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''Fallout: New Vegas'' is a 2010
action role-playing game An action role-playing game (often abbreviated action RPG or ARPG) is a video game genre that combines core elements from both the action game and Role-playing video game, role-playing game genres. Definition Action role-playing games empha ...
that was developed by
Obsidian Entertainment Obsidian Entertainment, Inc. is an American video game developer based in Irvine, California and part of Xbox Game Studios. It was founded in June 2003, shortly before the closure of Black Isle Studios, by ex-Black Isle employees Feargus Urquh ...
and published by
Bethesda Softworks Bethesda Softworks LLC is an American video game publisher based in Rockville, Maryland. The company was founded by Christopher Weaver in 1986 as a Division (business), division of Media Technology Limited. In 1999, it became a subsidiary of Z ...
. The game, which was released for
Microsoft Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...
,
PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE). It is the successor to the PlayStation 2, and both are part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. The PS3 was first released on ...
, and
Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the Xbox (console), original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox#Consoles, Xbox series. It was officially unveiled on MTV on May 12, 2005, with detail ...
, is set in the
Mojave Desert The Mojave Desert (; ; ) is a desert in the rain shadow of the southern Sierra Nevada mountains and Transverse Ranges in the Southwestern United States. Named for the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous Mohave people, it is located pr ...
204 years after a devastating
nuclear war Nuclear warfare, also known as atomic warfare, is a War, military conflict or prepared Policy, political strategy that deploys nuclear weaponry. Nuclear weapons are Weapon of mass destruction, weapons of mass destruction; in contrast to conven ...
. The player controls a
courier A courier is a person or organization that delivers a message, package or letter from one place or person to another place or person. Typically, a courier provides their courier service on a commercial contract basis; however, some couriers are ...
who survives an assassination attempt, and becomes embroiled in a conflict between different governing factions that are vying for control of the region. ''Fallout: New Vegas'' features a freely explorable
open world In video games, an open world is a virtual world in which the Gamer, player can approach objectives freely, as opposed to a world with more linear and structured gameplay. Notable games in this category include ''The Legend of Zelda (video game ...
, and the player can engage in combat with a variety of weapons. The player can also initiate conversations with
non-player character A non-player character (NPC) is a character in a game that is not controlled by a player. The term originated in traditional tabletop role-playing games where it applies to characters controlled by the gamemaster (or referee) rather than by a ...
s in the form of
dialogue tree A dialogue tree, or conversation tree, is a gameplay mechanic that is used throughout many adventure games (including action-adventure games) and role-playing video games. When interacting with a non-player character, the player is given a choice ...
s, and their responses determine their reputation among the different factions. After the release of ''
Fallout 3 ''Fallout 3'' is a 2008 action role-playing game developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. The third major installment in the ''Fallout'' series, it is the first game to be developed by Bethesda after acquiring ...
'' in 2008, Bethesda contracted Obsidian to develop a spin-off game in the ''
Fallout Nuclear fallout is residual radioactive material that is created by the reactions producing a nuclear explosion. It is initially present in the radioactive cloud created by the explosion, and "falls out" of the cloud as it is moved by the ...
'' series. The developers chose
Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...
,
Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...
, and the surrounding Mojave Desert as the setting because they evoked the
1950s File:1950s decade montage.png, 370x370px, Top, L-R: U.S. Marines engaged in street fighting during the Korean War, late September 1950; The first polio vaccine is developed by Jonas Salk.Centre, L-R: US tests its first thermonuclear bomb with co ...
imagery the series was known for, as well as the post-apocalyptic setting of ''
Mad Max ''Mad Max'' is an Australian media franchise created by George Miller and Byron Kennedy. It centres on a series of post-apocalyptic and dystopian action films. The franchise began in 1979 with '' Mad Max'', and was followed by three sequels: ...
''. Project director Josh Sawyer wanted the story to focus on greed and excess, and used the history of Las Vegas as an inspiration. To design the game's map, Obsidian used data collected by the
United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), founded as the Geological Survey, is an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior whose work spans the disciplines of biology, geography, geology, and hydrology. The agency was founded on Mar ...
and reference photographs taken by Sawyer. Bethesda gave Obsidian 18 months to develop ''Fallout: New Vegas'', which several journalists have noted is a very short time in which to develop a Triple-A game. ''Fallout: New Vegas'' was a commercial success and is estimated to have sold 11.6 million copies worldwide. Critics praised the writing and
quests A quest is a journey toward a specific mission or a goal. It serves as a Plot (narrative), plot device in mythology and fiction: a difficult Travel, journey towards a goal, often symbolic or Allegory, allegorical. Tales of quests figure promine ...
, but questioned the lack of significant gameplay changes when compared to ''Fallout 3'', and criticized the numerous
glitch A glitch is a short-lived technical fault, such as a transient one that corrects itself, making it difficult to troubleshoot. The term is particularly common in the computing and electronics industries, in circuit bending, as well as among pl ...
es present at launch. Six pieces of
downloadable content content (DLC) is additional content created for an already released video game, distributed through the Internet by the game's publisher. It can be added for no extra cost or as a form of video game monetization, enabling the publisher to gain ad ...
for the game, including four story-based add-ons that added new areas for the player to explore, were released. Since its release, fans and journalists have re-evaluated ''Fallout: New Vegas'' and it is now regarded as one of the best games in the ''Fallout'' series and as one of the greatest video games of all time.


