Fallout: New Vegas

Fallout: New Vegas is a role-playing video game developed by Obsidian Entertainment and published by Bethesda Softworks. While New Vegas is not a direct sequel, it uses the same engine and the same style as Fallout 3. It was developed by a few of the employees who worked on previous Fallout games at Black Isle Studios, along with a larger number of new employees. It is set in, and around, post-apocalyptic Las Vegas (New Vegas).

The game was released on October 19th in North America, October 22nd in Europe, and November 4th in Asia. It is available on the PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3.

Fallout: New Vegas has 4 different pre-order bonuses, the Classic Pack, Caravan Pack, Tribal Pack, and Mercenary Pack. As the game has already been released in North and South America, Europe, Australia and Asia, they are no longer available. Each one has a unique suit of armor and a unique weapon not found in-game, along with a few other items that are available in-game.

An official DLC has been announced for release in the holiday season of 2010, and will be timed exclusive to the Xbox 360, although it is expected that it will be released later for PC and PS3, as the Fallout 3 DLC was.

Development history
Fallout: New Vegas was announced on April 20, 2009 at Bethesda's London showcase. The first official information was released in the February 2010 issue of PC Gamer. A cinematic teaser trailer and a gameplay trailer have been released.

Setting
The game is set in a post-apocalyptic retro-futuristic Las Vegas, following the Great War between the U.S., China and other countries, as a conventional and nuclear war that occurred on October 22 - October 23, 2077, and lasted less than two hours, despite causing immense damage and destruction. Before the Great War was the Resource Wars, during which the United Nations disbanded, a plague rendered the United States paranoid, and Canada was annexed. The city of New Vegas itself wasn't hit as hard as most of the other districts, with most buildings being left intact as a result. The Hoover Dam supplies all the free electricity and water to those whom control it.

Story
The story continues some parts of the Fallout and Fallout 2 stories, and is largely unrelated to the one in Fallout 3.

Fallout: New Vegas takes place in 2281, four years after the events of Fallout 3, and thirty-nine years after Fallout 2, making this installment set the furthest of the series. The New California Republic plays a major part in the game's story, being in a three-way struggle amongst the Caesar's Legion slavers, and the local New Vegas populace.

The Courier, the player's character, was meant to deliver a package from Primm to New Vegas. However, the Courier is then assaulted by the Great Khans and Benny, who stands in front of the Courier with the Khans cornering him (who is on the ground), holding the platinum chip in his hand. Benny says, "Look's like this is going to be your last delivery, kid." and then proceeds to shoot the Courier. The camera zooms out, and a Khan can be seen digging a grave for him. The Courier is later found by a robot named Victor, and is sent to the settlement of Goodsprings, where Doctor Mitchell saves his life. After the Courier is given some medical tests, the player is then pushed back into the open world, and the quest, Ain't That a Kick in the Head, begins. Fallout: New Vegas has a definitive ending, just like Fallout 3.

Endings for Fallout: New Vegas, are dependent on what actions the player took via quests during the game, with separate endings being shown for each major location, political faction, and recruitable companion.

Gameplay
The gameplay system is similar to Fallout 3 gameplay, although some changes have been made, one being changes to the combat system to make it feel more like a first person shooter, including the ability to use weapon iron sights.

Hardcore mode
Hardcore mode is an optional setting which makes the game more realistic, with gameplay elements such as dehydration (which can be avoided by using the Vault 13 canteen), and non-instantaneous healing. If you choose against playing the gamemode, it can be turned back on mid-game. Either a trophy or achievement is awarded for completing Fallout: New Vegas on Hardcore mode, however, in order to earn it, the entire game must be played in Hardcore, from the point first prompted until the endgame sequence, without ever turning it off. The Casual/Hardcore mode distinction is independent of difficulty settings.

Character system
The SPECIAL system returns, and directly influences speech options and quests. Unlike Fallout 3, traits are available for taking, and perks are gained every two levels instead of every one.

