I took this from a site I write reviews for:

In stark contrast to its iconic phrase about the never changing nature of war, the Fallout series has changed quite a considerable amount in its almost 14-year lifespan.  It has changed gameplay styles, changed developers, and overall, has changed in ways that have lost a hold on some of the core fundamentals of the series. And while I, despite being a big fan of the first two Fallout games, have “accepted” the first two changes, I have never been all right with Fallout substituting parts of its foundation, like quality storytelling and deep RPG mechanics, for things like voluptuous amounts of thongs and rather infuriating kill-cams. And unfortunately, this seems to be the path that the series has taken over the last decade or so. Thus, I have been waiting for Fallout to change again, but in a way that brought the series back to its roots. That wait seemed to come to an end when Obsidian, a studio founded by some key members of the now defunct Black Isle Studios (the developers of the original Fallout games, among other RPG classics), announced it would be developing a new Fallout game, called Fallout: New Vegas. At first glance, many believed that Fallout had not changed, and that New Vegas was nothing more than an expansion pack for Fallout 3; they would be mistaken. Fallout has changed again with New Vegas, a full game in all regards. And for the first time since Fallout 2, it has changed for the better.

The story in New Vegas places you in the shoes of the Courier, an essential blank slate and an employee of the Mojave Express. While delivering a package, you’re shot in the head and left for dead, but miraculously survive. And, upon awakening, you set out in search of your assassin, and try to discover his motive for killing you. Eventually though, it pans out into a much bigger conflict, as you get intertwined in a power struggle between three warring factions for the rather intact city of New Vegas. There’s the New California Republic (the NCR), the imperialistic power from Fallout 2, Caesar’s Legion, the Roman-esque slaver nation from Black Isle’s canceled Fallout 3 (better known as Van Buren), and Mr. House, the mysterious overlord of the Vegas Strip. So, you must side with one of these factions (or work alone) in order to determine the fate of New Vegas and its outlying areas.

New Vegas’s plot is excellent for a number of reasons. It gives you a blank slate of a character, which allows you to develop your own genuine relationships with the wasteland’s inhabitants, and not have them forced upon you in an overly long tutorial sequence.  It’s filled with complex and intriguing characters, most of which are aided by some superb voice acting (of course, there are exceptions), that range from nightkin grandmothers struggling with schizophrenia to intelligent and sensible dictators.  And Obsidian does what it does best by allowing you to have deep interactions with your companions.  It’s incredibly well written, miles beyond Fallout 3, and combines intricate dialogue with the genuine humor that Fallout 2’s writing emphasized. And unlike Fallout 3, it doesn’t make the game seem like everything is so *** serious.  The factions are, by and large, morally gray, allowing you, not the game, to decide what is right and wrong for New Vegas.  But perhaps most importantly, the faction-centered structure of the main quest gives it diverging storylines that prompt replay value, and add a much stronger emphasis on permanent choices and consequences. And most of these choices play out in a glorious ending slideshow that highlights the impacts that they all will have on the future of the wasteland, just like in the first two Fallout games; no more vague karma slides like in Fallout 3.  In fact, in all of the hundreds (yes, hundreds) of ending combinations that New Vegas’s ending can produce, everything doesn’t work out for everyone, so there’s no holistically “good” or “bad” ending whatsoever; there’s just the “right” ending, which, as mentioned above, is determined by you, the player, and not the game.  And yes, the game has a definite ending (like virtually every other RPG ever created), but it makes sense this time and gives you ample warning to save your game.  So overall, New Vegas’s story is an engrossing, well-executed tale that truly gives you the ability to sculpt it in any way you want.

Tabitha's ramblings on Black Mountain Radio are one of the most consistently hilarious parts of the game

New Vegas also does something that every game since Fallout 2 has failed to do: actually feel like a Fallout game. First and foremost, New Vegas strictly abides by Fallout lore. All the old factions like the NCR and the Followers of the Apocalypse can logically exist in the Mojave Wasteland, and the factions are used in ways that are consistent with canon. So yes, the Enclave is barely a fraction of their former selves, and yes, the super mutants vary from being stupid but not barbaric to intelligent. Everything is the way it should be in the Fallout world, and of course, Obsidian tries to explain the differences between New Vegas and Fallout 3 to newer fans. Likewise, the older fans are not bogged down in explanations that they’ve already heard, and can enjoy much of the nostalgic value of the game. And really, props to Obsidian for showing off their Fallout knowledge and going to great lengths to tie New Vegas to the first two games by referencing them so much.