Gameplay

''Fallout: New Vegas'' is an
action role-playing game An action role-playing game (often abbreviated action RPG or ARPG) is a video game genre that combines core elements from both the action game and Role-playing video game, role-playing game genres. Definition Action role-playing games empha ...
that can be played from either a first-person or a third-person perspective. It is set in the
Mojave Desert The Mojave Desert (; ; ) is a desert in the rain shadow of the southern Sierra Nevada mountains and Transverse Ranges in the Southwestern United States. Named for the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous Mohave people, it is located pr ...
, 204 years after a
nuclear war Nuclear warfare, also known as atomic warfare, is a War, military conflict or prepared Policy, political strategy that deploys nuclear weaponry. Nuclear weapons are Weapon of mass destruction, weapons of mass destruction; in contrast to conven ...
that decimated much of the United States. The player controls a courier who survived an attempted killing by an unknown assailant. The goal of the game is to complete a series of
quests A quest is a journey toward a specific mission or a goal. It serves as a Plot (narrative), plot device in mythology and fiction: a difficult Travel, journey towards a goal, often symbolic or Allegory, allegorical. Tales of quests figure promine ...
to find the assailant; the game eventually culminates in a war between governing factions that are vying for control of the Mojave Desert. In addition to the main quests, the player can participate in optional, unrelated side quests. Kristinie Stiemer of ''
IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...
'' estimates completing every quest in the game takes around 100 hours. ''Fallout: New Vegas'' features a freely explorable
open world In video games, an open world is a virtual world in which the Gamer, player can approach objectives freely, as opposed to a world with more linear and structured gameplay. Notable games in this category include ''The Legend of Zelda (video game ...
map. The player can explore locations ranging from small settlements and abandoned buildings to large locations like the
Hoover Dam The Hoover Dam is a concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado, Black Canyon of the Colorado River (U.S.), Colorado River, on the border between the U.S. states of Nevada and Arizona. Constructed between 1931 and 1936, d ...
and the city of New Vegas, which was built from the remnants of
Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...
. The player is equipped with the Pip-Boy 3000, a
wearable computer A wearable computer, also known as a body-borne computer, is a computing device worn on the body. The definition of 'wearable computer' may be narrow or broad, extending to smartphones or even ordinary wristwatches. Wearables may be for general ...
that serves as a
menu In a restaurant, the menu is a list of food and beverages offered to the customer. A menu may be à la carte – which presents a list of options from which customers choose, often with prices shown – or table d'hôte, in which case a pre-est ...
and allows them to access items they have acquired, view detailed character statistics and active quests, and look at the map. The player can use the Pip-Boy 3000 map to fast travel to previously discovered locations. The player can also use the Pip-Boy 3000 as a radio, and listen to songs from the 1940s to the early 1960s on makeshift radio broadcasts. The player can engage in combat with
non-player characters A non-player character (NPC) is a Character (arts), character in a game that is not controlled by a Player (game), player. The term originated in traditional tabletop role-playing games where it applies to characters controlled by the gamemaste ...
(NPCs). The weapons in the game include standard guns, energy-based guns, melee weapons, and explosives. Guns can be equipped with additional modifications such as a scope. While in combat, the player can use a gameplay mechanic known as VATS, which pauses the game and allows the player to target specific body parts of an enemy. VATS is dictated by a
statistic A statistic (singular) or sample statistic is any quantity computed from values in a sample which is considered for a statistical purpose. Statistical purposes include estimating a population parameter, describing a sample, or evaluating a hypot ...
known as Action Points. Attacks made using VATS. cost Action Points; when the player runs out of Action Points, they must wait a short period before they can use VATS again. Some NPCs can be recruited as companions, and will accompany the player and assist them in combat.


Role-playing mechanics

At the start of the game, the player can customize the courier's appearance by choosing their gender, age, and race. They can then allocate points into seven primary
attributes Attribute may refer to: * Attribute (philosophy), a characteristic of an object * Attribute (research), a quality of an object * Grammatical modifier In linguistics, a modifier is an optional element in phrase structure or clause structure whic ...
: strength, perception, endurance, charisma, intelligence, agility, and luck. These attributes are known as SPECIAL stats. There are 13 secondary attributes whose point totals are affected by SPECIAL stats: barter, energy weapons, explosives, guns, lockpick, medicine, melee weapons, repair, science, sneak, speech, survival, and unarmed. If the player has a high intelligence stat, for example, they will be more proficient in the medicine, repair, and science skills at the beginning of the game. The player can add more points into skill stats whenever they earn enough
experience point An experience point (often abbreviated as exp or XP) is a unit of measurement used in some tabletop role-playing games (RPGs) and role-playing video games to quantify a player character's life experience and progression through the game. Experien ...
s to level up. Experience points can be earned through several methods, such as killing an enemy or completing a quest. When the player reaches an even-numbered level, they can select a permanent, beneficial upgrade known as a perk. For example, the perk Rapid Reload increases the reload speed for guns by 25 percent. The player's decisions made throughout the game have an impact on the development of the story and game environment, representing a high degree of player choice and freedom. The player can initiate conversations with NPCs in the form of
dialogue tree A dialogue tree, or conversation tree, is a gameplay mechanic that is used throughout many adventure games (including action-adventure games) and role-playing video games. When interacting with a non-player character, the player is given a choice ...
s. For example, early in the game a doctor tells the player that they nursed them and looked through your belongings for identification. The player can then choose to respond with one of the following dialogue options: "Thanks for patching me up, Doc.", "You shouldn't have gone through my stuff.", and "What do I do now?" Some response options are only available if the player has enough points in a certain stat, such as 50 points in the Barter stat to ask a shopkeeper for a discount. The responses the player chooses during conversations with NPCs as well as any previous actions determine their reputation among the in-game factions. For example, if the player decides to help a faction, they may be given new armor or access to a secret base. If the player's actions are perceived as detrimental, a faction might send assassins to try and kill the player. Some factions dislike one another; if the player is helpful to one faction, they may be unable to complete quests for another faction. Reputation extends to companions; some companions will leave the player if a specific faction dislikes the player. An optional
difficulty level Game balance is a branch of game design with the intention of improving gameplay and user experience by balancing difficulty and fairness. Game balance consists of adjusting rewards, challenges, and/or elements of a game to create the intended pla ...
in ''Fallout: New Vegas'' is Hardcore Mode, which adds survival mechanics the player must keep track of. For example, the player must routinely eat, drink, and sleep to avoid dying from starvation, dehydration, or sleep deprivation. Healing items gradually heal wounds but crippled limbs can only be healed by a doctor or specific items. Ammunition has weight, which necessitates careful inventory management, and companions can permanently die. Hardcore Mode can be enabled or disabled at any point in the game. If the player completes the entire game with Hardcore Mode enabled, they unlock an
achievement Achievement or achieving may refer to: *Achievement (heraldry) *Achievement (horse), a racehorse *Achievement (video games), a meta-goal defined outside of a game's parameters, a digital reward that signifies a player's mastery of a specific task ...
.


