Task 2 research

Amy Brockbank
Fallout: New Vegas is an action RPG developed by Obsidian Entertainment on the PS3, Xbox 360 and
PC in 2010. The game is set in the Nevada desert after a nuclear apocalypse. The player plays as a
courier who wakes up after being shot in the head, and attempts to go after the man who did it. For
this research, I have played the PS3 version of the game, and two characters with slightly different
play styles.
For my research, I will be using my own experience of the game, as well as using secondary sources.
The game starts with a character creation section. This part of the game determines how you plan
on playing the game, what your character looks like and their name and gender. Decisions made in
this part of the game are final and cannot be changed after the player starts, although they can alter
them just before they walk too far into the wasteland if they change their mind at the las t minute.
The play style of the game is determined by the S.P.E.C.I.A.L. system and the tag system. S.P.E.C.I.A.L
stands for strength, perception, endurance, charisma, intelligence, agility and luck. The player is
given 40 points to allocate to each category, which affects certain aspects of the game depending on
how many points they choose to give to each category.
In my opinion, the two systems work well together, and changes the way the game is played right
from the very start of the game. This is also the downfall of the game, as first time players could pick
skills or they don’t know how to control, or allocate S.P.E.C.I.A.L. points in the wrong places, much
like I did.
“I plumbed for my usual mix of lockpicking and stealth skills, eventually regretting my Thief -centric approach to
character creation. My advice: New Vegas is so skewed towards dialogue that, for the first run-through at
least, you should put as much as you can in Speechcraft and Barter skills. Even the final bosses can be chatted
into submission if your stats are high enough. You can't lockpick a mouth.”
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‘Fallout: New Vegas’ – Research
Game
How Did It Feel?
The tag system allows the player to pick three skills to boost at the beginning of the game which
makes levelling up those skills slightly easier later on in the game.
There are a variety of different ways to play the game, the player could choose to play a speech or
sneak based character and avoid most combat situations, or play as a combat based player and
engage in fighting wherever possible.
With my first character, I chose to play as a speech based character, so I could avoid combat
wherever possible, I found that this was quite an effective way to play the game, although most
quests could then be solved very quickly through conversation options, which often felt so easy, it
felt like I cheating my way through the game.
BTEC Level 3 Games Design
~PC Gamer, Craig Pearson - http://www.pcgamer.com/fallout-new-vegas-review/

Amy Brockbank
When using weapons or unarmed combat in the game, the player is able to use V.A.T.S. (Vault-Tec
Automated Targeting System), which allows the player to target enemies more effectively by
calculating the probability of hitting a certain target and allowing the player to decide which parts of
the enemy they wish to target without having to aim the weapon themselves. The power of each
potential hit is determined by action points; each attack takes up a certain amount of action points,
which then regenerate outside of V.A.T.S., meaning the player can either wait for the points to
regenerate or fight manually.
I quite like this system. It makes hitting each enemy much easier, and is quite effective for taking out
large amounts of enemies at once. I also like how the system isn’t mandatory to use, and is instead
triggered by pressing R2, as it can occasionally make the game too easy, especially when fighting
smaller enemies.
~The Guardian, Jack Arnott - http://www.theguardian.com/technology/gamesblog/2010/oct/19/fallout-new-vegas-review
Although, after each use, the chance the player’s character will become addicted to that particular
type of alcohol or chem will go up, when the player becomes addicted, some of their stats will slowly
decrease until they get to the nearest doctor and request to be treated.
Rather than using health packs or regenerative health, the game uses a system in which limbs can be
crippled. The player’s character’s body is split into 6 sections, head, torso, lef t arm, right arm, left leg
and right leg; each can be individually crippled and have their own health bar, and each have their
own way of affecting the way the gameplay feels. Having the head crippled causes the player’s
screen to go fuzzy every few moments; having the arms crippled reduces weapon accuracy; having
the torso crippled causes the player to stumble every time they are hit; and, finally, having the legs
crippled causes the player to move far more slowly.
2
With my second character, however, I chose to play as a mainly combat based character that
specialised in melee weapons. This added far more chal lenge to the game, as most of the time I had
to fight my way through battles, which requires more thought.
“Combat is no longer a case of simply hoping you have enough AP to finish off your assailants and running
backwards if you need to recharge – VATS can be now pretty much ignored if it's not to your liking. This allows
for a more visceral FPS experience for those that want it – and the option of a mix between the two styles for
everyone else.”
Combat and speech can also be enhanced with the use of alcohol and chems, which can give the
player advantages such as increasing their action points and action point regeneration, increasing
their resistance to damage, the ability to inflict more damage or giving the player more chari sma.
I quite like this system, as it adds more risk to the game, and implements the use of drugs and
alcohol into gameplay quite creatively. They do make the game very easy while in use, but because
of the risk of addiction makes each time they are used quite tense, as addiction can make the game
much harder.
Health and limb condition in this game can be replenished by eating food, using stimpaks or
sleeping, the player may also use doctor’s bags to heal all limbs at once if they have any in their
inventory. Unlike Fallout 3, food heals the player over the course of a few seconds, rather than
straightaway.

