Speaking to DS, project director Josh Sawyer explained the rationale behind the Vegas setting. "We moved the action to Vegas because we wanted a setting that was close to the West Coast, as that is a setting we have become familiar with in the previous games in the series. We also wanted something that was starkly different from Washington DC," he explained. "In the United States, a lot of people think of Washington as the cornerstone of our country, a city of American virtue. Whereas, Las Vegas is a city of American vice, that continually reinvents itself, destroys itself, rebuilds itself. Because it's a city of vice, we thought that contrast was good, and also the visuals are much different to set it apart."
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There's more of an emphasis on basic first-person shooter mechanics this time around, and although the VATS system from the previous game makes a comeback, we felt less inclined to use it at every turn. Anyone familiar with Fallout 3 will need no introduction to the fundamentals, but Sawyer assured us that some tweaks have been applied here and there. The director explained that melee and unarmed combat will have "some new functionality" and will be more tactics-based. VATs itself will be extra challenging to wield, as additional special attacks have been incorporated and accuracy will be dependent on more variables than before.
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