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halonachos wrote:I got this game for my brother for christmas, unfortunately that means I can't play it till christmas... although I got the guide and a $10 gift card with it so the $10 goes towards black ops HE and the guide is mine to read until I can play it.

Just give the guy an early pressie so you can play it now!

Kind of hard, he goes to VMI(Virginia Military Institute) and its his first year, he can't even say "I".


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Oh well, I guess I could learn how to shrink wrap it...

I am enjoying it, I really am but I must say Im somewhat dissapointed.

The most obvious side of New vegas is that it doesnt feel like a different game, its still buggy and has those frame rate problems which were an issue with Fallout 3. It uses same building models for some areas which isnt a huge issue considering the size of the game its understandable but some areas seem a little lazy. The entire game basically feels like a big expansion pack to Fallout 3 which is what I expected but I was hoping for a few improvements, I was also rather dissapointed that you cant continue the game after you finish the main quest, this was a problem with Fallout 3 which was only adressed in an expansion.

I also feel the game has one huge massive flaw, the Karma system. I did not care about the Fallout 3 karma system, it was actually appropriate. Fallout New Vegas on the otherhand claimed to have a far more sophisticated system which would make for a far less black and white game, more grey in all areas. But then the Karma system comes up and you lose Karma for killing NCR troops and you gain Karma for killing Caesers troops. I dont disagree with the morality of the situation I simply feel it is slightly cheapened by having your morality chosen for you when it claims otherwise.

My final complaint is New Vegas itself, for the main place of the game it is simply dissapointing. Its seen as this beautiful glowing paradise in the distance at night but when you actually get there its nothing more then four casino's, a gift shop and a art shop, none of which provide very many quests. Except of course the big ones in the 38. Least to say I was a tad dissapointed in the use of my 2000 caps in my excitement to finally get into New Vegas. In short dont rush to get there, there is far more to do outside.

Now that I have what was wrong with it out of my sytem I must add there is plenty of excellent features about New Vegas which makes it a must have purchase if you enjoyed Fallout 3, firstly Fallout 3 was an excellent game withy a fun combat system, intriguing story and great enemies, characters and quests. Fallout New Vegas only adds more stuff for you to do, its not better then Fallout 3 it simply adds to its world. It gives us a chance to see more of the Fallout Universe which is always a bonus considering how interesting the setting is, with new location comes new enemies, new factions and new adventures which are always welcome.

Some of the new enemies are fantastic like the classic BigHorners, the speedy Geckos and many more surprising nasties.
I do however believe this game has turned the difficulty up a really hard notch, playing on easy I regulary in some areas come across 5 Giant RadScorpions in a single area, mobs of Ghouls roaming randomly in the desert and of course the odd Ghoul Reaver or Super Mutant Master. Some of these I feel are absurd for early levels of the game and they pop up in the strangest places.

I encountered a Super Mutant Master only a little way East of the starting point on level 1 armed with the crappy Vermint Rifle. It certainly gives you a jump but it seems a little well strange.

I also think Cazzadors are a bit much, some areas are absolutely teeming with these things and not only are they lightning fast, they are poisonous and punch out massive damage in a very short amount of time. If you move very far South East unless you keep to the water you could be looking at about twenty of these guys every square mile.

Aside from my few complaints New Vegas is an excellent expansion to Fallout 3 but that is all it is, in truth it should have been named Fallout 3: New Vegas.


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BrookM wrote:Gah, it's a good thing I press quick save every five minutes because the game has a tendency to kick it when I finish quests.

I also stumbled across a bug where the BoS attacks me on sight, while I've never met them before.

Just out of curiosity but are you allied with the NCR. I simply ask because the Brotherhood and the New Californaian Republic arent friends, they both heavily disagree with how each other uses their technology and fought a huge bloody war about it. I havnt run into the brotherhood yet so Im not sure if that has anything to do with it.

By the sounds of the above, do the monsters spawn in a similar manner to Morrowind rather than having them level with you? I remember how some parts of the world you really couldn't go to because of the high leveled enemies that spawned there.

