I've never played a Bethesda game or a western RPG before playing Fallout New Vegas, since the only RPG's I've ever played have been Japanese, usually Mario and Pokemon. But now with this wonderful game I've gotten a taste of what western RPGs are like. And I heartily recommend this to anyone new to the genre, series or video games in general. What I loved was the story. The player character is thrust in the middle of a conflict between the New California Republic, a force aimed at bringing American style order to the post apocalyptic wasteland and Caesars Legion, a small but growing Empire built on an ideal of Roman society. What made it stand out to me was the moral conflict. Ultimately the MC can decide to side with one or none and find a way to justify it as right. Sure the narrative and design favor NCR, but its up to YOU to decide what is the right direction for the Mojave to take. Another thing I loved were the companions. Their stories contribute to the games overall theme of what the past means to us. Do we let it go and move on, focus on it and trying to correct it or build off of it? The DLCs also add a lot to that overarching theme. On this game alone, I found the tone of the series to be "what would the rubble of American society look like after it's been destroyed and what would the survivors make of what remains of the legacy? Do they cling to it, willing to die for the tattered remains of the old world? Do they abandon it and try to forge their own destiny? Or do they use the remnants to create something new?" The answers are in the end, something that only those who play the whole experience can find and there won't be a consensus. The moral choices in this game isn't "do you save the puppy or kick it?", it's "choose an option and find the answer as to why it was the right one".
