Which are, namely, that it's obscenely fun. To anyone who hasn't played any of the Fallout games (my experience is limited to Fallout 3 - been considering playing some of the older ones sometime), here's a quick rundown of the backstory (For more, see the Fallout wiki). The Fallout universe is set in an alternative timeline in which the world has been devastated by a massive nuclear war between the United States and China. Fortunately for some people in the United States, they are relocated to underground Vaults in time to survive, and the various Fallout games take place sometime after this (about 100 years, I believe). With that extremely brief rundown out of the way, on to the game. It's been blasted in several reviews as rather buggy for a big release - and to a certain degree, that's true - but for me, the sheer scope and opportunity for adventure makes up for it. An example:
I was wandering about in Freeside, a small town just outside New Vegas - which, by the way, survived the brunt of the war and has been rebuilt in - sort of - its former image. The casinos are still there, anyways. I noticed an NPC (that is, non-player character) waving at me from a side street and opted to follow him. Once he'd led me to the end of an alley, he pointed out a body and declared that it belonged to the "last person stupid enough to follow me". After this he and a few other thugs attempted to mug me, but were quickly dispatched. Being irked that they had attempted this, I then dumped their bodies in a dumpster (You're able to move around most small-to-medium sized objects), tossed a grenade in, and walked away. Note that nothing of this but the original waving and mugging sequence were scripted by the game - I just decided that it'd be fun to do that last part. This, to me, is what makes the Fallout games so much fun. Although a lot of the game is definitely pre-scripted, with a relatively defined path, a lot of it is composed of situations that are presented to you, and you're left to decide how to deal with them. I've read that it's possible to complete the game either killing a. nobody, or b. everybody.
Anyways, I'm nowhere near completing the game (though, to be fair, I never truly completed Fallout 3, either). The developers say that New Vegas and the surrounding Mojave Wasteland are much larger than Fallout 3's Capitol Wasteland (i.e. it took place in the ruins of Washington D.C.), and that was a damned big area to wander around in, as well. Moreover, the game presents all sorts of opportunity for replay. I'm currently playing as a morally good kleptomaniac and long-distance sniper (though I've cut down on the indiscriminate stealing now that I've got plenty of wealth). I think next I'll play as either an evil sociopath in heavy armor and weapons, or a morally ambiguous melee character. In addition to character "archetypes", so to speak - although your skills and stats are entirely self-defined, the huge number of factions in the game present plenty of opportunity for replay. I'm currently with the New California Republic (NCR), which is attempting to set up a new government, but think I might align with their opponents, Caesar's Legion, a huge slaving band organized and modeled off of the Roman army, next playthrough. Who knows?
Well, that's probably plenty for this post. I've also been playing a good deal of Minecraft multiplayer with my brother, and I'll write about that soon - I think screenshots would be much more beneficial for that than my Fallout adventures. I'll also write some about what's going on off in the "real world" soon. Right now, I think I should sleep.
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