Walk the Wastelands with Fallout: New Vegas

The Fallout franchise is one of the video games industry's true big hitters with a rich history dating back to 1997, so when a new instalment hits the shelves it's something to get excited about. The RPG franchise has gained a huge following over the years and 2008's Fallout 3 was one of the best received titles to date on Xbox 360 and PS3, delighting many existing Fallout fans and gaining a whole host of new followers.



The small section of die-hard Fallout fans that criticised Fallout 3 for straying too far from the ethos of the first two Fallout games will be delighted to learn that the latest game in the series, Fallout: New Vegas, has been developed by Obsidian Entertainment, which employs many key members of the team that created the original games. Fans of the first two titles in the franchise have been waiting for a return to the series' roots since 1998 - and this new instalment delivers by combining elements from the first two games with the first person mechanics brought in by Fallout 3.



The game is set in a post-apocalyptic Las Vegas and the surrounding area in the year 2281, with players assuming the role of a courier who is attacked and left for dead while carrying a mysterious package. In investigating the reasons behind the attack and attempting to recover the stolen package, players will navigate through a densely populated world, battling a huge range of hideous enemies - including bloodthirsty wasteland gangs, disfigured mutants and deadly robots.



Thankfully, Fallout: New Vegas furnishes players with the tools needed to deal with such hostility. As well being able to collect a huge array of varied weapons, players are able to craft and modify weapons with improvements such as magnifying scopes, larger ammunition capacity and a higher rate of fire. Even ammunition can be crafted, giving players a range of options when it comes to firepower.



A huge cast of unique characters populate the Mojave Wasteland, where Fallout: New Vegas is based - and it's how you choose to interact with these people and their peers that will determine how they react to you in the future. You'll make friends, of course, but you'll also make deadly enemies. The game's reputation and karma systems, fuelled entirely by player actions, determine how members of the game's many different factions will react to the game's main character. Get friendly with a faction and you'll be given the option to help out, unlocking additional quests along the way. But make your choices wisely; joining forces with a particular faction may mean you end up burning bridges with another.



Players who require a degree of respite from the action out on the Wastelands are able to visit a number of New Vegas casinos and attempt to boost their funds by playing the likes of blackjack, roulette and slot machines - as well as a complex card came called Caravan.



And for those who really like to get their teeth into a meaty challenge, Hardcore mode offers players the chance to play Fallout: New Vegas with a new degree of intensity - players must eat and drink at regular intervals to avoid exhaustion and dehydration, while ammunition counts towards the limit of how much a character can carry. All this throws up a quandary: do you carry maximum firepower and minimal supplies in the hope that you'll find sustenance on the move, or do you play it safe with plenty of provisions and risk running out of ammo in the middle of a firefight? In addition, stimpacks and food will restore health gradually over time rather than instantly, putting a new spin on battle tactics - while major injuries can only be treated by visiting a doctor or discovering a ‘doctor's bag' on your travels.



As with the previous game in the series, New Vegas will also offer extra downloadable content in the coming months, extending the lifespan of a game that already promises many hours of action-packed entertainment. The first piece of extra content is due later this year exclusively for Xbox 360 owners - but if Fallout 3 is anything to go by, extra content for the PlayStation 3 and PC versions of the game is likely to follow in due course.