Fallout: New Vegas - Review @ GameBanshee

[Myrthos]

In a lengthy review GameBanshee shed their light on Fallout: New Vegas and reaches the following conclusion:

While I have made a lot of comparisons to the Fallout franchise throughout this review, I haven't really addressed how it compares to Fallout 3. Well, to begin with, it really isn't "just a large expansion pack" for Fallout 3. One might get that impression after a short period of gaming, but if you sit down for a few extended sessions or have even a half-professional gaming eye, you'll soon note that Obsidian's intent in design is much different from Bethesda's in many key ways. These have been described above, and what they come down to is that where Fallout 3 was focused on offering an experience without any barriers for exploration and enjoyment, New Vegas tries to grab back further to Fallout 1 and 2's roots. Not only is it more different from Fallout 3 than a casual glance would admit, it's also an enormous game, easily the size of Fallout 3 in world exploration, and a whole lot bigger when it comes to depth and breadth of quests and factions.

When I start comparing the two, the first notable point of reference is the writing, simply because New Vegas' writing is very superior to Fallout 3's. Fallout 3 is a low standard to begin with, but as long as you don't expect too much from the main story, New Vegas offers some of the best writing of any recent RPG. The fact that it also does so much to improve the RPG mechanics and their effect on the world means it is much closer to being a game where your character build matters, and therefore more of a joy for role-playing enthusiasts than Fallout 3 was. To put it simply: Fallout: New Vegas isn't just a superior Fallout title, it's also a superior RPG.

More information.

 

[Brother None]

Where's my review grade?

 

[Myrthos]

You tell me. I couldn't find it on any of the five pages.

 

[BillSeurer]

but as long as you don't expect too much from the main story

I like FNV a lot but the main quest is pretty pathetic and I do expect more from it.

 

[Brother None]

You tell me. I couldn't find it on any of the five pages.

Nono, didn't mean to confuse, GameBanshee doesn't do scores in reviews anymore, at my suggestion, I was referring to Thrasher's habit of grading my reviews.

My most anxious moment in review publishing is awaiting the score Trasher gives me!

 

[HiddenX]

Brother None is analyzing with minute care many details of Fallout New Vegas - with the danger of missing the wood for the trees.

Fallout New Vegas has some weak points and inherits some flaws from the Fallout 3 engine. But as a whole it is an awesome game - maybe the best of 2010.

 

[Brother None]

I personally always hate it when reviewers include vague statements like "it's better than the sum of its parts". If you can't explain why something is good, don't bother.

There's less to say on its good parts than its bad parts, which is always true to some extent. Sorry if you feel I really left the good parts underlit.

 

[HiddenX]

Nothing is wrong with going into details (I'm doing this, too ).

And you have many valid points in your review, I agree with most of them. But the cumulative effect of your review could be a bit scary for a potential new buyer of the game.

Good crpgs are so rare these days, it is equally important to critisize the bad points and to praise the good points.

 

[WorstUsernameEver]

Well, as much as I respect Brother None's impressive work on his GB review, I doubt it's going to be influencing many buyers, and those it influences (the GameBanshee crowd, presumably), I'm sure will be able to weigh whether they'll enjoy the game or thanks to the review without being scared off.

 

[Thrasher]

BM, I apologize for being late to your party! I am still catching up from Thanksgiving.

I am very happy to find this a QUITE excellent review - 9.5!!!!!

I think it's great that you made it clear what is deficient in this game, and hit on all the gameplay elements that make an RPG fun to play, rather than a simple interactive animated story. I especially like this review since you hit on annoyances I am particularly sensitive about (like bugs, and back and forth fetch quests AND frequent area loads), but that's more about my personal preferences than objective quality.

Sorry, HiddenX, it was bound to happen eventually, but I disagree.

The cumulative effect should always be tempered by the writer's conclusion. It's easy to gush over the good things with few words, but much harder to well articulate and fairly describe the bad things. All these details seem appropriate considering the size AND depth of NV. Many other games simply don't have as much to comment on. The savvy reader should recognize this in NV. A reviewer should not give short shrift to an outlier like NV that is in the RIGHT direction, just for consistency's sake!

If a reader can't be bothered to read a summary at the end of a review, then it's his own fault for getting the wrong impression.