Fallout New Vegas Has Landed... - by warcrow
Ostriig on 19/10/2010 at 14:23
Quote Posted by dethtoll
I'm running my own private collection- in fact, aside from Mothership Zeta and the Pitt, I have separate ones for the DLC!
All the music files are set after the defaults, so the defaults are included too. PM me your email address and I'll toss the whole shebang over- the 'default' FO3 one is roughly 1GB though!
The default game contains music from:
[...]
Wow, you've definitely put a lot of time in this! It's a pity it can't go up on Nexus for copyright reasons, especially since it looks like you've got a few commercial label tracks in there, not just games soundtracks.
But e-mail won't cut it for this, as I recall attachments are still capped at 10/20 meg. Megaupload maybe? I'd only be interested in the vanilla F3 part, I don't have the DLC packs.
Obsidian are nothing if not consistent. From a technical standpoint, anyway.
warcrow on 19/10/2010 at 14:47
I played through the X360 version of Fallout New Vegas on Hardcore mode, completing it in roughly 40 hours. Going into the game I set a goal to participate in a fair amount of side quests while mainly focusing on the main storyline so I could finish up by Monday. Although I did complete the game, I'm afraid I didn’t even get to do half of the side quests--this game feels big! Though it’s not apparent at first, it sinks in about 10 hours into the game how much stuff there is to do in the Vegas wasteland. Anyway I'm writing up a very detailed review but here is what it all boils down to for the curious (remember, this is a brief overview).
Let’s just get this out of the way--Fallout New Vegas is a really good game. I think it actually surpasses the original Fallout 3 (proper, not including the DLC) in terms of its writing and plot, but falls behind technically because of bugs and hitches (more on this later).
I know this may sounds odd to hear but for an open world game the layering of main quests and side quests is well placed. Its structure allows for a nice flow of gameplay and story, and seeing (participating) in it unravel is really enjoyable in all aspects of a game. The sidekicks are more interesting than Fallout 3s as they demonstrate more personality and side quests for you to participate in (at least mine did.)
Playing Hardcore mode I had braced myself for a very strict challenge in provision and health management, but I was shocked to find that I really only hit a consistent wall with inventory management--particularly because of the ammo (which I would promptly ditch since I had so much). Hardcore mode isn’t as crazy as I thought it would be, but it was a fun. I think it's a nice feature that made the overall experience more exciting and interesting. At one point in the game I had no water resources on me; I was completely dehydrated to the point where it had a negative physical effect on me and I was scrambling. I was rushing through dilapidated rooms of an old apartment looking for ANYTHING to drink, and running into one room I eventually found a sink. Despite the inevitable radiation affects I just gulped down a few bucks worth. Relieved I stepped back, flipped on my Pipboy flashlight to loot the room and was disguised to find what I had done--drank out a goddamn toilet. It was awesome that Hardcore mode drove me to that ridiculous of a point. :)
A quick rundown--what else is cool?
Skill checks that effect dialog trees--or better yet, ones that have no effect--are now clearly marked with a red box. You can save your game at any point--even when enemies are nearby. Work Benches allow you to create cool stuff, like bombs and stimpacks, from all the junk in your backpack. The Reloading Bench allows you to create more powerful ammo that's great to switch to for tougher foes (but will wear down your weapon more quickly). Perks can be unlocked via in-game achievements, so for instance killing 75 bugs unlocks the Bug Stomper perk increasing damage. You can have one sidekick in your party along with Rex (the dog, who kind of weak). All Vegas table games are really well done (some of the best I've seen in a video game) and very fun to participate in.
The game, overall, has a warmer feel to it due to the blue skies, the soft electric glow of signs (electricity!), the amber UI and in some cases less destruction to the terrain. Weapons now have a DPS rating so it's much easier to see what your real damage output is.
The technical issues I experienced were pretty crazy. The game crashed several times on me forcing a restart (as in, rebooting the X360). One time the gambling interface completely disappeared on me and I was no longer able to play blackjack until I reloaded a previous save game. One time I picked some berries and the ground texture suddenly transformed into a gigantic blurry mess. Several times enemies got stuck in environmental pieces like walls or a rocks. Load times can, at times, reach ridiculous levels even when installed on the 360s HDD. The worst offender of it all was the degradation of the frame rate over time. Twice I had to clear the cache on my console, reboot it and then everything was fine for a while, but there were certain moments in the game where the hitching was bad despite this. If just feels like it could be a little more optimized technically.
Also I want to add a note that the cursing in the game got to a point where I was sort of winced. It’s not that I’m offended by foul language when it has its place, but there were times in New Vegas where it felt forced and unnecessary. Fallout 3, I felt, was able to get their point across without any cursing whatsoever. So fair warning to those sensitive about this stuff. I'm usually not bothered by this sort of thing and for whatever reason it was a bother in a few places.
