done so well. I have to deduct half a point for the poor use of leveled lists with Raiders and Settlers and for not making the residence of Prim unique. The people on the Strip do use leveled lists but they are diverse enough for it to not matter to me.
Combat: 1
At the time it was better then the predecessor and many who use TTW I hear like it for adding Iron sights to FO3. I don't play Fallout New Vegas to shoot things but it does work well. Could it be better? Everything can be. Is it downright bad/ broken or immersion breaking? No. I can't find any faults with the technical side and the enemies never came across as bullet sponges. NPCs are combat aware and function how I expect. There is enough diverse fighting styles that and fighting templates that combat has not gotten old for me.
AI: 1
Do NPCs get stuck and glitch out? No. Do NPCs have packages to do things? Yes. Do they have difficulty doing those things? No. Do your followers bug out, stop following or act more odd then normal? No.
Weapon/Armor Design: 1
Though there was a lot of variety, there wasn't much customization. I do like degradation on weapons and armor though. I am a bit meh on the armor and cloths, but I love the weapons.
Crafting: 1
Crafting was pretty good. A lot of food, demolitions, repair kits, doctor bags. No weapon crafting, but there were mods and tons of weapons to choose from.
Player Character: 1
Because the player had only a title and no back story it left the door wide open for DPA-RPG and replayability. Blank slate is the best way to go in an DPA-RPG.
Player Creation: 0
It was really just a re-skin of Bethesda's and Bethesda's was not good, limited options and blurry hard to navigate interface.
Attributes/Skills/Perks: 1
Attributes tied in with the player seamlessly, though a bit too easy to improve later in game. Skills were balanced and rewarding and perks were also rewarding through the somewhat hidden 'challenges' system.
Loot: 0.5
The loot in Fallout New Vegas was limited but also rewarding. What there lacked in mass unique loot was somewhat made up for in unique and rare items in set locations. The junk that scatted the land seemed indigenous to the area, though more junk and foods would have been welcome.
Voice Acting: 1
Awesome and memorable, non-repetitive, so much emotion and inflection. Name any NPC and I could probably quote them or explain my understanding of their personality.
Player/NPC interaction: 1
Everywhere and in every way, hard to put into words. Companion wheels brought Fallout back to the original drop down companion options. So well done.
Replayability: 1
As stated so many times so far. Fallout New Vegas has so much replayability if only for the player not having a back-story, but there are so many other contributing factors.
Exploration: 0.5
Exploration was good for quest and location discovery, but not much else. I was very curious to see the Strip when I first played, but unfortunately many locations are not overly cluttered, the ones that are, are instant favorites, the others are somewhat forgettable.
Sound/Music: 1
Stunning and incredible 10/10 Zion is a god of music. The radio music is a delight. The New songs for Tops are brilliant. Only complaint is the repetitive NCR track in NCR areas.
