Fallout 3 is a very tough act to follow. Released in 2008 to stellar reviews and huge sales, it’s a real modern classic. As the sequel to two equally féted 2D RPGs, Fallout 3 had a lot to live up to itself, making the switch to both three dimensions and a new developer, following the 2004 collapse of Fallout’s old publisher, Interplay.
The series’ new minders handled the challenge skilfully, taking the unique post-nuclear flavor of Fallout - think Mad Max meets 1950’s Public Information films - and mixing it with Bethesda’s trademark massive, open exploratory worlds of myriad challenges and plotlines. They also assuaged fan fears that it might abandon the series’ turn-based roots, by incorporating strategy into the combat in the form of Action Points - played as a straight FPS, Fallout is punishingly difficult, but the player can pause the game at any time and use slowly recharging Action Points to take precision shots.
Fallout 3 featured the surroundings of a ruined Washington DC, but in New Vegas the setting has moved to—no wild guesses needed—Las Vegas, an area somewhat less affected by the nuclear war and very different in tone and feel.
Does the team at Obsidian have what it takes to make New Vegas a Royal Flush? Or will the new Fallout be little more than a glorified add-on to a tired old game? The jury’s still out - and the evidence for both scenarios is almost equally powerful. Let me help you make your mind up.
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