Plot


Setting

''Fallout: New Vegas'' takes place in 2281, 204 years after a devastating nuclear war between the United States and China, known as the Great War. Three major entities seek control of the Mojave Desert, which is known in-game as the Mojave Wasteland: The New California Republic (NCR) is a
democratic republic A democratic republic is a form of government operating on principles adopted from a republic and a democracy. As a cross between two similar systems, democratic republics may function on principles shared by both republics and democracies. Whil ...
that attempts to maintain law; Caesar's Legion is a violent, tribal army of slavers that is inspired by the
Roman legion The Roman legion (, ) was the largest military List of military legions, unit of the Roman army, composed of Roman citizenship, Roman citizens serving as legionary, legionaries. During the Roman Republic the manipular legion comprised 4,200 i ...
; and Mr. House is a mysterious businessman from New Vegas who controls an army of robots called Securitrons, acting as the city's dictator. As part of an eastward expansion from California, the NCR took control of the
Hoover Dam The Hoover Dam is a concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado, Black Canyon of the Colorado River (U.S.), Colorado River, on the border between the U.S. states of Nevada and Arizona. Constructed between 1931 and 1936, d ...
, which provides electricity to the surrounding area. Both Caesar's Legion and Mr. House want to control the Hoover Dam for themselves and advance their own plans for the region. Minor factions include the Boomers, a heavily armed xenophobic tribe at
Nellis Air Force Base Nellis Air Force Base ("Nellis" colloquialism, colloq.) is a United States Air Force military installation, installation in southern Nevada. Nellis hosts Aerial warfare, air combat exercises such as Exercise Red Flag and close air support exerc ...
; the Powder Gangers, escaped convicts from an NCR correctional facility; the Great Khans, a tribe of drug dealers currently occupying the
Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area The Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area in Clark County, Nevada, United States, is an area managed by the Bureau of Land Management as part of its National Landscape Conservation System, and protected as a National Conservation Area. ...
and the Brotherhood of Steel, a militant organization that aims to secure and hold old-world technology.


Story

While delivering a
poker chip Casino chips (also known as poker chips, gaming tokens, or checks/cheques) are small discs used as currency in casinos. Larger, rectangular gaming plaques may be used for high-stakes games. Poker chips are also widely used as play money in ca ...
-shaped
data storage Data storage is the recording (storing) of information (data) in a storage medium. Handwriting, phonographic recording, magnetic tape, and optical discs are all examples of storage media. Biological molecules such as RNA and DNA are con ...
device known as the Platinum Chip to New Vegas, the courier is ambushed by mobster and casino owner Benny, who steals the Platinum Chip and shoots the courier in the head. Left for dead, a Securiton named Victor digs out the courier from a shallow grave, and physician Doc Mitchell nurses them back to health. The courier departs to search for Benny and the Platinum Chip; they confront Benny in a casino on the New Vegas strip; the courier must either kill Benny and recover the Platinum Chip or let him escape. The courier becomes embroiled in a conflict between the NCR, Caesar's Legion, and Mr. House for control of the region. It is revealed Mr. House survived the nuclear apocalypse in a life-support chamber. He created the Platinum Chip, which contains a program that is capable of upgrading his Securitron army; the device was initially meant to protect Las Vegas during the Great War, but the war began before the Chip could be delivered. After the Platinum Chip was located, the courier was tasked with delivering it to Mr. House. Benny stole the Platinum Chip as part of his plan to usurp Mr. House with the assistance of a reprogrammed Securitron called Yes Man. Hoover Dam becomes the center of the conflict between the NCR and Caesar's Legion. The player can choose which faction to support, resulting in one of four endings. If the player supports the NCR, they successfully repel the Legion's attack at Hoover Dam and annex the Mojave Wasteland. If the player supports Caesar's Legion, they force the NCR to retreat and conquer the Mojave Wasteland. Mr. House wants to have sole control of New Vegas; if the player supports him, the overwhelming Securitron army forces both factions to leave the area. Alternatively, if the player wishes the Mojave Wasteland to remain independent of leadership, they can take control of Mr. House's Securitron network with the help of Yes Man.


Development


''Van Buren'' and Bethesda purchase

''Fallout: New Vegas'' began with the cancellation of '' Van Buren'', which was intended to be the third game in the mainline ''Fallout'' series.
Black Isle Studios Black Isle Studios is a division of the video game developer, developer and video game publisher, publisher Interplay Entertainment formed in 1996 that develops role-playing video games. It has published several games from other developers. Blac ...
was set to develop a
real-time Real-time, realtime, or real time may refer to: Computing * Real-time computing, hardware and software systems subject to a specified time constraint * Real-time clock, a computer clock that keeps track of the current time * Real-time Control Syst ...
game with turn-based combat set across
Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...
,
Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...
,
Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...
, and
Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...
. The game was cancelled in December 2003 following the financial issues faced by Black Isle Studios' publisher,
Interplay Entertainment Interplay Entertainment Corp. is an American video game developer and publisher based in Los Angeles. The company was founded in 1983 as Interplay Productions by developers Brian Fargo, Jay Patel, Troy Worrell, and Rebecca Heineman, as well a ...
. Prior to ''Van Buren'' cancellation, former Black Isle and Interplay staff cofounded Obsidian Entertainment. Over the next few years, Obsidian developed the role-playing games '' Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords'', ''
Neverwinter Nights 2 ''Neverwinter Nights 2'' is a role-playing video game developed by Obsidian Entertainment and published by Atari Interactive. It is the second installment in the ''Neverwinter Nights'' series and is the sequel to BioWare's ''Neverwinter Nights ...
'', and '' Alpha Protocol'', and a canceled '' Alien'' role-playing game. In 2007,
Bethesda Softworks Bethesda Softworks LLC is an American video game publisher based in Rockville, Maryland. The company was founded by Christopher Weaver in 1986 as a Division (business), division of Media Technology Limited. In 1999, it became a subsidiary of Z ...
purchased the ''Fallout''
intellectual property Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, co ...
. The following year, Bethesda released ''
Fallout 3 ''Fallout 3'' is a 2008 action role-playing game developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. The third major installment in the ''Fallout'' series, it is the first game to be developed by Bethesda after acquiring ...
'', which was well received by critics and sold over five million copies in 2008. Prior to the release of ''Fallout 3'', Bethesda had already started development on '' The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim''. Bethesda wanted to support ''Fallout 3'' with more content and decided to contract another developer to create a large
expansion pack An expansion pack, expansion set, supplement, or simply expansion, is an addition to an existing role-playing game, tabletop game, video game, collectible card game or Miniature wargaming, miniature wargame. An expansion may introduce new rules ...
. Bethesda's
creative director A creative director is a person who makes high-level creative decisions; oversees the creation of creative assets such as advertisements, products, events, or logos; and directs and translates the creative people who produce the end results. Creat ...
,
Todd Howard Todd Andrew Howard (born 1970) is an American video game designer, Creative director, director, and Video game producer, producer. He serves as director and executive producer at Bethesda Game Studios, where he has led the development of the ...
, lobbied for a full game instead of an expansion pack and, based on their experience with the ''Fallout'' series, suggested Obsidian. In 2007, Obsidian had rejected an offer from Bethesda to develop a ''
Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the Star Trek: The Original Series, series of the same name and became a worldwide Popular culture, pop-culture Cultural influence of ...
'' game but agreed to develop a spin-off from the ''Fallout'' main series.


