Fallout: New Vegas, the new RPG from Obsidian Entertainment and Bethesda Softworks, is a worthy new entry into the Fallout series of console games. Although Fallout: New Vegas contains many similar gameplay elements as its predecessors, it is not an official sequel and can be played and enjoyed even if you are unfamiliar with what came before.
As the story opens, it is the year 2281, four years after the events of Fallout 3. This is a post-apocalyptic world in which buildings have crumbled and mutated creatures roam the Mojave Wasteland. The sensibilities have reverted back to that surreal pre-1960s Cold War America, where patriotism ruled the land.
As you travel across The Wasteland, you will discover small, ruined towns. Las Vegas, however, has been left pretty much untouched.
The world is divided into two opposing factions: the New California Republic and Caesar’s Legion, which fashions itself after armies of the Roman empire. It will eventually be up to you to choose where your sympathies lie. This will determine how the factions relate to you. For this reason, the replay value of Fallout: New Vegas is high.
As the game begins, your character, the Courier (whom you will be able to rename later), is carrying a package containing a platinum poker chip and New California Republic war documents. A shot rings out and you are left for dead. Your would-be assassin is Benny Gecko, a dapper Don Draper-type clad in a black and white checked suit, who is accompanied by his thuggish cronies. No, you haven’t finished the game before you’ve started. You are rescued by a robot named Victor, who delivers you to Doc Mitchell in the town of Goodsprings. There, you are patched up and given the opportunity to choose the attributes for your character (name, age, gender, appearance, etc.). After that, you are sent on your way to explore the Wasteland, attempt to find your stolen package and get answers to the many questions you have.
You carry with you at all times your Pip-Boy 3000, a PDA-like piece of equipment which compiles your stats and abilities; your inventory; and your data, which includes maps, quest info, notes, and access to any radio signals you are able to pick up. The radio broadcasts a lot of "good ol’ boy" tunes and great for some comic relief.
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