The Cazzadores sound a bit like the Cliff Racer problem, one that I'm less keen to experience again. >_>

I don't know about the issues with karma system, from what I've read and heard certain actions earn you favor or disfavor with different groups. The example you give with killing NCR troops is one of them, killing NCR troops make the NCR unhappy but seeing as though the NCR and Caeser's Legion are enemies, the Caeser's Legion like you for it.

Each faction should have a reputation for you that range from vilified to idolized(we want you dead to we really like you) and then you have an infamy/fame measure that you can't really see. Now with the infamy/fame it depends on what you do to people in the game, incredibly similar to the karma system, but the guide lists it as this:

Action to effect mind you.

Killing an evil character/creature------None
Killing a Very Evil character or creature.....+100
Murdering(unprovoked) a neutral or good creature...-25
Murdering(unprovoked) a neutral or good character...-100
Stealing from a non-evil faction....-5 per item
Donating caps...+(depends on number given)
Performing a "good" action in a free quest...>+50
Performing an "evil" action in a free quest...>-50

Okay, that was overall karma, but here's the Fame/Infamy for a faction.

Fame:
Giving a few caps to a kid....+1
Declining a minor reward.....+2
Helping with a nonvital task.+4
Saving someone's life..........+7
Saving many lives at great risk.+12

Infamy:
Saying something mean to an innocent..-1
Demanding excessive reward....-2
Beating someone severely/screwing them over...-4
Killing someone who didn't deserve it...-7
Killing groups that didn't deserve it...-12

Okay so to sum it up, during a quest you can perform an "evil" action and still gain fame or you could perform a "good" action and gain infamy. The example they give deals with Novac, during the quest if you help Novac that's good, but the NCR hates you for it.

Now, its not like you can choose the morality of the world because you're just one person, but you can decide if you want to be a dickbag or not by helping the dickbags or helping the non dickbags.

The map does look smaller and from what I've heard its about the same size as point lookout. Although it does look like there may be just a little bit more in terms of internal exploration, there's a couple of vaults and each one has their own personality and they doubled the amount of major factions. Instead of BoS and Enclave you have NCR, Caeser's Legion, Mr. House, and yourself. Yes, they added you as a major faction independent of all the others. For me this is pretty cool and the fact that you can choose to help them or not is also really cool, in Fallout 3 you had to help the BoS and had to fight the Enclave in this one you get to choose.

The ability to create ammo and mod weapons is a neat addition along with the ability to play cards and to cook food by following recipes. Hardcore mode is a lot like some of the mods for the PC version of Fallout 3, it adds weight to every piece of ammo along with several other things. In hardcore mode you must eat, drink, and sleep, stimpacks work over time and not instantly, also you can't heal damaged limbs with stims or by sleeping you have to see a doctor or use a doctor bag.

I would agree that it is not better than Fallout 3, yet. We have DLC coming out that will be microsoft "exclusive" and then we'll get either more area to go around in or the ability to travel around the world after the main quest is over. Until then we really can't compare this to Fallout 3, its like comparing an apple to an apple dipped in caramel and scanned for razors.

I just found this baby: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c9/China_Lake_4x40_REMOV.jpg

Gwar! wrote:I've played Fallout 3 to death, modded it to the point of breaking, played that, played it again then modded it some more.

Is there anything that NV really can offer?

Yes yes yes. New Vegas was made for exactly this kind of player.

Meh. I'm less than impressed with it, honestly. The world feels rather small - parts of Nevada, California, and Arizona, and I can walk from one side to the other in under 10 minutes? - the quests are pretty uninspired, and the combat mechanics actually feel a lot worse than FO3, though that could be the fact that a lot of enemies move ridiculously fast. I was hugely disappointed by New Vegas itself, as well as the weapon mod system - I'd really hoped they'd just basically copied and pasted the brilliant weapon mod mod (lol redundancy) that someone made for FO3, but unfortunately, they came up with their own, crappier version. I've clocked 18 hours played with it according to Steam, and near as I can tell I'm basically done. Also, more than a few bugs.

Seaward wrote: I've clocked 18 hours played with it according to Steam, and near as I can tell I'm basically done. Also, more than a few bugs.