Combat
The Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System, or V.A.T.S., is an active pause combat system implemented in the game, just like in Fallout 3. While using V.A.T.S., the otherwise real-time combat is paused. V.A.T.S. also allows the gory deaths in the game to be shown in slow motion and great detail. Attacks in V.A.T.S. cost action points, and the player can target specific body areas for attacks to inflict specific injuries. During real time combat you can now look down the iron sights of weapons rather than the zoom in Fallout 3. Unlike Fallout 3, melee weapons now have special moves in V.A.T.S., such as "Fore!" for golf clubs. Another feature being added, is that if an enemy has a high damage threshold, some weapons may be ineffective. This is shown by a red shield near the enemy's health bar when attacking it, in and out of VATS. The damage threshold will be due to high armor or a built in mechanic to that character, and will require the Courier to retreat, or attack with a more powerful weapon. Another new feature is the presence of a dynamic 'Kill Cam' which shows the killing bullet in slow motion, permitting players who play in real-time to experience the same cinematic feel of V.A.T.S., this can be enabled/disabled at will and is only shown on killing the last enemy out of a group.

Karma and Reputation
Karma is back, but now incorporated alongside a reputation system, similar to Fallout 2. Reputation is a form of tracking relationships within the factions and towns of Fallout: New Vegas, such as the NCR or Goodsprings, a high reputation with a faction or town may give certain benefits, such as gifts from the people of that town, while a low reputation may lead to hits being taken out against you. Karma in New Vegas will have very little effect compared to Fallout 3 as reputation will decide how people react to you.

Weapon Modding
This modding feature allows you to modify your gun by adding things like scopes, extended magazines, etc. You are able to have a weapon with no more than 3 mods attached to it. These mods will be permanently attached to that weapon. There will be unique weapons (as introduced in Fallout 3), and these will have unique textures and some may have unique models; although unique weapons can not be modified.

As it has been mentioned by Chris Avellone directly, Obsidian implemented this feature as a direct response to the popularity of the Weapon Mod Kits mod for Fallout 3.

Companion wheel
A new companion wheel has been added to easily give companions commands such as 'Talk', 'Use Ranged Weapons' and 'Wait Here'. It will also make it easier to swap health and equipment. The companions also have their likes and dislikes; giving a sniper companion a shotgun will result in a nasty remark and decreased effectiveness.

Gambling
The city of New Vegas as well as other smaller settlements in the game still have a variety of colorful casinos or other forms of gambling to explore. In Fallout: New Vegas gambling mini games have been added to experience gambling in a post apocalyptic world. Games like blackjack, roulette, slots, and caravan (not played in casinos) can be played. Luck is a considerable factor when it comes to gambling. You get money for winning, and floor managers will congratulate you with food or drink and maybe a VIP stay at the hotel. Unfortunately there is a term for "too good" in the casinos, as winning too much money will make the managers come down, give you the customary "Tap on the shoulder," and tell you to leave the casino on suspicions of cheating. This however will not remove your current chips, even though they would likely confiscate them as being "Unfairly won," in a real casino.

Developers
Fallout: New Vegas was developed by Obsidian Entertainment, a company founded by Feargus Urquhart and Chris Avellone, two of the makers of Fallout 2 (originally at Black Isle Studios). The project is led by J.E. Sawyer, one of the lead designers of Van Buren, the canceled Fallout 3 project by Black Isle Studios. John R. Gonzalez is the lead creative designer, while Obsidian founder Chris Avellone, who worked on Fallout 2 and Van Buren is a senior designer. Joe Sanabria is the lead artist.

Collector's Edition
The Collector's Edition of Fallout: New Vegas includes Fallout: New Vegas; "Lucky 7" poker chips, replicas from the ones found in the game; a deck of Fallout: New Vegas themed playing cards; a replica of the "Lucky 38" poker chip (The Platinum Chip) from the game; “All Roads”, a graphic novel about the history of Fallout: New Vegas written by Chris Avellone; and a "The Making of Fallout: New Vegas" DVD. The entire package comes in a collectible Fallout: New Vegas box. The Collector's Edition was also available for pre-order.

Pre-order add-ons
If Fallout: New Vegas has been pre-ordered, you will receive one of the following depending on where it was purchased: Caravan Pack, Classic Pack, Mercenary Pack, or the Tribal Pack. When the add-on is installed to the game, you will receive these items automatically, regardless of your progress in the game.

Upcoming add-ons
A downloadable add-on pack (DLC) called Dead Money has officially been released as a timed exclusive for the Xbox 360 and came out on December 21st.

Controversies and censorship

 * In the German version, there is no gore. German players that want the full Fallout experience can - as with Fallout 3 - buy the Austrian version which basically features the uncut PEGI version with German speech and text.
 * Just like in Fallout 3, the Fat Man weapon is once again renamed to the Nuka Launcher in the Japanese version of Fallout: New Vegas. The Little Boy mod has also been renamed.