As reported by ign.com, USA Today has a posted an article with additional details about Fallout: New Vegas, slated to hit the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC this fall. The article appears to be based on an interview with Pete Hines from the game’s developer, Bethesda Softworks. The article indicates that, unlike prior Fallout games, you do not start the game as a vault dweller. Instead, the game commences with you attempting to deliver a package, only to be shot and left for dead. A robot finds you and takes you to Doc Mitchell, who will nurse you back to health. Part of the story is discovering what you were delivering and why someone wanted it so badly.
Hines indicated that the gameplay experience and size of the world will be similar to Fallout 3, but that the environment will have a completely different feel. New Vegas is a thriving city, unlike the ghost towns of Fallout 3. Additionally, factions control different parts of New Vegas, so you must learn to play them against each other in order to survive.
I’m intrigued by the details that Bethesda has leaked so far. I loved the semi-shooter, semi-turn based action point control scheme, as well as the customization options of the perk and leveling system of Fallout 3. So this interview hinting that those will remain largely the same is good news. However, I appreciate that Bethesda is going for a metropolitan environment to distinguish the game world from its predecessor. And what better environment to pick than a reincarnation of Las Vegas, which has a history of wild west mobbery (at least before it became disneyfied). And if the faction aspect of the game is well-developed, it could bring some fresh gameplay to the mix as well.
Hmmm . . . this is getting me excited about returning to the Fallout universe. I might have to break out Fallout 3 and start a new character. Oh wait, I’m finishing my review of Mass Effect 2 after beating that game this weekend. I became obsessed with getting all of the achievements (except the insanity difficulty one) on my first playthrough and doing every possible side quest, so it took me almost 50 hours to finish. Plus, I need to finish White Knight Chronicles before Heavy Rain releases next week. Guess my revisit to Fallout might have to wait until the usual summer video game lull.