Gryphon Gazette

The student news site of Animo Pat Brown Charter High School

The student news site of Animo Pat Brown Charter High School

Gryphon Gazette

The student news site of Animo Pat Brown Charter High School

Gryphon Gazette

    Fallout: New Vegas Review

    Fallout: New Vegas was released on October 19, 2010 and was considered the best game in the franchise at the time. New Vegas had a development cycle of 18 months right after Fallout 3 was released. Both Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas used the Gamebryo engine, however, New Vegas improved on Fallout 3’s source code, with some graphics rendering improvements and new art assets, while also reworking the engine to accommodate the extra lights and effects of the Las Vegas Strip. Since the game runs very similar to Fallout 3, the gameplay and controls are also similar. The game offers an enjoyable experience as it includes a bigger open world than Fallout 3, better game mechanics, runs smoothly and includes 4 larger downloadable content expansion packs. Obsidian Entertainment also refined the real-time shooting mechanics and added iron sights aiming to make playing without V.A.T.S a more viable option than it was in Fallout 3. Throughout my many playthroughs of New Vegas, I have learned how to take many different routes to different locations. When starting the game off, an introduction cutscene will play that explains your role in the story. You are a courier in the Mojave Wasteland that was tasked to deliver a mysterious package. You get ambushed, shot in the head and left for dead. Somehow you survive and get hauled to a doctor in Goodsprings by a mono-wheeled robot named Victor. It is here when you create your character and pick your skills. After that, you find the man that tried to kill you and exact your revenge. After that, you get involved with the factions in the game. The NCR (North California Republic) is a militaristic group that wants to rid the wasteland of raiders and bring peace to the Mojave wasteland. Though very large in numbers, the NCR is prone to corruptions within their ranks and may cause more problems than solve them. Caesar’s Legion is a roman themed faction of slavers armed with close ranged weapons and sporting crimson football gear. They seek dominance in the Mojave Wasteland in order to rid of the “degenerates” through fear tactics such as beheadings and crucifixion. They essentially keep the roads safe at the cost of barbaric cruelty being inflicted upon you if you were to go against their leader. Mr House, a pre-war billionaire (and Fallout’s interpretation of Howard Hughes) wants you to side with him in order to keep both the NCR and Caesar’s Legion from gaining control of the Wasteland and to keep the Vegas Strip secure by making both side neutral if you manage to wipe out the other smaller factions. Or you can go on your own path and keep the Vegas Strip for yourself and assert your power into the wasteland by removing both the NCR and the Legion.

    Since this is a role-playing game (a Bethesda game especially), expect some strange things to happen during your playthroughs such as bugged quests or glitches that can give you an advantage in the game. For example, a quest requires you to observe an experiment taking place, if you leave the area and come back the experiment will never end and thus, will prevent you from completing the quest. If you are playing on PC then you can open up console commands and type a command that allows the quest to completed. If these bugs were encountered on console, then there is nothing you can do about. I believe the PC version is better because of mod compatibility. Mods are downloadable content made by 3rd party developers and can add a lot of content that can change your experience in the game. For example, you can add mods that add armor and weapons from a game that isn’t Fallout or Bethesda related. I had so much fun running around decapitating NPCs with an Energy sword from the Halo series while wearing Boba Fett’s armor from the Star Wars series.

    In conclusion, this game is still lots of fun (despite my numerous playthroughs) and should be considered a must-play for any Bethesda fan.

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