Video Game Review- Fallout: New Vegas

When I played Fallout: New Vegas, I was skeptical. Fallout 3 was okay; it was good but I never really caught on to it. This new game looked like more of the same. When I played the game, I found I was right... partially. It's more of the same, but not in the way I expected.

The story has you playing as a courier taking a package to New Vegas when you are double crossed, shot, and buried alive. You are dug up and nursed back to health so you can learn why you were betrayed as well as the secrets behind what's really happening in New Vegas. The main story is good, but another draw to this game is the seemingly endless number of sidequests to keep you busy. It's easy to get off track, but that's a good thing.

The controls are the same as Fallout 3, so if you've played that game, it's easy to get back into the game. If you haven't, don't worry, the controls are relatively simple to learn. Sound is probably the best part of this game. The music is full of songs played over the in-game radio from the early 50's. It sets the atmosphere of the game and is nice to listen to. Graphics are okay; again, they're the same as the previous game, but this is also where the flaws start...

Although the graphics look good, the color palette is bland. I know it's supposed to look that way in the Wasteland since it's the aftermath of a nuclear war, but even in the city of New Vegas, in the areas where you'd expect to have a lot of vibrant colors (like Current Vegas), colors are dull and grayish. The game is also full of technical difficulties. Bugs and glitches plague the game just about everywhere, and gamefreezes are commonplace.

It's hard to review this game. Much of it feels great, like a step ahead of Fallout 3. The story, the gameplay, they all seem familiar, but at the same time upgraded. However, the technical problems with this game plus some other minor issues actually make it feel like a step back. However, you can still have a lot of fun with the game.

4/5