New Vegas Grave WIP

New Vegas.

About three years ago I was the one that used to buy all the lastest games. Nowadays my young nephews are the ones that are getting the games. Luckily I'm able to play them as well (unfortunately, neither of them is interested in getting Dragon Age 2, so I'll have to get that myself ) And this past holiday season they got a pretty good haul, also for their birthdays which are close together. They got "Dead Space 2," "Dead Rising 2" (games I wouldn't have chosen for them but they've played worse ), "Fable III" "Black Ops" and "New Vegas."

I saw them play "Fable II" last year (or the year before, don't remember when it came out) and it looked pretty cool, so I tried "Fable III". It was pretty fun and I created a female character, but I only played it for a couple of days. "Dead Space 2" was also pretty cool (never played the first one) but I only played that one day, I might go back to it. "Black Ops" was awesome but once I finished the single player there really wasn't any reason to replay it (I'm not much for online playing )

But "Fallout New Vegas" that was really fun. I played it for about two months, then I had to do some stuff that took away my game time (it's been about three months since I last played it, I'll probably just start over again). I doubt I got very far in the main quest, but then if it's anything like "Fallout 3" or "Oblivion" the main quest is probably a lot shorter than you'd expect. But then again all the side quests and sub plots is where most of the fun is anyway I did get to Vegas, had that reunion with Benny, met Mr. House, also got Boone, Veronica, and ED-E has companions.

I have to admit I was a little worried when I heard Obsidian was doing "New Vegas" and not Bethesda. Obsidian is one of those guys you get when you can't get the best, "Bioware," or "Bethesda". Thankfully, they were up to the task. I think it really helped that they didn't really change anything, in fact, it's like they just took "Fallout 3" and just wrote an entirely new story. There is really NO difference in the graphics and the gameplay mechanics are pretty much identicle. Though they did tweak some things, aiming actually looks to be more determined by what you aim at rather than a dice roll. If you aim and shoot someone in the face you're more than likely to shoot them in the face, whereas in FO3 there's a chance you might shoot them in the leg. This is aiming outside of VATS. VATS is a little improved as that Bullet Time moments look just cooler

Other little things, like female characters actually walk like females, with a little swing to their hips though everyone's left arm is still longer than their right But they did not change the character creations one bit, so you can make your character look exactly like they did in the previous game. So far, I think Fallout 3 had the better story, but then again, I doubt I'm halfway through New Vegas so I can't say for certain, but I done a lot of quests and missions that were just awesome. And Boone and Veronica are great as companions, they can even participate in certain quests, very much like "Mass Effect 2" loyalty missions.

Being able to upgrade your weapons and make your own ammo, are also welcomed additions. But the one thing that does set "New Vegas" apart from "Fallout 3" is the Hardcore mode. If you play with the Hardcore mode off, then it really is like playing a new "Fallout 3" game, otherwise it a very new experience.

When I first heard of Hardcore mode, I thought I was never going to play it, but once your about to step outside for the first time (after waking up) the game ask you if whether or not you want to play the Hardcore mode. I decided to give it a chance, and I never turned it off. With Hardcore every item you carry, weapons, clothes, food, and even ammo (which was weightless in FO 3) has weight. In a sense it's a lot like "Oblivion" because everything you carried also had weight, but in "New Vegas" your character will also need to sleep, drink water, and eat, or they begin to get sick. It also hampers fast travel since you won't be allowed to travel if the journey's distance result in your character dying of thirst or starvation. So the new "Survivial" skill is very important in this mode as it allows you to cook food with higher benefit points, such as how many health points you heal per second (healing is not instantaneous, even with stimpaks. ). And you can only heal injuries with med kits.

It really adds a new challenge without making it frustrating. You really need to plan when you venture out. Make sure you have enough food, water, and weapons just in case you get into serious trouble. I think I made it up to level 23 and I still couldn't kill a Deathclaw

I really need to get back to the game and finish it before I run into end spoilers. Don't worry, this sketch is not a spoiler, this actually happens in the opening intro of the game. This is just my courier (I named her Scout, she has red hair) who looks nothing like how I made her in the game, when Matthew Perry-- I mean, Benny shoots her in the head