Amy Brockbank
Enemies in the game are incredibly varied, and differ in each place the player explores. In the
wasteland, various creatures such as geckos and radscorpions will attempt to attack the player on
sight. These creatures will generally run after the player. These creatures will eventually give up after
a while if the player can outrun them, although certain creatures can be difficult to outrun as they
are generally quite speedy and tend to travel in groups, although individually, they are quite easy to
take down.
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I quite like the health system in this game, as it requires the player to think about the health they
have, and how best to utilise what they have in the given situation
~ http://media.pcgamer.com/files/2010/10/fallout-nv-screen-41.jpg
~ http://images.eurogamer.net/articles//a/1/2/8/5/8/8/0/1.jpg.jpg
Also found in the wasteland are raiders, who are human enemies that are generally far harder to kill,
and use tactics to dodge attacks, much like the creatures of the wasteland, they generally travel in
groups, and can often be outrun, as they don’t chase after the player, and nearly always stand their
ground.

Amy Brockbank
Super mutants and Nightkin are also a threat in the game, and often hide in abandoned places. They
generally carry hunting rifles, assault rifles and nail boards, meaning each one requires a different
tactic to take down. They generally move quite slowly, so the player can easily run away from them
in wide open spaces, although, they are mainly found in tight corridors, so fighting them is often
required. Nightkin are also nearly always invisible due to their frequent use of Stealth Boys, so can
be far harder to detect.
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~ http://images.eurogamer.net/articles//a/1/2/8/5/8/8/0/4.jpg.jpg
Overall, I think the variety of enemies in the game is quite good, considering the size of the game
world; because of the large variety of enemies, the game doesn’t get boring easily, as each area the
player visits requires different thought because of the variety of mechanics concerning enemies.
Levelling up in the game depends on experience points, experience points can be gained through
combat or through completing quests; companions who are also travelling with the player also gain
the player experience when they kill an enemy.
Every two levels gain the player a perk. Each perk gives the player an advantage with certain aspects
of the game; some perks may open certain conversation options for certain characters or some may
give an advantage in combat, especially when using different types of weapons.
I quite like the levelling system in this game, as the perks do make the game more interesting as it
goes on. They also help to develop the player’s character and make their experience with the game
much more individual, as the combination of different perks is quite vast.
“Levelling up now caps at 30 (up from 20 in the last outing) – meaning there's much more incentive to delve
deeper and deeper. There's dozens of new perks to unlock, and the return of some familiar enemies and
weapons from earlier in the series will do even more to delight hardcore fans.”
In this game, there is also a radiation bar in the game, which slowly goes up as the player comes into
contact with irradiated sources around the wasteland. As radiation increases, the player will reach
levels of radiation sickness, which affects their stats. To get rid of radiation, the player must either