Going along with this adherence to canon is the atmosphere. The Mojave Wasteland is a bleak, empty desert (with a lot of random locations to explore, for the record), populated by larger settlements that are inhabited by more than five people. And as with Fallout 2, New Vegas continues the theme of a post-post-apocalyptic society, so to speak, illustrating the rebuilding of the wasteland and the formation of new societies. Not to mention that the wasteland isn’t laced with radiation, the sky is blue, and there are plants, which would make sense 200 years after the Great War. And really, everything makes more sense in New Vegas, and this more realistic aspect of the atmosphere adds to its immersion value, and makes the game follow more along the lines of the atmosphere of the first two games. Adding to this is also the fact that New Vegas has perhaps the most dark humor in a Fallout game since the series first started, and it executes it spectacularly (such as with Vault 11, one of the best locations in the series). So, between its adherence to canon and a true Fallout atmosphere, New Vegas portrays the immersive and well-crafted Fallout world as it should be.

As far as the gameplay goes, New Vegas is similar to Fallout 3 on the most basic level. You can explore a massive open world, find all the info you need on your handy dandy Pip-Boy, and can kill enemies in both real-time and VATS (albeit, a version of VATS that’s not anywhere near as overpowered as it was in Fallout 3). And unfortunately, that’s where most people stop looking, which is how all the “Fallout 3 glorified expansion pack” and “Fallout 3.5” comments arise. It’s unfortunate, because if you dig just a bit deeper than the core fundamentals, it’s beyond apparent that New Vegas is a vastly different game gameplay wise (and much better because of it).

Are you taking notes, Bethesda? Because THIS is how advanced power armor is supposed to look

The first major difference between New Vegas and Fallout 3 is just how much Obsidian has retooled all the RPG mechanics to the point that New Vegas really feels like an action RPG, and not a shooter with RPG elements. For starters, your skills and SPECIAL stats matter a lot more this time around. There are skill checks for every skill, not just Speech, and they all rely on a skill being at or above a certain value; it’s not just a percentage chance. So, if you want to use your skills to interact with the world (and unlike Fallout 3, New Vegas really makes use of all your skills), you’ll have to level them up. Or rather, you’ll have to replay the game with different builds, because New Vegas has done a number of things, including changed the maximum number of skill points to 15 and cut down the number of skill books, to make it impossible to max out all your skills and SPECIAL stats by level 30. Not to mention that there are more skills, as Outdoorsman from the first two games returns as Survival.

Anyway, speaking of SPECIAL, your SPECIAL stats have also been given greater usage, both mechanically and interactively; low intelligence characters return, weapon strength requirements are back, Luck now helps out with gambling, Endurance determines how many implants your character can get, and so on. So with the increased importance in your skills and SPECIAL stats, New Vegas adds an increased importance in character building as well. Additionally, traits return, and you can now pick a perk every two levels, which heightens this importance in character building; you’ll have to be a lot more selective in terms of your perks, and the traits add a greater versatility to your character.

Adding to this overall more RPG feeling of New Vegas is that combat feels a lot more like an RPG and a lot less like an FPS. Real time combat remains though, and has been improved by the addition of iron sights aiming, along with the thankfully nerfed version of VATS. However, both of these feel a lot more stat-based in nature for several reasons. In addition to the aforementioned weapon strength requirements, each weapon also has a skill requirement, and both determine how effectively you can use a weapon. For example, the gauss rifle requires an Energy Weapons skill of 75 and a Strength of 5 to use effectively; if your character’s stats aren’t up to those levels, the weapon will be a lot less useful (this is especially apparent in VATS). Furthermore, damage threshold replaces damage resistance, which does a lot more towards reducing how much damage you do to enemies or they do to you. It also means that damage vs. damage per second is weighted more heavily, as is what weapon and ammo you’re going to use in any given situation. So, by incorporating stats and mechanics more into combat, New Vegas makes that feel more RPG in nature as well (and makes the combat more challenging overall).