Early development

Bethesda wanted the game to take place on the
West Coast of the United States The West Coast of the United States, also known as the Pacific Coast and the Western Seaboard, is the coastline along which the Western United States meets the North Pacific Ocean. The term typically refers to the Contiguous United States, contig ...
, where the first two ''Fallout'' games are set, and Obsidian felt a similar setting would allow them to expand concepts introduced by ''
Fallout 2 ''Fallout 2'' (also known as ''Fallout 2: A Post Nuclear Role Playing Game'') is a 1998 role-playing video game developed by Black Isle Studios and published by Interplay Productions. It is a sequel to ''Fallout (video game), Fallout'' (1997), ...
'', like the New California Republic. Other proposals included setting the game in a city based on
Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada–California border. It is the county seat and most populous city of Washoe County, Nevada, Washoe County. Sitting in the High Eastern Sierra foothills, ...
, and allowing the player to play as a human, a
ghoul In folklore, a ghoul (from , ') is a demon-like being or monstrous humanoid, often associated with graveyards and the consumption of human flesh. In the legends or tales in which they appear, a ghoul is far more ill-mannered and foul than go ...
, or a super mutant. The latter idea was rejected due to the technical challenges posed by armor-wearing ghouls and super mutants. The developers chose to set the game in Las Vegas and the surrounding Mojave Desert because they evoked the
1950s File:1950s decade montage.png, 370x370px, Top, L-R: U.S. Marines engaged in street fighting during the Korean War, late September 1950; The first polio vaccine is developed by Jonas Salk.Centre, L-R: US tests its first thermonuclear bomb with co ...
imagery for which the series was known and the post-apocalyptic setting of ''
Mad Max ''Mad Max'' is an Australian media franchise created by George Miller and Byron Kennedy. It centres on a series of post-apocalyptic and dystopian action films. The franchise began in 1979 with '' Mad Max'', and was followed by three sequels: ...
''. At the behest of project director Josh Sawyer, Obsidian repurposed
digital asset A digital asset is anything that exists only in digital form and comes with a distinct usage right or distinct permission for use. Data that do not possess those rights are not considered assets. ''Digital assets'' include, but are not limited t ...
s from the canceled ''Alien'' game for ''Fallout: New Vegas''. According to Sawyer: " did not want to disrupt our pipelines at all. We basically want to use what's there – add to it, don't change it ... and make great content". Obsidian wanted ''Fallout: New Vegas'' to take place between the events of ''Fallout 2'' and ''Fallout 3'', although Bethesda mandated each game in the series should follow chronological order. Sawyer wanted the story of ''Fallout: New Vegas'' to focus on greed and excess. The history of Las Vegas served as an inspiration due to that city's connection with
organized crime Organized crime is a category of transnational organized crime, transnational, national, or local group of centralized enterprises run to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally thought of as a f ...
. One of the working titles for the game was ''Fallout: Sin City''. Sawyer used the
assassination of John F. Kennedy John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, was assassinated while riding in a presidential motorcade through Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas, on November 22, 1963. Kennedy was in the vehicle with his wife Jacqueline Kennedy Onas ...
in 1963 as a cut-off for any historical references. The game's narrative was structured around factional conflict as a result of fan feedback. Sawyer felt the factions would realistically be most concerned about access to water in the desert setting and Hoover Dam became a focal point for
worldbuilding Worldbuilding is the process of constructing an imaginary world or setting (narrative), setting, sometimes associated with a fictional universe. Developing the world with coherent qualities such as a history, geography, culture and ecology is a k ...
. During a
Game Developers Conference The Game Developers Conference (GDC) is an annual conference for video game developers. The event includes an expo, networking events, and awards shows like the Game Developers Choice Award for Game of the Year, Game Developers Choice Awards and ...
presentation, Sawyer noted Obsidian wanted to avoid what he described as "
Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...
/
Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...
" moments, where factions like the NCR and Caesar's Legion were presented as straightforwardly good or evil, and aimed to make player choices come moral trade offs.