I'm at the stage now where I have finished the main storyline several times and am now in the process of going around sweeping up all the minor quests I missed and the minor locations I didn't see but the game is pretty much done for me until further DLC is released so I guess I could be considered disappointed by this release which is a bloody shame because some of the game is outstanding; the whole Fallout world and backstory is such a boon, I hate to see it squandered.

I'm at a certain mission involving the NCR right now and a bug is preventing me from completing it the right way, so I'm going to stop playing and wait for a (fan) patch to arrive. Bah humbug. The game also stopped registering achievements for me, another cock up.

Talking of mods, you may find this site of use:

http://www.ripten.com/2010/10/24/five-essential-pc-mods-for-fallout-new-vegas/

Especially the FPS and colour mods.

Top! I'll give these a spin later today, I'm especially keen on seeing the improved UI and frame rate in action.

I have been playing this game non-stop for a week and its a lot of fun also the weird wasteland perk adds some good things I got attacked by some old ladys in pink dresses and found indianan jones ion a frigde dead.

ColdFire wrote: But then the Karma system comes up and you lose Karma for killing NCR troops and you gain Karma for killing Caesers troops. I dont disagree with the morality of the situation I simply feel it is slightly cheapened by having your morality chosen for you when it claims otherwise.

I can't understand this criticism. You say you accpet the morality: i.e., that NCR are good guys and Caesar's Legion are bad guys. If you harm the former, you're doing evil and so, yes, you "lose" Karma. But Karma isn't a resource in the sense that the more you have, the better. Having "more" just means you are good. Having "less" means you are bad. If you decide to help out the bad guys, it's hardly the game choosing your karma for you.

I've been watching Youtube walkthoughs... (as I have done for all of the fallout series).

From a spectator, I agree, more of the same, but one follows the game for more than just game play.
I like the mood and the character interactions.

I am a few more hours in and still loving it. I disagree with the people who find the game to be more of the same. The Hardcore setting has gotten me in the habit of sleeping regularly and eating/drinking when I get the chance (three things which add to realism, but I never did in FO3). I plan outings more carefully too. I like having a bit more control over companions as well. I think this is a great sequel.

Big Tim wrote:I am a few more hours in and still loving it. I disagree with the people who find the game to be more of the same. The Hardcore setting has gotten me in the habit of sleeping regularly and eating/drinking when I get the chance (three things which add to realism, but I never did in FO3). I plan outings more carefully too. I like having a bit more control over companions as well. I think this is a great sequel.

All the hardcore mode is is the Fallout Wanderers Edition mod for FO3...

I play on the 360 so this is the first time I've had the chance for this kind of play. If my PC wasn't so glitchy/ancient, I'd probably start Fallout on the PC for all the mods.

Gwar! wrote:All the hardcore mode is is the Fallout Wanderers Edition mod for FO3...

Not sure what your point is here. Gameplay-wise, the two titles are extremely similar. If you want to play with an entuirely different set of mechanics than FO3 then New Vegas is definitely not for you, hardcore mode or otherwise. The biggest difference between the games involves tone: the Capital Wasteland is much darker and bleaker overall whereas the Mojave Wasteland is less SRSBZNESS and more zany. It's really just like the difference between East and West coast culture, actually. If you're the kind of person who is still playing FO3 from time to time, New Vegas is for you.

Big Tim wrote:I am a few more hours in and still loving it. I disagree with the people who find the game to be more of the same. The Hardcore setting has gotten me in the habit of sleeping regularly and eating/drinking when I get the chance (three things which add to realism, but I never did in FO3). I plan outings more carefully too. I like having a bit more control over companions as well. I think this is a great sequel.

Really? I drink two bottles of water when my Water Meter hits 140. I eat two Gecko Steaks or whatever when my Food Meter does the same. I sleep for 12 hours when my Sleep Meter does the same. I'm probably going to turn it off if I keep playing, as it just doesn't do much for me.