Your skills matter a lot more in New Vegas, so spend your skill points wisely

Lastly, while New Vegas keeps the karma system, it puts it in its place by reintroducing the reputation system from Fallout 2. See, karma is a general measure of all your actions, labeling you as good, bad, or neutral, and that’s fine…except when you base an entire morality system around it. Since it’s just a general measure, you can basically reverse your karma, especially in Fallout 3 where you could just donate water bottles for good karma. So, you could do a bunch of evil deeds, donate some water, and suddenly, you’re the saint of the wasteland, with nobody caring about your past choices, making their consequences null and void. Reputation isn’t like that. If you piss off one group, either by killing their members or working for an oppositional group, you won’t be able to rectify your actions against them as they will shoot you on sight. Likewise, if you gain favor with a group, it can lead to various benefits, and you don’t have to worry about them hating you for an evil action if it has no effect on them. This adds a lot more weight to your choices and their subsequent consequences, as they are much more permanent (especially those tied to the story). So between the increased emphasis on skills and SPECIAL stats, both in combat and in the world, and on choices and consequences due to the reputation system, New Vegas is both a different and far more intricate RPG than Fallout 3 could ever hope to be.

Outside of the RPG mechanics, New Vegas makes a number of other additions. The first one you’ll probably notice is the companion wheel, which makes interacting with your companions so much easier. So if you want to engage in conversation with your companions (who now net you perks while you have them around) and delve into their companion quests, you can; but if you just want to tell them to wait, you don’t have to go through 20 lines of dialogue. A real crafting system has been added, in which you can create weapons, ammo, special types of food, and other items (what items you can create relies on your skills). There’s also a ton of new weapons, and new ammo types that have both benefits and drawbacks. And it wouldn’t be Vegas if there wasn’t gambling, and you can engage in blackjack, roulette, slots, and Caravan, a card game of Obsidian’s own creation that’s a bit hard to learn but a lot of fun once you get the hang of it. And of course, New Vegas is a brand new location, with more random locations to explore and quests to do than in Fallout 3.

The most substantial non-RPG mechanical addition that Obsidian has made, however, is hardcore mode. In this mode, ammo has weight, stimpaks and other meds heal over time, only doctor’s bags can heal crippled limbs, and you’ll have to eat, sleep, and drink, less you succumb to starvation, exhaustion, or dehydration. While the “survival elements” are really just flavor that only requires some monitoring and micromanaging, the rest of the mode is a lot of fun, and adds to the challenge of the game. So between all the tweaks and additions New Vegas makes to the RPG mechanics and everything else, it’s clear that below the basic level lies a game that’s very different and a lot bigger and better than Fallout 3.

The companion wheel makes interacting with companions much easier and a lot less tedious

Unfortunately, New Vegas succumbs to the general trend of the Fallout series: a fantastic soundtrack, some hit or miss graphics with great art design, and technical issues. As far as the audio goes, Inon Zur returns as the composer, along with some new tracks that are probably some of the best work (some of his Fallout 3 tracks are also used). However, Obsidian has also made use of some of Mark Morgan’s tracks from Fallout 1 and Fallout 2, and those really steals the show. They completely set the atmosphere wherever they are used, and truly create that isolating, ambient feel that Fallout has become famous for more so than Zur’s work. On the other hand, while New Vegas does have a few good retro tunes, most of the tracks found of the radio aren’t as good as those found in Fallout 3, nor are there as many. So while the ambient music in New Vegas is much improved, the retro tunes, while overall a fine selection that fits the setting well, aren’t as great this time around.

