New Vegas -- my thoughts

I saw the game for $20 with 3 DLC on top for dirt cheap. I just couldn't pass it.

I tried playing Fallout 1 and 2. I tried as hard as I could to like the games. I just couldn't do it. It just didn't hook me.

I love games like Two Worlds, Morrowind and such. I, however, am sick to death of the medieval theme. It's been done to death, and I am sick to death of it. Dragons, swords, spears, axes... I am sorry but this is the same shit rehashed again and again and I am bloody sick of it.

New Vegas, in a few minutes of playing it did what F1 and F2 failed to do -- hook me in. The postapocalyptic setting is a breath of pure fresh air! Guns, energy weapons, no bloody dragons? HELL YEAH!

I play the vanilla version so far, I hear there is a crapload of mods but I want to beat the game first before modding it. Besides, I quite enjoy the game as it is.

I played one of the DLC, and I enjoyed it. The Divide was a long, hard trek but it was an enjoyable and rewarding experience.

NV definitively gets a double thumbs up from me. Very enjoyable game for a ridiculously low price, and I like it so much I just might get Fallout 3 as well.

I get how you feel about fantasy (although to be honest spears haven't been that common) and I'm really glad you're enjoying FNV. Simply put it's the best game I've played in years and IMO it's almost as good as the original game (which is saying a lot).

Fallout 1 and 2 were more challenging (your character couldn't be good at everything) but FNV is so much better than Fallout 3 in terms of story, writing and gameplay. Basically Fallout 3 is Oblivion with guns (which is not a bad thing) pretending very hard to be a Fallout game (which at times can be ridiculous) so if you get it that's something you should keep in mind. On the plus side there are two DLCs that are definitely worth playing (the Pitt and Point Lookout) and some people enjoy the Washington DC setting more.

FNV (like most games made by Obsidian) was rushed so mods can really help adding replayability whether in the form of extra enemies to fight, new quests, companions or gameplay modifications. There are so many new weapons and armours to keep you busy for a very long time...

It's been a while, and I admit most of the small amount of free time I have has been spent playing F3 and New Vegas.

I love the shit out of those games. Oblivion with guns? Absolutely, but I don't care, it's awesome. I did one playthrough of F3 and to get it out of the way right now, I played "good" and bloody hell do I hate playing good! Reining in my itchy trigger finger was BLOODY HARD! But this time, though? Oh yeah, I am playing evil all the way through... the way it was meant to be.

The intro of F3 was hugeass meh for me, but like Ob, I just ignore the main quest and just explore.

I enjoy the shit out of both F3 and NV. They were worth every single penny spent on it, period and I kick myself for not picking up those games sooner. All the awesomeness I was missing out on!  

Better late than never.

The story is not the most interesting thing in Fallout 3. The Pitt DLC and Point Lookout DLC both have interesting plotlines (if a bit short) but the main quest in Fallout 3 is a bit underwhelming.

I'm currently setting my FNV game so I can start a new playthrough some time in the near future (hopefully by the end of December -time is a limited commodity). After playing so many outlandish characters I've been thinking of setting up my game with mostly mods that improve the main game without altering it too much (less is more). Keeping changes up to the point and effective.

It's good to know that you're enjoying these games as much as I do. IMO it's much better not to play a goody two shoes. In Fallout 3 playing evil is psychotic, in FNV it's a bit more complex and ultimately much more rewarding.

I did some of the DLC for New Vegas -- Longer Road, Blood Money, Old World Blues, and all of them were bloody awesome.

Spoiler:

Cara, do you side with the Legion or the NCR, and if so, what are the benefits? I feel like playing Longer Road again with a new PC and pick the "third" option with that bomb.

F3's story was rubbish. But I was aware of that prior to playing the game, and I don't care. Making that nuke blow up in Megaton and watching it live was just so damn worth it.

And yes, I did notice the difference between playing evil in both games. And I find it much more satisfying in NV. Killing everything that moves for no reason is fun, but I prefer the more cerebral kind of evil in NV.