Design and gameplay

To capture the ambiance of the Mojave Desert, Obsidian used data collected by the
United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), founded as the Geological Survey, is an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior whose work spans the disciplines of biology, geography, geology, and hydrology. The agency was founded on Mar ...
(USGS). Sawyer traveled to Las Vegas and took reference photographs of the surrounding areas, including the nearby
Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area The Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area in Clark County, Nevada, United States, is an area managed by the Bureau of Land Management as part of its National Landscape Conservation System, and protected as a National Conservation Area. ...
. Obsidian used the Las Vegas Beltway as a point of reference while designing the map because they felt circling the map with a road network would help the player navigate. Bethesda requested the inclusion of large structures to serve as visual landmarks for the player. While ''Fallout 3'' uses monuments in
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
, as visual landmarks, ''Fallout: New Vegas'' uses
kitsch ''Kitsch'' ( ; loanword from German) is a term applied to art and design that is perceived as Naivety, naïve imitation, overly eccentric, gratuitous or of banal Taste (sociology), taste. The modern avant-garde traditionally opposed kitsch ...
y roadside attractions, such as a large dinosaur statue based on the
Cabazon Dinosaurs Cabazon Dinosaurs, formerly Claude Bell's Dinosaurs, is a roadside attraction in Cabazon, California, featuring two enormous, steel-and-concrete dinosaurs named Dinny the Dinosaur and Mr. Rex. Located just west of Palm Springs, the ''Brontosaur ...
in Cabazon, California. These attractions were motivated by a goal to differentiate ''Fallout: New Vegas'' from ''Fallout 3''. Locations within ''Fallout: New Vegas'' are more spread out when compared to ''Fallout 3'', which largely centered around the Washington, D.C. metro. Other differences include a warmer color palette for the graphics, and the inclusion of local flora, such as Joshua trees and prickly pear cacti. Obsidian wanted New Vegas to closely resemble the
Las Vegas Strip The Las Vegas Strip is a stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard in Clark County, Nevada, that is known for its concentration of resort hotels and casinos. The Strip, as it is known, is about long, and is immediately south of the Las Vegas city limits ...
in the 1950s; this means each casino is adorned with large neon signs, and their architecture is modeled on the contemporary Googie movement. The gameplay of ''Fallout: New Vegas'' remained largely unchanged from that of ''Fallout 3''. Obsidian instead focused on making minor adjustments, such as giving the player more tactical options while in combat. The player could now use
iron sights Iron sights are a system of physical alignment markers used as a sighting device to assist the accurate aiming of ranged weapons such as firearms, airguns, crossbows, and bows, or less commonly as a primitive finder sight for optical telescop ...
on guns, and accuracy was greatly affected by player movement. Optional gameplay mechanics that would further evoke a sense of desert survival skills, such as item-crafting, and Hardcore Mode, were added. According to Sawyer, the feature was added to provide an optional difficulty increase for players. Obsidian was inspired by the ''Fallout 3''
modding Modding (from "modifying") is the act of modifying hardware, software, or anything else to perform a function not originally intended by the designer, or to achieve bespoke specification or appearance. The term is often used in reference to vid ...
community, specifically the mods that sought to improve the game with
quality of life Quality of life (QOL) is defined by the World Health Organization as "an individual's perception of their position in life in the context of the culture and value systems in which they live and in relation to their goals, expectations, standards ...
changes. Bethesda provided Obsidian with the
Gamebryo Gamebryo (; ; formerly NetImmerse until 2003) is a game engine developed by Gamebase Co., Ltd. and Gamebase USA, that incorporates a set of tools and plugins including run-time libraries, supporting video game developers for numerous cross-pl ...
engine, which had been used for ''Fallout 3''. No Obsidian staff had worked with Gamebryo, so the company hired a modder with experience making mods for '' The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion''.


Audio

Inon Zur composed the soundtrack of ''Fallout: New Vegas'', which was intended to evoke the soundscape of the
American Southwest The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural list of regions of the United States, region of the United States that includes Arizona and New Mexico, along with adjacen ...
. While working on the soundtrack, Zur received an email that included the descriptors: "Southwest in the Future. Open, Spacious, Raw, Lonesome, Cowboy, Rattlesnake, Desert, Wind, Heat, Rust, Steel, Dirt, Grit." Zur was inspired by the
soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...
for the film ''
There Will Be Blood ''There Will Be Blood'' is a 2007 American epic film, epic historical drama, period drama film written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, loosely based on the 1927 novel ''Oil!'' by Upton Sinclair. It stars Daniel Day-Lewis, Paul Dano, Kev ...
''; he worked with audio director Scott Lawlor to compose music for a string quartet. ''Fallout: New Vegas'' has an
adaptive music Adaptation, in biology, is the process or trait by which organisms or population better match their environment Adaptation may also refer to: Arts * Adaptation (arts), a transfer of a work of art from one medium to another ** Film adaptation, ...
system, which means the soundtrack will change depending on what is happening to the player. While exploring, the music is quiet and ambient but becomes loud and powerful when the player enters combat. In addition to the original soundtrack, ''Fallout: New Vegas'' includes licensed music to which the player can listen via in-game radio stations. The licensed music includes songs from the 1950s and several
music genres A music genre is a conventional category that identifies some pieces of music as belonging to a shared tradition or set of conventions. Genre is to be distinguished from musical form and musical style, although in practice these terms are someti ...
, including
country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...
and bluegrass. Over 65,000 lines of dialogue were recorded for ''Fallout: New Vegas'', which set a
Guinness World Record ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...
for the most lines of dialogue in a single-player role-playing game. The game also includes celebrity
voice acting Voice acting is the art of performing a character or providing information to an audience with one's voice. Performers are often called voice actors/actresses in addition to other names. Examples of voice work include animated, off-stage, off-sc ...
from Rene Auberjonois,
Felicia Day Kathryn Felicia Day (born June 28, 1979) is an American actress, singer, writer, and web series creator. She is the creator and star of the web series '' The Guild'' (2007–2013), a show loosely based on her life as a gamer. She also wrote and ...
, John Doman,
Michael Dorn Michael Dorn (born December 9, 1952) is an American actor best known for his role as the Klingon character Worf in the ''Star Trek'' franchise, appearing in all seven seasons of the television series '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' (1987–1 ...
,
Kris Kristofferson Kristoffer Kristofferson (June 22, 1936 – September 28, 2024) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was a pioneering figure in the outlaw country movement of the 1970s, moving away from the polished Nashville sound and toward a m ...
,
Zachary Levi Zachary Levi Pugh ( ; born September 29, 1980) is an American actor. He starred as Chuck Bartowski in the action comedy series ''Chuck (TV series), Chuck'' (2007–2012), and as Captain Marvel (DC Comics), the titular character in the superher ...
,
Wayne Newton Carson Wayne Newton (born April 3, 1942), also known as Mr. Las Vegas, is an American singer and actor. One of the most popular singers in the United States from the mid-to-late 20th century, Newton remains one of the best-known entertainers in ...
,
Ron Perlman Ronald N. Perlman (born April 13, 1950) is an American actor. His credits include the roles of Amoukar in ''Quest for Fire (film), Quest for Fire'' (1981), Salvatore in ''The Name of the Rose (film), The Name of the Rose'' (1986), Vincent in th ...
,
Matthew Perry Matthew Langford Perry (August 19, 1969 – October 28, 2023) was an American and Canadian actor, comedian, director and screenwriter. He gained international fame for starring as Chandler Bing on the NBC television sitcom ''Friends'' (1994– ...
, and
Danny Trejo Danny Trejo (, ; born May 16, 1944) is an American actor. Known for his Danny Trejo filmography, large body of work as a character actor, films in which he has appeared in have grossed over $3.7 billion worldwide. A native of Los Angeles, Tr ...
.


