Fallout 3 had its glitches and its problems but, all in all, we loved it and so too did the general game playing masses. It was released at just about exactly the same time as Fable II was released a couple of years back and perhaps coincidentally, the latest chapter in the post apocalyptic role playing game is being released at just about exactly the same time as Fable III. Both games certainly concentrate on the decision making process as much as they do on the levelling up and improvement of your character’s statistics and both have their similarities to their forerunners.
Fallout: New Vegas is similar to Fallout 3. The setting is different but strikingly similar in its design (it is, after all, the same nuclear wasteland). You also rely heavily on your Pip-Boy to get around and to generally organise your life.
The whole decision making process and the consequences of those decisions has changed. The last game was, in hindsight, limited in this respect. You basically chose the good path or the bad path. However, Fallout: New Vegas has multiple factions and your actions which can be decidedly grey rather than simply black or white, will not only determine your popularity and reactions from others in the whole game world but also with each of the factions.
The design of the gaming world is also improved. Fallout 3’s Capital Wasteland was massive but that meant a lot of needless and frankly irritating trekking around. The Nevada setting preferred in the new game is quite different. It’s more confined but this improves the gamplay as there’s an equal amount of stuff to do but in a slightly smaller space. Bigger isn’t always necessarily better.
In many respects Fallout: New Vegas is the game that Fallout 3 should have been and that’s some going because its predecessor was a massive and largely very entertaining game.
