Part 2: Back to school
Fallout: New Vegas
Part 2: Back to school
After Colonel Tigh let me out, he told me to get some help from a Sunny Smiles at the local saloon. With a name like that she
has to be a hooker.
Alright, now that character creation is out of the way, let's head on out.
Why am I blinded by sunlight? It made sense in Fallouts 1 and 3 because the main character had lived in a vault for his or her entire life, but here it is just fucking stupid! I couldn't have been out more than a few days.
Whatever. Let's just hit-up the local general store and shoot the shit.
It must be a pretty shitty casino then!
Seriously, why would you build a casino and then not let anyone go inside. Was Avellone high when he wrote this?
This makes me wonder where the electricity is coming from. At least it is as tacky as most real-life bars.
This yokel fills me in on what will likely be the main conflict of the game. Let's head in and speak with Sunny Smiles.
Hell yeah! I need to 'unload a round' if ya know what I mean.
Fuck! She just wants to shoot cans.
Obsidian has really improved the aiming system in this game. It is rather cool that they use realistic sights on guns. After that, Sunny asks me to help her clear out some geckos.
I sneak up to the geckos and line up a shot.
Booyah!!
Okay. I clear out one location, and then I lose track of Sunny.
I have no idea what went wrong here. I saw Sunny's dog walking back alone, so she might have died. Whatever, I just reload.
VATS is the same as always.
You said it. Now she wants to tell me about crafting.
She tells me that I can find Xander Root outside the schoolhouse, and I can find Broc Flower in the cemetery.
What is with Bethesda/Obsidian and obnoxious cowboy robots? Apparently, I owe it since it dragged my ass out of the cemetery.
The outside of the schoolhouse is crawling with these annoyances. I just punch them or avoid them.
I find the Xander Root outside the school by the front door. I then head inside.
I need a Science skill of 25 to hack the computer. It looks like Obsidian, like Bethesda, uses the 25, 50, 75, 100 values.
I don't know what this does, and I also found a Salesman's Weekly in this building.
I now head for the cemetery.
WTF?!
Even when they have access to a polished engine, Obsidian still manages to fuck it up.
After slaughtering some annoying "Bloat Flies" that shoot a never-ending supply of stingers at me, I claim the Broc Flower and fast-travel back to Sunny.
She tells me to light the campfire.
Here is Fallout's new crafting system. I guess you can make stuff with the right skills and the ingredients. It is just like Ultima VII or Minecraft except . . . lamer.
Anyway, I head back to the saloon and witness an argument.
This smells like a sidequest. I speak to the woman after the bandit has left.
That sounds cool, but I want to explore more first. Since my quest log tells me I should check in with the Mojave Express Office in Grimm, I head south and out of town.
No, I think I will leave me as I am.
While playing New Vegas, I oscillate between considering this a Fallout game and not. Sure, it has all the Bethesda trappings, but there is something deeper that appears to have the Fallout charm. I will have to play more and see.