Challenges and cut content

Bethesda gave Obsidian 18 months to develop ''Fallout: New Vegas'', which several journalists noted is a very short time in which to develop a Triple-A game. When asked about the hastened development, Sawyer said: "We were working somewhere between forty and fifty hours a week, which is not too crazy ... It was a really tight schedule, but I don't think we had a point where we all thought 'this is crazy we can't do it.'" The contracted development meant some areas of the game needed to be cut. For example, there were planned settlements east of the
Colorado River The Colorado River () is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The river, the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), 5th longest in the United St ...
, including three locations that would have been controlled by Caesar's Legion and would have provided more information about the faction. Sawyer also noted Obsidian's lack of experience with the Gamebryo engine hindered development. Programmers had to routinely run
maintenance The technical meaning of maintenance involves functional checks, servicing, repairing or replacing of necessary devices, equipment, machinery, building infrastructure and supporting utilities in industrial, business, and residential installa ...
on the engine, and struggled to implement the Havok software, which was a requirement for
console games A video game console is an electronic device that outputs a video signal or image to display a video game that can typically be played with a game controller. These may be home consoles, which are generally placed in a permanent location connec ...
. Sawyer recalled a specific moment when Obsidian received console development kits. They found the New Vegas Strip was not properly optimized, and had to split the area into sections that are separated by
loading screen A loading screen is a screen shown by a computer program, very often a video game, while the program is loading (moving program data from the Disk storage, disk to Random-access memory, RAM) or initializing. In early video games, the loading scr ...
s rather than being a single, continuous section.


Release and downloadable content

''Fallout: New Vegas'' was announced in April 2009, and the first trailer was shown in February 2010. Four
pre-order A pre-order is an order placed for an item that has not yet been released. The idea for pre-orders came because people found it hard to get popular items in stores because of their popularity. Companies then had the idea to allow customers to r ...
bonuses were available for players who pre-ordered the game from
Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...
,
Best Buy Best Buy Co., Inc. is an American multinational consumer electronics retailer headquartered in Richfield, Minnesota. Originally founded by Richard M. Schulze and James Wheeler in 1966 as an audio specialty store called Sound of Music, it was r ...
,
GameStop GameStop Corp. is an American video game, consumer electronics, and gaming merchandise retailer, headquartered in Grapevine, Texas (a suburb of Dallas). The brand is the largest video game retailer worldwide. , the company operated 3,203 stor ...
,
Steam Steam is water vapor, often mixed with air or an aerosol of liquid water droplets. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization. Saturated or superheated steam is inv ...
, and
Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores in the United States and 23 other ...
. Each pre-order bonus included weapons and items the player could access at the beginning of the game. A collectors' edition, which included the game, seven
poker chips Casino chips (also known as poker chips, gaming tokens, or checks/cheques) are small discs used as currency in casinos. Larger, rectangular gaming plaques may be used for high-stakes games. Poker chips are also widely used as play money in ca ...
, a replica of the Platinum Chip, a deck of cards with character illustrations, a prequel
graphic novel A graphic novel is a self-contained, book-length form of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and Anthology, anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comics sc ...
, and a
making-of https://www Googlefinans.co= In filmmaking, behind-the-scenes (BTS), also known as the making-of, the set, or on the set, is a documentary film that features the production of a film or television program. This is often referred to as the EPK ( ...
documentary. Pre-order sales for ''Fallout: New Vegas'' were higher than those for ''Fallout 3'' in North America and the United Kingdom. ''Fallout: New Vegas'' was released in North America for
Microsoft Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...
,
PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE). It is the successor to the PlayStation 2, and both are part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. The PS3 was first released on ...
, and
Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the Xbox (console), original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox#Consoles, Xbox series. It was officially unveiled on MTV on May 12, 2005, with detail ...
on October 19, 2010; October 21 in Australia; and October 22 in Europe. By November 8, the game had sold five million copies worldwide and garnered $300 million in revenue. The market-research firm Electronic Entertainment Design and Research estimated by 2015, the game had sold 11.6 million copies worldwide. ''Fallout: New Vegas'' suffered from numerous glitches upon release, including crashes, corrupted
saved game A saved game (also called a game save, savegame, savefile, save point, or simply save) is a piece of digitally stored information about the progress of a player in a video game. From the earliest games in the 1970s onward, game platform hardw ...
s, and
frame rate Frame rate, most commonly expressed in frame/s, or FPS, is typically the frequency (rate) at which consecutive images (Film frame, frames) are captured or displayed. This definition applies to film and video cameras, computer animation, and moti ...
issues. Fans and video-game journalists criticized the large number of glitches. Months after release, Bethesda published patches to fix the glitches. ''Fallout: New Vegas'' was supported with six
downloadable content content (DLC) is additional content created for an already released video game, distributed through the Internet by the game's publisher. It can be added for no extra cost or as a form of video game monetization, enabling the publisher to gain ad ...
(DLC) add-ons, whose development was led by the designer
Chris Avellone Chris Avellone (/ˈævəloʊn/) is an American video game designer and comic book writer. He is known for his significant roles on a large number of video games, primarily role-playing video game Role-playing video games, also known as CRP ...
. Avellone's goal was to expand the game's story and incorporate gameplay ideas that would not have worked in the base game. Avellone cited the
survival horror Survival horror is a Video game genre, subgenre of horror games. Although combat can be part of the gameplay, the player is made to feel less in control than in typical action games through limited ammunition or weapons, health, speed, and visio ...
elements of the DLC ''Dead Money'' as an example. Avellone said: "It would feel weird if you designed even maybe a big ''Fallout New Vegas'' level around that. But as a DLC, it felt like, 'Oh, cool. This is my trip to a horror realm.'" In ''Dead Money'', the courier is captured and forced to stage a heist on Sierra Madre Casino, which is concealed by a cloud of deadly toxic vapor. The second DLC was ''Honest Hearts'', which is set in
Zion National Park Zion National Park is a national park of the United States located in southwestern Utah near the town of Springdale. Located at the junction of the Colorado Plateau, Great Basin, and Mojave Desert regions, the park has a unique geography and a ...
and revolves around the courier's involvement in a conflict between several tribes. The third DLC, ''Old World Blues'', features
B movie A B movie, or B film, is a type of cheap, low-budget commercial motion picture. Originally, during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood, this term specifically referred to films meant to be shown as the lesser-known second ...
humor and a plot about a group of
mad scientist The mad scientist (also mad doctor or mad professor) is a stock character of a scientist who is perceived as "mad, bad and dangerous to know" or "insanity, insane" owing to a combination of unusual or unsettling personality traits and the unabas ...
s. The final story-driven DLC was ''Lonesome Road'', in which the player tracks another courier named Ulysses, who rejected the job of delivering the Platinum Chip to Mr. House. Two additional, non-story-driven DLC add-ons were released: ''Courier's Stash'' granted access to items that were originally released as pre-order bonuses; and ''Gun Runners' Arsenal'' added new weapons,
firearm modification Firearm modification is commonly done in order to enhance various aspects of the performance of a firearm. Reasons for these modifications can range from cosmetic to functional, and can be simple operations that the owner can perform, or comple ...
s, and new types of ammunition.


