Fallout: New Vegas Review
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Dialogue, NPCs, and Followers I criticized the main plot extensively above, but it is important to keep in mind how relatively unimportant the main plot is. The strength of Fallout games has always been more in its factions and dialogue, and I was more interested to see what the Obsidian developers, who are well-known for quality writing, would do with the opportunity. And, well, it doesn't disappoint. There are weaker characters and moments where the writing lapses, but overall, in characters such as Mr. House and Yes Man, the game offers some of the most memorable and best-written characters of the franchise. Many relatively minor characters, from No-Bark Noonan to the King, are also really well-written.
What helps the game is that it generally has much better voice acting than Fallout 3, though that is a fairly low standard to measure from. Rene Auberjonois as Mr. House, Dave Foley as Yes Man, and Kris Kristoffersen as Chief Hanlon are particularly brilliant, while even casting that was made for dubious nerd-love reasons such as Matthew Perry as Benny and Felicia Day as Veronica work out really well. There are, of course, a few offsets, particularly the really disinterested performances by Danny Trejo as Raul and Michael Dorn as Marcus, and the unconvincing performance of John Doman as Caesar. Still, with the more generic NPCs generally having solid performances as well, the voice acting is certainly solid throughout, with the most troublesome area being the repetitive comments made by unnamed NPCs.
As mentioned, character skills have become more important in dialogue again, and partially because of this the protagonist has a lot more character than the protagonist from Fallout 3, though he is still no match for the classic Vault Dweller or Chosen One from Fallout 1 and 2. Especially the dialogue lines for failing skill checks can be very amusing. One odd choice Obsidian made was to reintroduce stupid character dialogue from Fallout 1 and 2, but due to the limitation induced by full voice acting, NPCs never really respond to your stupidity, which makes this rather a waste of effort. Another unnecessary flaw is the addition of dialogue choices that lead to identical outcomes, and have no real game mechanic reason to be available.
Obsidian also made the decision to make the followers more interesting and important than in any other Fallout title. Each follower has a loyalty quest or event which unlocks an additional perk for them, and many have stories intertwined with some of the most important factions of this game and past games. The writing of the followers is generally outstanding, with Boone, Arcade Gannon, and Veronica in particular offering a rich back story and interesting quests especially compared to Raul's or Lily's. Worth noting here is that Arcade and Veronica are both homosexual characters, but this factoid is simply given as part of their personalty and treated naturally, which is a refreshing approach after the way BioWare has handled their bisexual characters in recent years.
While I have almost nothing but praise for the followers from a writing viewpoint, it's worth noting that followers are always problematic in non-team based games, particularly in an FPS/RPG like New Vegas. Their AI really isn't good enough for them to survive with normal stats, which means they're often overpowered, and on normal difficulty will be slaying enemies left and right before you can even reach them. And at the same time their AI will have them running right into deathclaws and dying. While the writing is certainly a boon, from a gaming viewpoint increasing the importance of followers is not such a good idea.
Factions: Old & New
We've discussed the game's factions under the main story header, but it's worth highlighting the NCR and Caesar's Legion separately. Particularly, New Vegas is unique amongst Fallout games in that it is set on the frontlines of an ongoing war between two major factions. Sadly, Obsidian does not do a good job adapting this engine to make the player feel like a war is truly going on. You'll run into occasional fights between scouting parties, but beyond the quest-related battles, that's it. And those battles are generally rather pathetic, including the final fight, which consists of a series of pitched fights. Bethesda did a much better job giving a feeling of large scale warfare in Fallout 3 with the battle around Capitol Hill or the final battle than Obsidian did here, and that game was much less war-focused.
The game does a great job in allowing you full freedom to choose between these factions. Unlike Fallout 1 and 2 which railroaded you to defeat the bad guys, and Fallout 3 which offered you two highly unbelievable "shining paladin" or "genocidal maniac" choices, New Vegas offers reasonable and deep choices, and still allows you to go independent if you prefer none of them. It is a great example of player choice in gaming, and the world is made believable in the different ways in which the factions are manipulating and damaging one another, but that doesn't mean the factions are particularly attractive. While the NCR is a believable "good guy" faction, their only presence in the Mojave is an army presence, which means you're not getting a good feel for the faction if you haven't played Fallout 2.
Meanwhile, Caesar's Legion goes way too far in its adopting of a Roman identity. Using a singular and unique identity to rally under is a staple of post-apocalyptic writing, but the problem is it was never seen in Fallout other than in minor roles, such as the Brotherhood of Steel using knight-like titles or raider groups calling themselves the Khans. Caesar's Legion mints money, dresses up like Romans, and properly pronounces Latin terms (which makes less sense than if they misappropriated the identity). The net effect is for them to come across as even more cartoonish than their evil already made them. It is an equivalent of the Brotherhood of Steel running around calling one another ser and challenging each other to duels on brahmin back with sword and lance.
It's odd, particularly because Obsidian introduces plenty of factions that work well enough in the Fallout setting. Despite their silly setup, the Boomers work setting-wise as a kind of homage to Mad Max. The Powder Gangers are certainly believable. And even the Kings work, mostly because they do right what Caesar's Legion does not: their leader is actually believable as someone people would follow and listen to, and their setup is much more appropriate to the setting, particularly in their misunderstanding of history. Caesar's Legion is at least adequately explained in the game itself, but I'm left wondering why the choice of Roman cosplayers was considered a good idea by the designers in the first place. With some better writing and a more subtle approach, it might have worked, but I feel it is lacking in both, in this game.