Superb games, at any rate, and I love them to death. Shotguns and miniguns are just so damn satisfying, and so is my trusty 44 Magnum. I have a Shishkebab as well, but I have never been very fond of melee weapons. Why bother with sword, axes and stuff like that when you have a crapload of guns available?

Guns are fun it's true but I've found the value of a good old combat knife in certain situations. It's especially true with mods and when you have more than 20 foes closing in on you. At short range a quick melee weapon is more effective.

Of course taking on a Deathclaw with a knife is what I'd call a challenge but it's a lot of fun.

As for picking sides... The great thing about FNV is that there is no perfect ending. They all have severe drawbacks. I can't stand the NCR because of the rules and corruption. The Legion is simply despicable and in many ways enforces even more rules. House is an arrogant prick and it's really hard not to give him what he deserves. In the end I tend to end up with the Wild Card ending and a pretty chaotic result which doesn't bother me that much since I used to have my characters fend off for themselves in the original Fallout as well.

Carabas wrote:

Guns are fun it's true but I've found the value of a good old combat knife in certain situations. It's especially true with mods and when you have more than 20 foes closing in on you. At short range a quick melee weapon is more effective.

Of course, a good old minigun is effective in all sorts of situations.

One of my fondest New Vegas memories was near the end, when I decided to go ahead and off Caesar. Grabbed my Enclave power armour and a minigun, got Boone, and proceeded to slaughter everybody in The Fort. Good times.

Haven't played New Vegas in a while. Gotta start it up again sometime. Maybe make a character who uses energy weapons? I've actually never done that, in any Fallout game. Mostly just guns.

So it seems that the Legion are the "bad guys" then? Well, this changes everything. I know who to bomb in the Divide now.

Energy weapons are awesome. I found a Gauss Rifle and I quite enjoyed it. Nothing like a trusty old shotgun for me, but energy weapons are a blast, no pun intended

There are no "good" guys.

The Legion will crucify you if you step out of line, the NCR will sentence you to a chain gang so they may look like they're more lenient but the truth is the NCR won't shy from slaughtering unarmed women and children (Bitter Springs).

The Legion would probably enslave the women and get the most promising children to join their ranks instead.

Other factions aren't better. Khans are basically pushers and dealers. The Brotherhood is made of isolationist bigots.

Last but not least House clearly has a god complex.

The Legion are barbarians, the NCR are fascists, House is a tyrant, and going it alone leads to almost certain anarchy.

Have fun!

Nicely summed up D.

I would like to point out that IMHO the last option is probably the worst in the sense that unleashing an army of uncontrolled Securitrons over the Mojave is definitely not a good idea if you stop a minute to think about the consequences.

As much as I hate him, siding with House seems probably like the most sensible option (except for his way of dealing with a certain faction).

I think of the NCR as the best option, personally. They can be awfully forceful and territorial, and as one follower notes (I believe it's Cass), they have a lot of social issues (her big thing was that New Vegas would probably never get full representation in the government). But they are the only real, functional government at this point, and they do what it takes to keep their citizens safe. They may go to some unfortunate extremes, but in the end, they've nothing but good intentions.

Second-best option, in my opinion, would be anarchy. Rather have complete order from the NCR or complete chaos from a free New Vegas. The Legion is just too brutal, and House too much of an egomaniacal tyrant for me to side with.

Really, when it comes down to it, New Vegas isn't about choosing the best side, it's about deciding which of the four you think is least terrible.

Quote :

Really, when it comes down to it, New Vegas isn't about choosing the best side, it's about deciding which of the four you think is least terrible.

I agree with that part and that is exactly what makes things interesting and why in many games I'm stuck when I have to choose a side.

The ironic thing about the Legion ending is that you come to realize that despite all the senseless violence they are able to maintain order and defeat raiders whereas the NCR can't even insure the safety of caravans within its borders.

The problem with the anarchy ending is that it comes at the price of setting loose an army of crazy robots. Imagine how your average wastelander would fare against a bunch of securitrons. It's not a nice picture.