Reception


Initial reception

Upon its release, ''Fallout: New Vegas'' received positive reviews from critics. Bethesda offered Obsidian a bonus payment if any version of the game received a rating of 85/100 or higher on the
review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...
website
Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
. ''Fallout: New Vegas'' missed the threshold by one point; Metacritic assigned it a weighted-average critic score of 84/100 for the Windows and Xbox 360 versions, and an 82/100 for the PlayStation 3 version. When asked about narrowly missing the threshold, Obsidian CEO Feargus Urquhart said: "It was in the contract, it was what it said. We didn't put it in there and we signed it. I wasn't crying over it by any stretch of the imagination." Bethesda's decision to use Metacritic's rating as a determinant for bonus payment was criticized; journalists said Metacritic lacked the objectivity needed to measure the quality of a game. ''Fallout: New Vegas'' story and writing were well received, and were consistently highlighted in reviews. Craig Pearson of ''
PC Gamer ''PC Gamer'' is a magazine and website founded in the United Kingdom in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future plc. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games m ...
'' described the story as a significant improvement over that of ''Fallout 3'', and appreciated the way factions adapt to the player's choices and previous actions. The British version of ''
Official Xbox Magazine ''Official Xbox Magazine'' (''OXM'') was a British monthly video game magazine which started in November 2001 around the launch of the original Xbox. A preview issue was released at E3 2001, with another preview issue in November 2001. The maga ...
'' called the story "staggering in scope and consistent in quality", and particularly praised the final quest. Despite their enjoyment, some critics bemoaned the lack of memorable story moments when compared with ''Fallout 3''. ''
Game Informer ''Game Informer'' (''GI'' is an American monthly Video game journalism, video game magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of video games and video game console, game consoles. It debuted in August 1991, when the video game reta ...
'' Andrew Reiner wrote: "Obsidian's writing is top notch (especially the dialogue), and I wanted to see more from most of the characters I met, but none of the scripted moments deliver the nuclear bang that Bethesda achieved". The side quests received praise, and some reviewers said they are more interesting than the main story. Kevin VanOrd of ''
GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady, and Jon Epstein. In addition ...
'' greatly appreciated the number of solutions each quest offers, such as a quest that allows the player to either fight robots in an abandoned museum or steal a keycard and avoid confrontation. Reiner offered similar commentary, and said: "In just the missions and story, ''New Vegas'' offers a nearly unprecedented level of depth ... it delivers a true sense of ownership over the experience and gives you thousands of reasons why you should come back and play it again and again". Kristine Steimer of ''
IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...
'' gave particular praise to the map, which she said acts as a catalyst to finding new side quests and unique locations. Because Obsidian made only minor adjustments to the gameplay, some reviewers described ''Fallout: New Vegas'' as a large expansion of ''Fallout 3'' rather than a separate game. Steimer wrote: "I often want to call it ''Fallout 3: New Vegas''. Since the first game was so widely loved, that's certainly not a bad thing, but ''New Vegas'' does feel like a giant, awesome expansion." Pearson was disappointed there were few technological advancements in ''Fallout: New Vegas''; he said: "New areas, characters and factions, but the same clunky inventory and character models. Two years to stay exactly where you were." Francesca Reyes of the American version of ''Official Xbox Magazine'' struggled to recommend the game to anyone who did not enjoy ''Fallout 3''. The newly added gameplay mechanics, such as faction reputation and Hardcore Mode, were well received; reviewers said they add an additional layer of complexity over ''Fallout 3''. Reviewers were divided in their opinions on the companions; Christopher Monfette of G4 said the companions provide a stronger emotional connection than any moment in the main quest, while Dan Whitehead of ''
Eurogamer ''Eurogamer'' is a British video game journalism website launched in 1999 alongside parent company Gamer Network. In 2008, it started in the formerly eponymous trade fair EGX (Eurogamer Expo until 2013) organised by its parent company. Fr ...
'' found the companions to be more trouble than they were worth due to their penchant for ignoring the commands he gave them. Many reviewers derided the glitches, which were seen as substantive and disruptive to gameplay. Among the more common glitches noted in reviews were poor companion and enemy
pathfinding Pathfinding or pathing is the search, by a computer application, for the shortest route between two points. It is a more practical variant on Maze-solving algorithm, solving mazes. This field of research is based heavily on Dijkstra's algorith ...
, framerate issues, and crashes. Mike Nelson of '' 1Up.com'' stated that ''Fallout: New Vegas'' had some of the most frustrating glitches he had ever seen, and he would have given the game a higher score had it not been for them. A reviewer for ''
Edge Edge or EDGE may refer to: Technology Computing * Edge computing, a network load-balancing system * Edge device, an entry point to a computer network * Adobe Edge, a graphical development application * Microsoft Edge, a web browser developed by ...
'' wrote, "Creatively, ''New Vegas'' gets almost everything right. Mechanically and technically, it's a tragedy." Some reviewers noted that they still enjoyed the game despite the glitches. ''
Giant Bomb ''Giant Bomb'' is an American video game website and wiki that includes personality-driven gaming videos, commentary, news and reviews, created by former ''GameSpot'' editors Jeff Gerstmann and Ryan Davis. The website was voted by ''Time (maga ...
's''
Jeff Gerstmann Jeff Gerstmann (born August 1, 1975) is an American video game journalist. Former editorial director of the gaming website ''GameSpot'' and the co-founder of the gaming website '' Giant Bomb'', Gerstmann began working at ''GameSpot'' in the fal ...
wrote, " ..when I reflect on the experience, I'll probably think about the times the game locked up on me or broke in a dozen other crazy ways first, before thinking about the great world and the objectives that fill it. If you were able to look past the issues that plagued ''Fallout 3'' and 'The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion''before it, ''New Vegas'' will eventually show you a real good time." ''Fallout: New Vegas'' won the 2011
Golden Joystick Award The Golden Joystick Awards, also known as the People's Gaming Awards, is a video game award ceremony; it awards the best video games of the year, as voted for originally by the British general public, but is now a global event that can be vote ...
for Role-Playing Game of the Year, and the 2010 ''IGN'' award for Most Bang for Your Buck. The game was also nominated for the Role-Playing/Massively Multiplayer Game of the Year award during the 14th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards but the award went to '' Mass Effect 2''.