Amy Brockbank
I quite like the radiation system in this game, as it adds an extra layer of immersion into the game,
and actually makes the player believe they are exploring a world that has been destroyed by nuclear
weapons. It also adds extra challenge to the game, and gives the player something else to focus on
while exploring.
The game also has a ‘hardcore mode’ setting, which gives the player more levels to focus on
alongside their radiation level; sleep, hunger and hydration. In order to stay alive, the player must
make sure that they eat and drink regularly, and sleep regularly, or else their character will start
losing stats and will eventually die. The health system is also affected by hardcore mode, as crippled
limbs can now no longer be healed by stimpaks, and stimpaks used to heal overall health now heal
over time, rather than straight away.
“The Bear Grylls approach proves essential in Hardcore Mode, perhaps the most striking and beneficial addition
to the game. Activated at the start, it plays up the survival aspect by introducing numerous realistic variables to
your game. You need to eat, drink and sleep: hunger, thirst and sleep deprivation will hinder, disorient and
eventually kill you if you don't keep on top of them. Ammo has weight in Hardcore Mode, so you can't merrily
stuff your pockets with every shell and bullet you find. Efficient inventory planning soon becomes a pressing
requirement.
~Eurogamer, Dan Whitehead - http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2010-10-19-fallout-new-vegas-review
I quite like the hardcore mode setting; it adds a layer of realism to the game by forcing the player to
take into account what humans actually have to do to stay alive. It adds to immersion, but it’s very
difficult, and found myself turning it off not far into the game. I think it’s a nice idea, but it does take
a lot of patience to actually get to the end of the main quest with it on.
“Oh, and you should probably avoid Hardcore mode for that first runthrough. It's the triathlon of New Vegas, a
gruelling slog designed to sap your strength as you play. It's not for the ill -prepared.”
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reach a doctor and pay them, or, if they have any in their inventory, use Radaway to reduce the
levels of radiation.
Most importantly, healing items no longer instantly top up your health, but fix you over time, forcing you to be
much more tactical in your confrontations. Crippled limbs must be fixed using the rare Doctor's Bag item or
patched up by an actual doctor. You can't simply dash in and spam the hotkey for stimpacks during a fight, but
have to really think about how you can take down, say, a cellar full of hulking Nightkin without being squished
into a fine paste.”
~PC Gamer, Craig Pearson - http://www.pcgamer.com/fallout-new-vegas-review/
The game also uses a companion system, where the player can take an NPC with them if they wish
to help in combat situations. The player can take a total of two companions with them, one human
and one non-human. There are a total of 8 companions in the game (Six human, two non-human),
although in my time with the game, I have found a total of six. Each companion gives you their own
individual perk, for example, the companion Arcade Gannon gives the player the ‘better healing’
perk, which increases the effectiveness of healing items used.
Although I quite like having companions around, as they make combat easier, and found that they
made my XP raise higher while they were following, I found that their AI was terrible, and would
consistently need talking to in order to stop attacking enemies or change their combat style. The

Amy Brockbank
added companion wheel which makes all of the options to change how companions attack
accessible through one menu, rather than having to sit through piles of dialogue, makes dealing with
the AI slightly easier, but it doesn’t entirely stop companions running into situations I had no
intention on dealing with in the first place.
“Thankfully there are a solid number of NPC companions for you to recruit as back-up, and if you can find a
buddy they'll probably look after you until you can get to grips with how everything works. Incidentally, these
allies are a vast improvement on those offered by the last game: a new radial menu lets you swiftly heal them,
access their inventory and adjust their tactics (although you need to be next to them to access it). Best of all
you can actually talk to them this time; if you're persistent, you may even unlock a personal quest to learn a bit
more about them.”
~VideoGamer.com, Neon Kelly - http://www.videogamer.com/xbox360/fallout_new_vegas/review-2.html
The nature of the reputation system means that it is impossible to please all of the factions at once,
siding with Caesar’s Legion will mean that the player becomes a target for the NCR and vice versa.
This is a nice touch, but the difficulty in restoring reputation with a faction once it has passed a
certain point means that the entire game cannot be completed with just one character, and requires
multiple playthroughs to discover all of the quests.
Your faction relationships also have much more dramatic consequences on your adventure, opening up new
quests while closing off others. The game is sometimes a bit opaque regarding how your actions may
inadvertently affect the way a particular faction sees you, but this complexity manifests itself in awesome ways
as you near the end of your travels.”
~Gamespot, Kevin VanOrd - http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/fallout-new-vegas-review/1900-6282605/
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Rather than using Fallout 3’s karma system, which defined the player as ‘good’, ‘neutral’ or ‘evil’,
Fallout: New Vegas uses a reputation system, which instead tracks the player’s reputation amongst
the different factions in the world. The karma system still exists in New Vegas, although it is not
nearly as prominent as it was in Fallout 3.
“Fallout: New Vegas' major addition is that of faction favor. You establish a reputation with various towns and
organizations by doing them favors or annoying them in some way or another. Which factions you align with
has both subtle and profound consequences. If you're liked, a random somebody might run up to you bearing
minor gifts, such as an iguana on a stick. (Mmm, tasty.) Or if you've gained a more violent reputation, a
mugger might accost you with violent intentions, only to run off when he recognizes you…
The game is set in the Nevada wasteland, which means most of the world has quite a brown and
plain colour palette, which fits as it adds to the post-apocalyptic atmosphere. There are radiation
risks scattered around the world which add to the feeling of being in a post-nuclear wasteland,
although I think Fallout 3 captured the feeling of living in a post-apocalyptic world better than
Fallout: New Vegas did, whereas Fallout: New Vegas feels much more like a western.