As for the NCR, they would only become the good option if someone could get them to do the right thing. Think about Cass caravans for instance. Unless you go out of your way to make it happen she won't ever have justice for what has happened to her. It's a theme that was present in Fallout 2. The NCR is expanding and the people at the top are trying to do that by any means necessary so they can enjoy power and wealth. A few persons in high positions may be good people but they will always be a minority. In the end the NCR inevitably turns into a centralized government bent on oppressing its own citizens to further the interest of greedy land barons.

In many ways the NCR mirrors real world governments and the fact that there are no good guys/heroes in shiny armours is a credit to the writing in FNV (I hated how Fallout 3 turned the Brotherhood of Steel into saviours of the Wasteland).

I aligned with the Legion. I had already nuked the NCR to hell in Longer Road so I already was on good terms with them. I especially enjoyed choosing how Benny would die -- of course I chose crucifixion. I find it amusing that this asshole shoots you in the head and leaves you for dead... Yet *I* am a sick, vindictive fuck for crucifying his ass? He deserves no better.

My favourite way of dealing with Benny is to knock him out and steal his own gun before shooting him with it.

Such a rapid death is too good for this moron, brother.

ShadowScorpion wrote:

Such a rapid death is too good for this moron, brother.

It may be too good for him but it can also be satisfying:

screen  

Nah. I'll stick with crucifixion, it's much more satisfying. The Legion was prolly the best fit for me.

I'm almost done reinstalling mods for FNV. It's been so long that I haven't realized that the game seems to have aged quite a bit since the last time I've played (which was more than a year ago).

Considering I've moved on to a new computer and I've added a boatload of textures it's a bit disheartening (but not totally unexpected after all Fallout 3 is a 2008 game and Fallout New Vegas didn't improve on the graphics).

I think I'm going to use an ENB to add a little atmosphere. That and a few more mods to make things interesting. I will be going for this sort of atmosphere: http://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/50782/?

And I will take advantage of this mod that I've been meaning to try: http://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/55334/?

I haven't yet sank my teeth into mods for NV. Any recommendations?

You can start here: https://bellesakurasaloon.frenchboard.com/t21-fallout-new-vegas-mods

My list needs some updating but there are some pretty cool things in there. I've dabbled with the Geck and you can check my little contribution to FNV here: http://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/users/914914/?tb=mods&pUp=1

I don't have time to go through all the mods but here are some links of the ones I've just downloaded from the Nexus and that may be of interest:

http://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/35262/?
http://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/45652/?
http://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/38557/?
http://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/41974/?
http://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/42666/?
http://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/38623/?
http://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/42793/?
http://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/40285/?
http://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/35543/?
http://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/45557/?
http://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/52721/?
http://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/53649/?

http://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/40340/?
http://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/42195/?
http://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/44904/?
http://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/37908/?
http://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/35794/?
http://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/54460/?
http://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/54478/?
http://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/46685/?
http://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/43411/?
http://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/39807/?
http://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/36387/?
http://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/36902/?
http://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/39409/?
http://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/45003/?
http://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/36779/?
http://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/51163/?
http://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/49531/?
http://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/49012/?
http://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/38285/?
http://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/44522/?
http://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/48848/?
http://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/49170/?

Vanilla FNV is a cool game, modded FNV is an incredible game.   

I've finished setting up my game (took me a few hours but I'm done) and I'm quite happy with the result and how my character looks in game:

Spoiler:

Nice looking character. This makes me want to start up a new game.

Thanks Kana. All I can say is that after taking a one year break the game is enjoyable again and with mods it feels both familiar and slightly different.

Maybe I'm spoiled because I've been playing some FPS games lately and the shooting mechanics in FNV are really mediocre in comparison. Even Borderlands is miles ahead in that respect (although it's a pretty shallow game). At least FNV has ironsights and VATS in FNV doesn't make you invincible, I would probably have a hard time going back to F3 because of that.