Graphically, New Vegas looks slightly better than Fallout 3 (at least in terms of facial animations), but not by much. Of course, the game is running on the Gamebryo engine that powered Fallout 3 and The Elder Scrolls IV, and it’s starting to show its age. Most of the visual flare of the game, therefore, comes from the fantastic art direction, which at least somewhat counterbalances the slightly improved but still outdated graphics. As I stated at the beginning of this review, New Vegas is a lot more vibrant than Fallout 3, putting a nice blue sky over your head, and lacing the desert with some lush green plants. It just makes the world more appealing to look at (and no, just because it’s a post-apocalyptic wasteland does not mean everything has to be all brown and gray). Adding to this, the settlements in the game are quite diverse in their appearance, and each has a certain visual charm. From the attention to real-life details that Obsidian focused on when bringing McCarran Airport into the game world to the western cowboy atmosphere of Goodsprings, tumble weed and all, the art design helps make the Mojave visually superior to the bombed out buildings of D.C. And, of course, New Vegas itself is the artistic centerpiece, and the neon lights and different design of each casino certainly certify why. So, without a doubt, the art direction in New Vegas is fantastic, but I wish that the graphics could’ve been upgraded more so that it could really shine.

And then there’s the technical side of things. Frankly, considering this is a Fallout game made by Obsidian, a studio formed out of Black Isle, published by Bethesda, and running on the Gamebryo engine, I’m surprised New Vegas is even functional, considering it has that glitch-ridden of a history. But in all seriousness, I expected New Vegas to be as glitchy as Fallout 3 was when it first came out, and that’s what I found in my time with the game. Albeit, the load times are longer, but considering New Vegas is a lot bigger than Fallout 3, that’s somewhat understandable. But glitch-wise, yes, they’re annoying, but if you’re like me and you don’t encounter them that often, nor do you encounter any game-breaking ones, they’re really not a big deal; the quality of the game otherwise certainly outshines them. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not excusing them, and they do detract from the experience, but they’re worth putting up with (again, unless you have a bunch of game-breaking ones, in which case, I’d try getting a new disc, or inspecting your system). And if you go into this game thinking that there won’t be any, you’re only fooling yourself.

It may not look much better graphically than Fallout 3, but hey, at least the world isn't full of dull browns and grays

Lastly, because I’m just that much of a Fallout nerd, I bought both the collector’s edition of New Vegas for the 360, and the regular version of New Vegas for the PC, so I thought I’d address the differences in both the editions and versions. As far as the collector’s edition goes, you get the All Roads graphic novel that serves as a prequel to New Vegas, a The Making of Fallout: New Vegas DVD, some poker chips from the casinos in the game, a replica platinum chip, and a deck of New Vegas-themed playing cards with instructions on how to play Caravan (the same as the ones found in the game). It’s a pretty good deal at only $80 (which is cheap for a special edition), but the only real reason to get it is for the DVD and the graphic novel (and the cards are pretty cool too). If you’re not interested in either of those things, the rest isn’t worth the extra $20.

As for the 360 vs. PC versions, I prefer the 360 one because I really hate having to run the game at a lower quality to play it without a lot of lag (it’s really my graphics card though, as my PC has a very fast processor). Of course, that’s just my PC, and you may not have to do this on your rig. My real gripe with the PC version, however, is more so with the game itself: it’s an RPG made for consoles. And because New Vegas is made for consoles, navigating the Pip-Boy menu with a mouse is a lot more clunky than with a controller, and the control scheme is much more suited for consoles overall than PCs. And mouse vs. thumbstick for aiming is just a preference, and I’m fine with either. On the other hand, I’ve heard the PC version has less glitches, and it’s insanely fun to mess around with mods. Still, unless you really like modding, I’d suggest going with the 360 version (or PS3, but I really can’t say). On the bright side though, future DLC is being released simultaneously on all three platforms (aside from Dead Money), so no matter what platform you choose, you’ll get the same experience content-wise right away.

New Vegas is the best Fallout game, let alone one of the best RPGs, I’ve played in a long time. Between its engrossing story, immersive atmosphere, and complex RPG mechanics, New Vegas is miles beyond Fallout 3, and mechanically superior to almost any other modern RPG. And adding in its consistency with Fallout canon and setting, New Vegas really feels like the sequel to the first two Fallout games that fans have been waiting for; a true Fallout 3 in every aspect except being turn-based. So, whether you’re an older fan of the series or a newer one, New Vegas is well worth the buy.