Overall the game is great! It doesn’t feel like it could have been Fallout 3 DLC, but has its own place as a proper sequel. It's got new weapons, tons of interesting characters to chat with, a (seeming) million places to visit and an interesting plot. There are some truly epic moments in the game that everyone open-world gamer should experience. The factions add an exciting effect to your place in the world, and at the very least add another interesting dimension to it all. Listen, if you loved Fallout 3 then you will love Fallout New Vegas--possible more so if you can get through the glitches.
warcrow on 19/10/2010 at 17:49
Quote Posted by Ostriig
That makes sense, then. I knew he's a journalist but I'd originally thought the game might've come out in the US a full week ahead of the EU, not too uncommon a practice.
Just a polite correction here: Not a journalist. :)
Sulphur on 19/10/2010 at 18:00
That's my bad, actually. So... correction: you work in the industry. As what, though? You do reviews, do you not?
warcrow on 19/10/2010 at 20:43
Quote Posted by Sulphur
That's my bad, actually. So... correction: you work in the industry. As what, though? You do reviews, do you not?
I've done a few freelance gigs but I mostly write/review stuff for my blog (
http://eat-games.blogspot.com) I.Eat.Games.
negativeliberty on 20/10/2010 at 15:27
Quote Posted by warcrow
Also I want to add a note that the cursing in the game got to a point where I was sort of winced. It’s not that I’m offended by foul language when it has its place, but there were times in New Vegas where it felt forced and unnecessary. Fallout 3, I felt, was able to get their point across without any cursing whatsoever. So fair warning to those sensitive about this stuff. I'm usually not bothered by this sort of thing and for whatever reason it was a bother in a few places.
Fallout 3 had strong language in places, not enough of it in my opinion (if used correctly). Also this is a pretty weird point to make for a game with plenty of gore, but I guess some people are sensitive about those things. But unless you played some weird edited version of the original Fallout games I'd say strong language is definitely in place.
Overall sounds promising though, aside from the bugfest. Might just wait for the GOTY version because you know it'll have all the "DLC" they're stockpiling and hopefully some of the more serious bugs will have been adressed. Who knows, someone might've even modded in a TARDIS somewhere by then :laff:
warcrow on 20/10/2010 at 16:27
I've been getting PMs, IMs and tweets asking various questions about the game and strategies, so I've decided to create a bit of a protips post! I'm going to put them all in one pro-place so all the tips can be protips for everyone who wants to be pro!
PS - I'm not a pro--and I certainly dont know everyhting about the game--but I'll do my best to share some of the knowledge I've aquired through my experience with the game.
Saving
Don't reply on the autosave system. Create at least 6 manual save slots and rotate them every 10-15 minutes. This will save your ass, and not necessarily because of bugs either, in the future. It's a good practice that doesn't take up very much time and can save you a mountain of frustration later in the game. I speak from experience.
X360 Performance
If you're experiencing hitching/stuttering/extensive load times then clear the cache on your HDD and reboot the system. This helped me out in most cases where I experienced performance issues. It's a bit of a pain to deal with, and frankly shouldn't have to be done, but FNV is an excellent game making this all worthwhile. :)
Invisible Walls
There are some places (not located at the edge of the game world) that have invisible walks restricting access. In my experience they tend to be located around rocks and ledges to prevent jumping/slipping around areas to gain early or unwanted access. It's annoying. So fair warning there are areas that might look accessible via shortcut but, in actuality, are not.
Hardcore mode & Health
When you experience a limb injury you have two options in HC mode--see a doc or use a Doctors Bag. Here's the best practice I found.
Remember the locations of all the doctors you meet (there isn't a lot out there so it's no real feat) and fast travel to them before using the doctors bag. Fast travel is possible in HC mode when you have a limb injury. :) Doctor Bags should be reserved only for missions where you cannot fast travel, like missions located indoors like caves or bunkers. I would recommend keeping a stock of about 10 Doctor Bags in your pack at all times. At 1lb apiece they do add up.
Empty bottles
Though I wish it were a feature (especially in HC mode) you cannot--at least in my experience--fill empty bottles with water.
Food
be careful, some food and drinks (sodas) actually increase your thirst levels. This can bit you in the ass in the most inappropriate times.
Leveling
The level cap is set to 30
Companions
You can have a total of Rex (the dog) + 1 companion in your party. Try not to lose track if them. If they manage to disappear then "wait" in the location you last saw them for a few days and they should find their way to you. In HC mode this will require a LOT if food and water so heads up! Also try visiting their homebase (where you met them) to see if they snapped there.
Health
There are warnings, located right above the compass, alerting you when you reach critical levels for food, water, sleep & limb damage. All negative (& positive) effects ate located on your Pipboy under Stats> Status> EFF.
Housing
At the risk of spoiling I'm going to answer this one in public: Yes there is a house, or suite rather, that you aquire in the game that is similar to the Ten Penny suite in Fallout 3. Yes there are upgrades you can purchase for it too.
Bobbleheads
There are no bobbleheads in the game, but there are snowglobes. The snowglobes can be sold to a collector for a large sums of money, but do not boost stats like the bobbleheads. Plus, there is a display case for the bobbleheads in your home much like the bobblehead case in Fallout 3.
Sulphur on 20/10/2010 at 19:15
That's, like, Silent Hill-worthy.