Seaward wrote:
Really? I drink two bottles of water when my Water Meter hits 140. I eat two Gecko Steaks or whatever when my Food Meter does the same. I sleep for 12 hours when my Sleep Meter does the same. I'm probably going to turn it off if I keep playing, as it just doesn't do much for me.

I don't let my stats (eat/drink/sleep) get to 0. I treat it like more like a tabletop RPG where you don't always want to running yourself into the ground. I like hardcore because it got me to think about an aspect of the game I otherwise ignored, and I am having more fun now that I am paying closer attention to the character.

I'm with Seaward. I started in Hardcore Mode and turned it off pretty soon. It just didn't add much IMO. I think caps & ammo should have weight on hardcore mode or not, however. It's too big of a loophole.

Gwar! wrote:All the hardcore mode is is the Fallout Wanderers Edition mod for FO3...

As is a vast number of other changes to the game, weapon mods, ammo crafting and I believe 'cooking' were all community made F3 mods.

I've just started playing NV on the 360, and I've enjoyed it a lot so far, playing on Hardcore as well, sure it's buggy, and doesn't seem as big as F3, but I'm glad of this. How much time I wasted trawling through subway stations and across empty wasteland doesn't bear thinking about. After patches and the DLC, F3 was a brilliant game imo, and sure NV lacks a bit of polish, but given time and I reckon inevitable DLC packs, it'll be better than 3.

My tuppence.

Manchu wrote:

ColdFire wrote: But then the Karma system comes up and you lose Karma for killing NCR troops and you gain Karma for killing Caesers troops. I dont disagree with the morality of the situation I simply feel it is slightly cheapened by having your morality chosen for you when it claims otherwise.

I can't understand this criticism. You say you accpet the morality: i.e., that NCR are good guys and Caesar's Legion are bad guys. If you harm the former, you're doing evil and so, yes, you "lose" Karma. But Karma isn't a resource in the sense that the more you have, the better. Having "more" just means you are good. Having "less" means you are bad. If you decide to help out the bad guys, it's hardly the game choosing your karma for you.

My issue isnt so much with the Karma system as it is with the designers claiming that Fallout New Vegas was going to be a game of grey morality where no faction is trully good nor evil.

NCR:
The NCR is the lesser of two evils but its not perfect. Its terrible government and organization cannot operate efficiently because the Republic is way too spaced out and there are too few patrols to keep all of the territories safe, well fed or to deliver supplies. Its inneficiency but stubborness to remain in control isnt doing many places favours. The NCR is also not perfect because it forcibly takes control of settlements and lables them the property of the New Republic whether the locals like it or not. Not to mention the social problems this would cause the NCR then has the audacity to tax these people with the promise of protection which is never a guarantee.

Caesers Legion:
True that Caesers legion is a group of slavers who use innocent people for slave labour and crucify those who disrespect them but they are awfully efficient.
Provinces controlled by Caesers legion are well protected, free of drugs and alcohol and virtually crime free. As long as they are loyal to Caeser they have nothing to fear, if they choose to disobey then things arent so good but this is hardly different from the NCR or any other faction in Fallout. Caesers legion punishes those they deem criminals and they arent far off from what we label criminals as well, from drug dealers, thieves, murderers or even cannibals.

Neither side is trully perfect.

The NCR is bullying, controlling and inefficient but they arent as harsh or brutal as the legion.

The Legion is safe, efficient, crime free but ruled with an iron fist and run on fear.

I preordered it and have been playing it non-stop! I don't sleep anymore....I only sleep in the game because that is required in hardcore mode.

@Coldfire: I agree. I have no trouble identifying the bad guy.

NCR, right?

:p

Seriously, the Legion could have been a bit more subtle. The crucifixions kind of . . . nailed it?

Manchu wrote:Seriously, the Legion could have been a bit more subtle. The crucifixions kind of . . . nailed it?

It would have been nice to have a choice in where you start out, Legion or NCR with accompanying missions and stories....

FO protagonists are always "outsiders."

Yeah but the location and the plotline pushes you towards helping the NCR from the beginning because you have no ability to have positive contact with the legion (i.e. missions and so on) thus, no real choice in how the game progresses. Unless I'm missing something.