A brief back story: Fallout is set hundreds of years after the world was nearly wiped out in a nuclear war. Several societies have steadily cropped up from the ashes, such as the New California Republic, which is a large group of settlements banding together to reform America. There's also the Brotherhood of Steel, which is the remnants of the U.S. Marine Corp., and they're a rigidly militaristic (and xenophobic) group who's sole mission is to salvage technology and learn how it works so that humanity may survive. The survivors scattered across the globe are the descendants of people that took refuge in giant underground vaults, which were like fallout shelters capable of sustaining reasonably large populations.
So with that out of the way, I can give a review of Fallout: New Vegas. The premise of the game is that you are a courier. A group of men ambush you, shoot you in the head, and steal a platinum poker chip you were supposed to deliver to a man named Mr. House. You are discovered by others and nursed back to health, and it's totally up to you what to do from there.
The game follows a non-linear, almost sandbox style path similar to the very popular Grand Theft Auto game series. What this means is that there aren't levels or stages like in other games. There's just a huge map, littered with cities, enemies, non-player characters you can interact with, and you can do whatever you want. Feel like pursuing the story line and beating the game? Go for it. Would you rather just explore the wastes and completely ignore the story line? You can do that too. Hell, its practically encouraged.
Here's a few screen shots to give you an idea of what the setting looks like.
The main draw of this game is that Las Vegas has been partially restored. Through great effort, Mr. House has brought power and fresh water to the city so that it can flourish again. The imagery of giant neon signs and extravagant water fountains clashing with wrecked buildings and burnt cars is amazing.
This game is a huge upgrade over the last entry in the series, Fallout 3. It had an awful story, a very limited range of weapons, and ALL the voice acting was done by like 4 people, which was a terrible idea considering how many npc's had spoken dialogue. New Vegas, on the other hand, has a great story (which I'd really like to try to leave unspoiled), a plethora of options for gear which includes modifying guns and crafting things to help you survive the harsh landscape, and the characters that populate the game are interesting and seem much more fleshed out than Fallout 3.
The only thing really holding this game back is the bugs. There are so many things that cause the game to crash, there's scripting errors that make dialogue (some of which is essential for the story's progression) not occur, and there's a handful of graphical errors present. The most comical form of this that I spotted was a dog's eyeballs being set to the right side of its jaw, leaving the sockets on the face empty. Really creepy looking to be honest, and in hind sight I wished I'd taken a screen shot to post.
The funny thing is that despite these flaws, the game is still so much fun to play. Maybe I have a bias considering my love of the genre, but it really is a great game. The combination of conversing, combat, and exploring the map is addicting, and you'll constantly find yourself continuing well into the night just to see what you'll find next.
Oh and one thing I can't believe I almost forgot to mention. Ron Perlman (of Hellboy fame) has narrated every single game. His famous phrase "war never changes" will send a chill down your spine as he describes the state of the world you play in.
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