Amy Brockbank
~ http://static2.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/gamespot/images/2010/293/reviews/1592427-959559_20101021_001.jpg
“This isn't the barren, blasted wasteland of Washington DC from the previous game. There's plant life, some of
it edible. There's a semblance of order, thanks to the soldiers of the New California Republic. Even the quaint
bottle-cap currency has become slightly more official, vying for economic dominance with the banknotes of the
NCR. Just as Red Dead Redemption poised its tale in the dying days of the Old West, so New Vegas sets you
down in a post-apocalyptic world on the verge of forging a new society.”
~Eurogamer, Dan Whitehead - http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2010-10-19-fallout-new-vegas-review
If the player wishes, they can then visit Sunny Smiles, who keeps Goodsprings free from threats, to
run through the tutorial for the game, which teaches the player how to shoot, sneak, craft items and
deal with quests. On the first playthrough, its best to listen to what she has to say, even if the player
has played the previous 3D Fallout title, Fallout 3, as some aspects of the game differ.
7
If the player heads north, however, they will eventually hit Freeside, which will then lead them to
the New Vegas Strip. The New Vegas Strip has a 2000 cap requirement to enter, although it is very
different to the rest of the wasteland.
The story of Fallout: New Vegas is quite simple. The player is a courier trying to find the man who
shot them in the head and took the platinum chip they were meant to deliver. They then find
themselves in a far bigger situation than they thought, involving many sides over power and the
control of New Vegas. The good thing about New Vegas, though, is that you can complete the
storyline at your own pace, in fact, it is discouraged to rush through the main storyline as fast as
possible, as the wasteland is full of hazards that will kill a lower level player instantly, as well as the
2000 cap requirement to get into New Vegas the first time around. If the player wishes, they can
forget the main storyline completely, and focus on side quests.
There are hundreds characters the player will encounter in the wasteland, the first character the
player will encounter outside a cutscene is Doc Mitchell , who patches the player up and runs
through the character creation process to create the look of the player’s character and the
character’s stats, then, lets them go into the wasteland.

Amy Brockbank
Overall, both these characters do a good job of easing the player into the game, although they are a
little boring, and I didn’t feel compelled to visit them again after I had ventured into the wasteland,
nor do they give any quests after the tutorial.
When you first enter The New Vegas Strip, the player is invited inside the Lucky 38, where Mr House,
the mysterious ruler of The Strip, resides. His main goal is to take Vegas away from the NCR
completely by using the platinum chip to upgrade the Securitrons and work towards re-routing the
power from Hoover Dam towards The Strip. Throughout the game, he comes across as quite an
untrustworthy character, although he was the one who requested that the Platinum Chip to be
delivered to him.
Also in The Strip is The Tops Casino, which is owned by The Chairmen. The Chairmen are led by
Benny, who the player learns in the quest ‘They Went That-a-Way’ is the man who shot them in the
head at the start of the game. Benny is quite a shifty character who betrays his entire family, as well
as Mr House, by attempting to take over New Vegas with the help of a re-programmed Securitron
named Yes-Man. He is quite a charming, although extremely untrustworthy, character.
In the Ultra-Luxe, the most expensive casino located on The Strip, is The White -Glove Society, which
is run by Marjorie and Mortimer. The staff inside the casino all wear masks, and act as polite as
possible. Although the interior of the casino is the nicest of the three, it comes across as creepy, like
something is amiss.
The last of the three casinos run by The Three Families is Gomorrah, which is run by The Omertas.
The Omertas are led by Big Sal and Nero, and also act and dress like old style gangsters. Gomorrah is
the sleaziest casino of the three
Outside of the New Vegas Strip is Caesar’s Legion, a group of focussed, disciplined men who want to
take the north away from the NCR and either enslave or integrate everyone into their system
depending on age, gender and condition.
Fighting Caesar’s Legion is a group named NCR, which stands for New California Republic. NCR’s aim
is to bring order to the Mojave Wasteland, and eventually rebuild it. The NCR has many members ,
because of this; some members use the powers of the NCR for their own gain
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Some of the more interesting characters in the game come from the two sides of the fight, the NCR
and Caesar’s Legion, as well as the different factions; The Brotherhood Of Steel, The Great Khans,
The Boomers, The Followers Of The Apocalypse; and the Powder Gangers. There are also the three
families on The Strip; The Omertas, The Chairmen and the White-Glove Society.
The re-programmed Securitron, Yes-Man, is also quite a big part of the game, because of his
programmed willingness to be helpful to everyone; he will instantly start to help the player in the
retrieval of the Platinum Chip. Yes-Man is quite a cheery character, who wants to do nothing but
help the player try to take over New Vegas themselves.
I found that Caesar’s Legion were portrayed as a completely evil faction, unlike the rest of the
factions within the game, which I found made them quite unlikable, and made it difficult to play
through their quests.

