While Obsidian may be making a title that’s a direct sequel to a game made by another studio (something they are becoming increasingly known for), there’s something distinctly different this time. The team have much of their roots in the Fallout franchise before it fell into the hands of Bethesda and became such an immensely popular IP.
Obsidian came into existence as (the Interplay owned) Black Isle studio disbanded, and was formed by certain key members of the development team in an effort to keep the spirit of the team alive. All this means that there’s a history here, perhaps making this game something of a labor of love.
While much of the game’s mechanics in terms of engine and gameplay remain similar, albeit with some handy new additions, the writing, direction and humor of team Obsidian clearly show.
The creative editor, Chris Avellone has been talking us through the current build of New Vegas that we’re lucky enough to have a glimpse at, discussing some of the changes the team have made and touching on the game’s historical context in the Fallout canon.
The Mojave desert is a very different place to the Capital Wasteland, it boasts a tiny bit less of the ruined appearance seen in Fallout 3 as apparently the bomb didn’t hit as badly as it did in DC. The vegetation runs a little freer and buildings are often a bit better in condition but don’t get me wrong: most places are still pretty dilapidated and times are certainly hard for most folk.
Another immediately noticeable difference is the influence of the wild west in the game’s presentation, feel, and mood, something hammered right in the from the start when you’re introduced to a helpful robot who thinks he’s a cowboy.
Fallout New Vegas is set three years after the events of Fallout 3, and focuses on a courier sent to deliver a package to the Vegas strip before unfortunately being apprehended and shot in the face. The shady character that performs the dirty deed then leaves you for dead, buried beneath the soil. You’re later found by the aforementioned robot who sports a picture of a cowboy by the name of Vegas Vic on his chest and speaks, funnily enough, just like a cartoon cowboy should.
We don’t get a proper look at it but we’re shown a few screenshots of the Vegas strip, which is somehow still standing. Its “glamour” and spectacle is ever so appealing in a world so desolate, and somehow all the magic of the lights are, well, more magical in a world struggling for energy.
Anyway, on from the dreaming of the presumably distant goal of reaching the strip and on with the beginnings of this tale of misdeeds, misdemeanors and misgivings. It’s wake-up time as Obsidian have realized you’re probably going to want to play the game for more than five minutes and therefore not actually killed you off in the intro.
You awake in a room with more than just a hint of Clint, being tended to by a nice doctor with a big moustache kitted out in some typically wild west garbs (my favorite way to wake up). A quick chat and it’s on with the character creation process, done once more in a pretty creative manner.Stat-picking is performed with a Vitomatic, which is the kind of mystical machine you’d expect to find on a Victorian pier.
Our friendly doctor then allows you to take some supplies from his house before asking a series of questions in order to help determine your stats. Much like the baby steps and growing up missions in Fallout 3 you are able to go back and edit your skills in a more obvious and precise manner, i.e. a menu with some numbers.
There’s a distinct level of familiarity to the character creation, with the addition of a Pip-Boy and vault jumpsuit adding more than a little to this. Doc Mitchell sends you to the local saloon in the village of Good Springs in order to find out a little about how you’re in such a pickle. Upon leaving the saloon you’re prompted with the option of playing in Hardcore mode, a choice meant for more experienced players.
The mode forces a much more deliberate and careful approach from the player and means stim-packs don’t cure broken limbs and only work at a crawling pace, gradually totting up the player’s health. Hardcore also means your ammunition is gonna weigh something plus you’re also gonna need to eat, sleep and drink to survive. While you’re able to exit Hardcore mode at any point it’s impossible to earn the special achievement if you’ve gone back to normal mode halfway through.
After heading out and meeting the chirpily named Sunny Smiles you’re requested to help find and kill a bunch of pesky Geckos who’ve been going at the town’s water supply. It’s a simple mission meant to show you the ropes, and offers no challenge as such but serves as a nice introduction to the game’s shooting mechanics (which do indeed feature the VATS system of Fallout 3.
Speaking of mechanics: a new system in New Vegas is the local reputation, represented by a new section in your Pip-Boy. It’s of course affected by your actions in an area and will also change depending on your alliance to the major two factions.
The aforementioned factions are Caesar’s Legion and the New Californian Republic (NCR), the former a group of slavers and the latter a militia group. They’re key to the game’s narrative and don’t get along, so choosing a side is pretty significant.
Avellone takes an opportunity to show off some more factions while we’re on the topic, and if you’ve played a Fallout before then you’ll surely be pleased to know that the Brotherhood of Steel the Super Mutants are knocking about in Nevada.
We see a battle in a Super Mutant base against a high-tanking Super Mutant named Tabetha who’s a little off the rails and sports a blonde wig and heart-shaped glasses. It’s an interesting insight into the open-ended nature of the quests as one option here is to send the tougher first couple of generations of mutants against the newer “dum dums” (who were in the military base in Fallout 2).
This is a good moment to discuss the new companion wheel that allows players to simply click a direction and bypass any kind of long-winded dialog tree to reach a simple request.
Next we take a wander to Poseidon Energy Helios 1 power station that’s under the control of the NCR. We’re able to make it in due to having a good reputation with said faction and meet a rather irritating bloke who’s somehow conned his way into a job as a scientist in the plant but hasn’t a clue what he’s doing.
If you manage to work your way through the plant’s security then it’s possible to make the system go beyond its current 1% running power and route it to an area of your choosing. There’s the option to send power to McCarran, which would help the NCR, to Fremont which would help poor local townfolk or across the whole region.
An extra option is to send it to the plant’s defense system which can bring about a massive assault on the nearby NCR. We get to see a demonstration of the latter option, which is a fairly spectacular orbital light show of death. Again, it’s a good demonstration of how we can approach missions in different ways in true Fallout style.
