Fallout: New Vegas - Review @ GameBanshee

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.