Amy Brockbank
The radio stations are often not just music; Radio New Vegas and Black Mountain Radio both have
presenters between tracks, although this can get repetitive after a while, even though Radio New
Vegas occasionally updates if certain quests are completed (Similar to Fallout 3’s Galaxy News Radio
station.), and Black Mountain Radio will disappear entirely after completion of the quest ‘Crazy,
Crazy, Crazy’ and instead just be the sound of static.
Fallout: New Vegas received positive reviews from critics and fans of the series, who praised the
game for sticking to the lore of the original isometric Fallout games, unlike Fallout 3, which
portrayed certain factions of the wasteland incorrectly (Such as The Brotherhood Of Steel and Super
Mutants). The game scored 84 on Metacritic, with a total user score of 8.4.
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I much prefer NCR to Caesar’s Legion, simply because there are far more interesting characters
within NCR’s ranks, with varying devotion to the cause, and much more personality.
The soundtrack of the game is split into two sections, the music you hear in game, and the licenced
music that is played through the radio stations that air across the Mojave Wasteland which can
either be heard through speakers, jukeboxes, or played through the player’s Pip-Boy.
The licenced music that appears through the radio is mainly from the 40’s and 50’s, which fits the
atmosphere of the game very well
Outside of the stations is the normal in game music. The music sounds reminiscent of what you
would find in a western, which fits the style of the game very well.
Public Recept ion
Source: http://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/fallout-new-vegas
The game made a total of over $300 million, and shortly after release, retailers were requesting re-orders
for the game due to its popularity, despite reports of bugs, which caused corrupted save files
and crashes (Most of which were quickly sorted by Bethesda shortly after release.)
Overall, the game was a success from a financial point of view.
As mentioned above, the game was subject to many bugs on release, and although Bethesda and
Obsidian worked to remove most of the bugs, quite a few still remain, which angered quite a few
fans. (Even I encountered quite a few graphical glitches while playing the game 4 years after
release.)
“Unfortunately, Fallout: New Vegas isn't technically capable of supporting these high ambitions. Simply put, it
frequently breaks in some of the most phenomenal ways. You can't mention any given aspect of its design
without also mentioning a related bug--and the more you explore and the more you do, the more the game
buckles under its own weight. Your companion may not initiate a conversation with her elder, forcing you to
reload a saved game or ignore the quest. A mutant for hire will respond to your request to continue the quest
with the same dialogue that he delivers if you tell him you need more time. Scripting errors abound in which
things that are supposed to happen never do, while in many other cases, inexplicable events occur that will
boggle your mind. Locals will freak out and run around as if someone is brandishing a weapon and then stop
and walk back to their assigned positions. A vendor might attack you unprovoked, even if you have a golden
reputation in that town and are dressed in neutral clothing. Sometimes, it's unclear if you're unaware of a
contributing factor or if the game is simply going bonkers.”

Amy Brockbank
~Gamespot, Kevin VanOrd - http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/fallout-new-vegas-review/1900-6282483/
Some fans also complained about its similarity to Fallout 3, which was released two years before, as
the two look very similar, and play quite similarly, too. Fallout: New Vegas did add more complex
mechanics, but overall, it still felt a lot like Fallout 3.
I feel that the difficulty in this game is incredibly balanced, and works well with the levelling system,
meaning that certain areas cannot be accessed unless the player is a higher level, meaning, even as
the game goes on, there is still something to do in the game’s world, even almost 100 hours into the
game, I still have many locations to explore, and quests to find.
I like the style of the game, as well as it’s sound design, although, because the game was built on an
aging engine, the game hasn’t aged well visually over the years, although, given the size of the game
and the amount of content, I soon forgot the aging visuals.
The gameplay is still fun, and I like the way that some quests can be completed in a variety of ways. I
also like the fact that each playthrough is different, as the allocation of points after each level makes
certain aspects of the game easier and more effective.
10
“While we're dwelling on the negatives, critics will point out that New Vegas is far from being Fallout 4 – and
it's true, the majority of tweaks and new features are unlikely to greatly affect what is a near-identical
gameplay experience.”
Evaluat ion
Overall, I quite like this game, the world is full of stuff to do, and there is plenty to explore around
the map, because not every location on the map is revealed straight away, exploration is
encouraged, which I feel helps a game like this a lot.

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