The AI path finding is up there with the animations as being the Mutant after the Good and the Bad. It’s certainly an area where Bethesda needs to spend more time, as this has been a horrible problem for them since the switch to 3D characters in The Elder Scrolls Adventures: Redguard. Walking and jumping animations have been improved, but that’s about it. There’s not much more to say in this department besides a little piece of advice: When a kid is running in between two rocks, just give him some time to work his way out of it before you decide to hit reload.

The poor AI is partially masked by the enhanced character models and textures. The faces look attractive and human. The hair styles are varied. The beard styles are incredibly varied. You can make your own authentic 1950’s style persona and have it looking good in no time, or in lots of time if micromanaging every cheekbone is your style. Men and women have different body types, walking styles, and poses. The voice work is another help here. NPCs will comment when you’re eyeing a lock, if you’ve taken too long for a quest, or if you’re simply well known in the area. There are generic townsfolk who make the settlements look alive and have interesting comments if you try to engage them in conversation. The named NPCs all have their own personality and the actors did their best to vary them by person. Malcolm McDowell is excellent in his role, as are a few unique voices you’ll find throughout the game. The much lauded Liam Neeson, however, shows up with a poor performance and an uninspired attitude. His voice is not so different from other older men in the game, and where it is different, it sounds almost like he’s attempting to channel the speech patterns of a certain Emperor from The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.​