In Short: If you liked Fallout 3, you should just go get this game (you probably already have) So, I went out and bought the game last night - Best Buy was sold out, but EBGames had it in stock and I got their little bonus pack - a decent 10mm pistol, some armor, a canteen (which I drink from all the time, but I don't know if it has any real effect), and a few stims. Both the armor and the pistol are better than anything I've come across so far, but I haven't used the pistol yet as its 100% durability and I'm saving it in case I run into any really nasty things. Lots of spoiler type stuff ahead, you've been warned - though I haven't played that much so if you've played at all I'm pretty certain I won't ruin anything for you. I've only hit level 3 and managed to get to the nearest other main-quest related town. Opening Sequence - honestly I liked FO3's better; NV's just seemed to set the stage and explain a little bit about the different factions. Good in the sense that they definitely seem to say FACTIONS ARE IMPORTANT - this theme is started in the opening sequence, mentioned on the back of the box, talked about by the first NPCs you meet, etc, etc...I get it, if people like me they'll be nicer/do cool things/give me discounts - and if they don't like me, they'll shoot at me. Fine, understood - that's really my only peeve so far in the game. Of course later on I'm sure the intracacies of the interaction between the factions will be pivotal to the endgame - I just already have a good idea of what faction means and I don't need to be beaten over the head about it. Now that that's out of the way, I can delve into what I did like, which is pretty much everything else... I chose a fairly standard build, lowered strength a little bit (carrying capacity and melee damage, and surprisingly how heavy a weapon you could effectively use - standard shotguns are slightly too heavy for me to aim properly and I'll never be able to lug around a Fat Man - very cool actually), raised intelligence (skill points + science), raised agility (so I can shoot stuff well, and repair better) and raised Charisma (because I'm chatty like that). Starting skills were Guns, Repair, and Science and all were useful within the first hour of the game. Since there's way more things to do with craft-related skills, and an entirely new skill (survival) having them makes more sense. Repair not only allows you to keep your items in better condition, it also allows you to do things like break-down one caliber of bullet in order to build a different caliber - slightly more inventory management than I like, but it is actually useful since I've sworn to not open the console until I've played through a few times. Science does the standard computer stuff, but you can also use it to make your own chems - and most of the ones I've run into don't have penalties (unless you get addicted) so this is kind of cool. I'm thinking I might have wanted to take survival - you can make poisons, food, and drinks with it - which is pretty nifty if you're into that kind of thing. You also have the option of getting two additional traits for your character during creation - they have a both beneficial and negative effects. I chose good natured - bonuses to social and craft skills, minuses to combat skills, and Trigger Discipline - a whopping +20% to accuracy, with an equally whopping -20% to attack speed. That's ok - my character is a good-natured rogue-ish type that tends to pick off my enemies from behind cover, though I could have easily gone with a bruiser or no combat skills at all. I honestly believe the developers that have said you can get through the game with hardly any combat; I've found stealth boys and companions to deal with all the major fights I've come across so far. Pretty nifty that there's multiple ways to deal with all the major encounters. Here's a link to the trait descriptions Lastly, because I'm a fucking wasteland badass, I clicked Hardcore for my first game (hence why I think Survival would be really helpful). You get three additional tracks on your status - H20, FOD, and SLP - water, food, sleep, and they look just like the Rad/Poison bars. I assume that when you hit a multiple of 200 status-points you start having penalties, but I've yet to get that high, I've slept a few times and had a few meals, and there's plenty of water in your starting area. However - ammo has weight and if you get seriously injured you have to see a doctor or use an expendable item (of which I've only found two...) Also, items heal over time, rather than all at once; this leads to a far more thoughtful way of playing the game, where you definitely don't want to be surrounded by a bunch of gang members...I *really* don't want to stumble upon any mines! So, character created, I immediately rifle through the good doctor's house for anything that I can use - hell the old guy isn't going to need it anyway! I've decided to justify any theft (which oddly, this wasn't according to the game...) by stating that if I take ammo from your house in order to kill your oppressors I'm actually doing you a favor - karma be damned! Right out of the gate (literally, doc had a picket fence) I really like the feel of the game - for some reason it feels more post-apocalyptical than FO3, possibly because I live near DC and everything felt just a little bit more alien than I expected. Maybe because the oranges and browns of the Mojave Desert are more visually appealing than the grays and blacks of the shattered urban landscape of the Greater-DC area. Or simply because there were things growing in the landscape, things that you could gather and scrounge in order to make food or chems for your character - that "live off the land" feeling. There are mutated critters, packs of coyotes, the always-annoying blowflies, dotting the landscape - most you can simply avoid it seems - though most are pretty fast, and some actually seem to be at least somewhat intelligent - if you hurt geckos enough they'll run away from you, which makes the AI more interesting. I've shot a few humans enough that they kind of just sat down - too dazed to actually run or use their weapon on me (naturally, I put them out of their misery since I'm nice). The game feels more "real" than FO3 - hardcore definitely adds to this. Combat is still very similar - though I feel like *not* using VATS gives you a slight benefit on accuracy. I've used the walk up the torso method for dealing with many gang-members. Shoot them in the chest, see if they stagger, and walk your aim up to their head - if they're coming straight at you, they're dead-meat. VATS is definitely still useful, but I certainly notice my -20% speed using it - though if something gets up in your face, VATS is definitely the way to go because of the auto-aiming, I've always had problems with vermin getting close to me in the FO games. I've yet to have any actual companions thus far - I've always tended to think they were more of a pain in most games honestly, so I haven't tried to get one yet. That said, you still have people that will help you fight from time to time without having an actual companion you control. I'll have to see what develops there. Supposedly the system is better, but it still seems like you have to take time to dictate their actions and monitor their conditions. Lastly some minor impressions: Oh look, a cute little praying mantis nymph, how cool is tha...OMG get it off, get it off!!! *Blam, blam, blam* Hmmmm, "You need a shovel to open this grave..." I wonder what the karmic penalty for grave-robbing is...? Caravan? Sure, errr what the hell, I can't play a card anywhere? Huh? (loses 70% of my caps...) - took me the better part of a game to learn that you have to up and down arrow to place a card, one day I will be the fucking Caravan Master I swear! Blowflies, really? Hell, I guess that's why we also still have VATS... Crap, a pack of coyotes and they've noticed me - but hmmm they're not attacking, interesting - maybe because I have a gun out and am at full health? Dunno, but they didn't charge. A fucking giant scorpion right off the bat? Had to empty half my ammo into the fucker to kill it, at least the game isn't squeemish about throwing harder stuff at you. I really wonder what the "Wild Wastelands" trait does, definitely will take that next game...
