Fallout: New Vegas Ultimate Edition

Back to the wasteland, where Fallout 2 left off. Pros: - this is not really a wasteland anymore, rather post-post-apocalypse. Nice change if you ask me. - lots of memorable characters, and some of my all-time favorites. (Joshua Graham) - stylish, and immersive, with internal logic - no level scaling. Yay! (I understand this is debatable, but I love this) - usually multiple solutions for the same quest. Sneaky and pacifist (mostly, not sure about animals) is possible. - the reactivity of the world is great - surprisingly low number of collect X filler quests Cons: - looks were outdated even in 2010. Bloodlines from 2004 looks better :) - that game engine is disasterous - the companion mechanics (not personalities) are not really thought out - Caesar's legion is mostly comic book evil. Unfortunately not even close to the antagonists of the originals (the Master and the Enclave) - while Fallout always had a wild west background theme, the amount of checkered shirts, cowboy hats and sixshooters a bit too much in this game. New Vegas is a game where you actively have to forgive it's mistakes to love it. If you can, this is still an enjoyable ride!

Fallout 2 was my first Fallout game but New Vegas was the game that truly made me fall in love with Fallout. It sparked in me a completely different perception of what games could be. New Vegas takes EVERYTHING that made Fallout 3 such a phenomenal experience and expands upon it. From the improved shooting to the extended crafting and survival mechanics, it brought back a lot of the RPG depth of the classic games but in a way that still felt modern. It gave us a story that, to this day, stands at the top among all of Fallout's fantastic stories. In this game, you can roam, join factions, play casino games, follow the questlines or just do whatever you feel like doing. More than any other Fallout except 76, it truly does allow you to do whatever you feel like doing, but it does so in a way that offers realistic consequences to aid in immersion. Sure, you CAN make a beeline for the New Vegas Strip but you'll miss a lot of great stories and risk an early death. That's just one example, but the choice-and-consequence in this game really makes itself apparent as the main quest develops. You truly do feel like your decisions have meaning, which is something that a lot of RPGs (even among Fallout) don't grasp too well. The review title is has a double meaning. Not only did Obsidian use a lot of their precursor Black Isle's ideas for "Van Buren" (the original Fallout 3 before it was canceled) but New Vegas, like Fallout 3 for Bethesda, was the beginning of mainstream recognition for Obsidian's talents. They had some success with games like Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2 but New Vegas is when they caught the eye of many gamers. This game made me a fan, for sure. They're still a top 5 developer for me! If you've never played Fallout before, I'd recommend Fallout 4 simply because it's more accessible. However, if you loved 4 or 76, definitely go back and play the rest of the games. Be ESPECIALLY sure you play New Vegas, though! It's a masterpiece, full stop!

This is my first Fallout game and I must say I'm in LOVE with it! You can literally spend hundreds of hours playing the game without getting bored because... For starters, this game has by far THE BEST replay value of any game I've ever played due to the way the storyline progresses. It's very dynamic and unfolds according to the choices you make. Your every single step has a direct or indirect consequence(s) which makes each playthrough absolutely unique. The reason I'm giving it "only" 4 out of 5 stars is because it sometimes crashes on my Windows 8.1 Pro system, especially during loading screen. One time, the game completely erased my Nvidia driver (for some odd reason) and I'd to re-install it, which was admittedly a bit unnerving! With that said, it ran flawlessly on my previous Windows 7 Ultimate machine so maybe it doesn't like to run on Windows 8.1?! The instability issue is about the only complaint I've about this game. Final words: At the discount price of just $6, it's worth every single penny and even at $20 it's a real bargain, given the sheer replayability. As I stated before, you can literally spend hours upon hours with this game without getting bored! Let's hope GOG launch Fallout 4 soon!

After installing Viva new Vegas mods, I experienced the ultimate Fallout kick out of this. It is a great game, still even after more than 14 years after release. Definitely recommend.

New Vegas is a broken mess. This is the truth in any frame of reference. NV is a screaming cavalcade of bugs so aggressive that it could pass for a sentient AI that knows only hatred. The sheer brokenness is fundamental to it. Mods can only mitigate it and nostalgia can only cushion you against it. It's a kludge of a video game panicked together in 18 months under the treacherous eye of an openly hostile publisher. Given that's how most AAA video games are developed a decade on, New Vegas was a pioneer. So why am I giving it five stars? Why is it considered a seminal work in its genre? It's because the fire of its design burns brighter than the fire of its bugs. The roleplaying experience herein is so stellar, so deep, so accommodating of the player’s choices that it hasn't been matched to this day. Dialog choices are peppered with skill and stat checks that allow you to solve problems purely by roleplaying. No matter what you choose to be good at, you’ll have dialog options to express yourself. All of the main conflicts have multiple angles of approach with their own benefits, drawbacks, and consequences. The major NPCs, particularly the player’s companions, are all memorable because their stories are emotionally evocative. Characters feel genuine because they have organic motivations, personalities, and principles that the player is free to support or challenge. The main questline is a tension filled web of political intrigue that can unwind in a myriad of unexpected ways with you at the center. The faction-based reputation system lets the player make nuanced ethical choices, cultivate relationships with factions, win allegiances, and sway how factions interact with both the setting and other factions. Even the weapon arsenal is so huge and modular and downright inspired that it gives the game high replay value by itself. I don't have the characters to go on, but I could for thousands of words. In short, New Vegas gets respect because it's the realest.