Re-evaluation and legacy

Since its release, fans and journalists have re-evaluated ''Fallout: New Vegas'', and the game's reception has become significantly more positive. Cass Marshall of ''
Polygon In geometry, a polygon () is a plane figure made up of line segments connected to form a closed polygonal chain. The segments of a closed polygonal chain are called its '' edges'' or ''sides''. The points where two edges meet are the polygon ...
'' wrote: "''Fallout: New Vegas'' has endured in the cultural zeitgeist in a way that few other games have". Some critics have referred to ''Fallout: New Vegas'' as the best game in the ''Fallout'' series and as one of the
greatest video games of all time This is a list of video games that video game journalists or magazines have considered among the best of all time. The games are included on at least six separate best-of lists from different publications (inclusive of all time periods, platfor ...
. In a retrospective article about the ''Fallout'' series, Ian Dransfield of ''
Retro Gamer ''Retro Gamer'' is a British magazine, published worldwide, covering Retrogaming, retro video games. It was the first commercial magazine to be devoted entirely to the subject. Launched in January 2004 as a quarterly publication, ''Retro Gamer'' ...
'' stated: "''New Vegas'' served as the balance between Bethesda's new 3D approach, and Black Isle/Interplays focus on traditional ole-playingmechanics". ''Eurogamer'' Emma Kent wrote: "it felt like even the smallest story was carefully crafted to maintain interest and deliver a rewarding kicker ... on the macro scale, ''New Vegas'' took a more serious tone by weaving a complex power struggle that mirrors many current real-world conflicts". Part of the game's re-evaluation comes from patches that fixed many of its glitches. Kat Bailey of ''
VG247 Gamer Network Limited (formerly Eurogamer Network Limited) is a British digital media company based in London. Founded in 1999 by Rupert and Nick Loman, it owns brands—primarily editorial websites—relating to video game journalism and ot ...
'' noted once the discourse regarding the technical aspects subsided, players grew to appreciate the game for what it is. The subsequent DLC add-ons and the active modding community also contributed to the game's long-lasting appeal. ''PC Gamer'' Dominic Tarason wrote: "Years of dedicated community efforts have culminated in ''New Vegas'' being a better game than ever". Notable mods for the game include ''Tale Of Two Wastelands'', which combines the maps of ''Fallout 3'' and ''Fallout: New Vegas''; and '' Fallout: New California'', which serves as a prequel and expands on the courier's story. ''Fallout: The Frontier'', a mod that added a new map to the game, was the subject of media attention due to its large size and controversial content. Some fans have negatively compared ''Fallout 3'' and ''
Fallout 4 ''Fallout 4'' is a 2015 action role-playing game developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. It is the fourth main game in the ''Fallout'' series and was released worldwide on November 10, 2015, for Microsoft Windo ...
'' with ''Fallout: New Vegas''. When compared with ''Fallout: New Vegas'', fans commonly criticize ''Fallout 3'' and ''Fallout 4'' for uninteresting storylines, downgraded role-playing mechanics, and limited options for player expression. Patricia Hernandez of ''
Kotaku ''Kotaku'' is a video game website and blog that was originally launched in 2004 as part of the Gawker Media network. Notable former contributors to the site include Luke Smith, Cecilia D'Anastasio, Tim Rogers, and Jason Schreier. History ...
'' commented:
It sometimes seems as though you can't talk about ''Fallout 4'' without having someone start talking about how good ''New Vegas'' is, how much they wish Obsidian, rather than Bethesda, handled modern ''Fallout'' games. It's in every comments section for the ''Fallout 4'' articles we post, I see it on Reddit a whole lot, and I've been emailed petitions about Obsidian and future ''Fallout'' games many, many times.
When the television series ''
Fallout Nuclear fallout is residual radioactive material that is created by the reactions producing a nuclear explosion. It is initially present in the radioactive cloud created by the explosion, and "falls out" of the cloud as it is moved by the ...
'' was released, the episode " The Trap" seemingly contradicts the plot of ''Fallout: New Vegas'', which led some fans to believe Bethesda was trying to
retcon Retroactive continuity, or retcon for short, is a literary device in fictional story telling whereby facts and events established through the narrative itself are adjusted, ignored, supplemented, or contradicted by a subsequently published work ...
the game due to their perceived disdain of its reception. When Bethesda director Todd Howard clarified the issue, ''PC Gamer'' published an article with the headline New Vegas is a very, very important game to us,' says mildly exasperated Todd Howard, who will never stop getting grilled about New Vegas". Since 2022, a yearly ''Fallout: New Vegas''-themed fan event has been held in Goodsprings, Nevada, the player's in-game starting location.


Notes


References


External links

* {{Authority control 2010 video games Action role-playing video games Bethesda Softworks games Fallout (franchise) video games Gamebryo games Games for Windows Golden Joystick Award winners LGBTQ-related video games Mutants in fiction Obsidian Entertainment games Open-world video games Post-apocalyptic video games PlayStation 3 games Science fiction video games Science fiction Westerns Single-player video games Video games about cannibalism Video games about slavery Video games adapted into comics Video games developed in the United States Video games directed by Josh Sawyer Video games scored by Inon Zur Video games set in Arizona Video games set in California Video games set in Nevada Video games set in the 23rd century Video games set in the Las Vegas Valley Video games set in Utah Video games using Havok Video games with customizable avatars Video games with gender-selectable protagonists Western (genre) video games Windows games Xbox 360 games Xbox Cloud Gaming games Video games with multiple endings