Viva New Vegas

As the name indicates, Fallout: New Vegas takes place in and around the titular city, which you’ll quickly learn has an interesting history. Somehow, the Mojave Desert was spared from the nuclear holocaust that engulfed the world two centuries ago, leaving the region relatively clean of radiation, and Hoover Dam largely intact. This has led to a battle of control over the area between various political factions. On one side, there is the New California Republic, or NCR, a nation that had modeled itself off of pre-war American values. On the other side is Caesar’s Legion, an army of slaves that has based itself off of Rome. At the heart of the conflict is the city of Vegas run by the enigmatic Mr. House and his small army of robots and rehabilitated tribal people.

You play as a simple courier. At the start, your latest delivery goes wrong when you get shot in the head and lose your package. After being saved by a kindly doctor, you set out after the man who shot you, only to gradually become embroiled in the power struggle that has overtaken the Mojave.

If there’s anything that can be said about the story of New Vegas, it’s that it’s fairly complex and multifaceted. It’s not a simple tale of good versus evil, but of various sides simply trying to increase their spheres of influence, like any good nation. There are no clear-cut good or bad guys; all have their positive and negative points, and the game generally lets you form your own opinion on who’s right and wrong. It’s interesting to follow and by conversing with the surprisingly colorful characters that populate the landscape, you can get a real feel for how the conflict at large affects people on small and large scales.

Not So Different

If you’ve played Fallout 3, then most everything about New Vegas should feel familiar. The graphics look similar, being as it not only uses the same engine but shares many of the same art assets. That’s not an entirely bad thing, as Fallout 3 was a good-looking game for its time, but the age is evident. The same goes for the gameplay. You’ll wander around a large map exploring the scenery at your leisure, completing quests, and acquiring experience. Get enough, and you’ll gain a level in true RPG fashion where you can improve any number of skills to improve your ability to do any number of things, like using guns, hacking computers, and talking to people.

Combat itself is also largely the same. It plays like a first-person shooter, though you can play from a third-person viewpoint if you so choose. Targeted shots are just as possible as before; you can aim for enemy limbs to make them drop their weapons or show down their movements. This can be done either manually or with the Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System, which calculates your accuracy to hit and gives you a cinematic view of the action. Overall, it’s not the sharpest shooting out there, but it gets the job done. If you liked the fighting in Fallout 3, you’ll be at home here. If you didn’t, New Vegas isn’t going to change your mind.

Tweaked and Balanced

While New Vegas may look and play similarly to Fallout 3 to the point where it feels more like an expansion pack than a sequel, deep down it actually contains more subtle differences. For one, your attributes have more and often unexpected effects on the gameplay. All weapons have a minimum strength requirement to use, luck can improve your chances at winning casino games, endurance determines how many stat-enhancing cybernetic implants you can install onto your character at a certain clinic, and so on.

Skills have also seen some changes. Speech, for one, no longer determines the chance that you will pass specific conversation options, but whether you will even be able to pass them at all. Science, in addition to allowing you to hack computers, also lets you recycle ammo for energy weapons. Barter often opens up negotiation options in quests, and a new skill called Survival allows you to craft your own items at campfires. This is only a small sampling of changes. Individually, they’re not much, but they do add up and ultimately make New Vegas a much deeper and more challenging experience than Fallout 3.

Most interesting is the addition of the Hardcore mode. When this mode is active, your character needs to regularly eat, drink and sleep. Failure to do so results in statistical penalties and eventually death. It sounds like it could get annoying, but in truth it’s the opposite; foodstuffs are pretty common to find, practically growing on cacti, and the respective meters fill up so slowly that it seldom becomes a problem. More impressive about this mode is that it also adds weight to ammunition, an effect that makes you more selective and strategic in what weapons you use.

Branching Stories

What really sets New Vegas apart from Fallout 3, and most RPGs in recent years for that matter, are the quests. Every single quest, both major and minor, has multiple solutions, each of which may require different skills. For example, when you’re tasked to try and cure one man of his brain tumor, you can rely on your Medicine skill to see you through, recruit a doctor companion to do it for you, find the necessary medical equipment in an abandoned vault, or even secretly kill him and make it look like an accident. What quests you complete and how you complete them usually have long-term repercussions, which include altering your reputation among the related factions, opening further quest lines, or even changing your ending.

Even the main quest is subject to this treatment. After getting through the somewhat linear beginning, it branches off and allows you to pursue several paths among the major players in the Mojave, namely the NCR, Legion, and House. You can trail them along if you want, but eventually an allegiance will have to be declared. While each of the main storyline paths overlap a fair amount, there’s enough unique questing and narrative content to help make them feel more distinct.

In this way, New Vegas has an immense amount of replay value, not only in its flexible character development system, but also in how it gives you some nicely different ways to advance and end the plot. As it is, it’s already a large enough game; the main quest can be completed in 30 hours, but doing all the various side quests can easily make things last for over 60 hours.

Not Bugged in Your Favor

If New Vegas is known for any major issues, it’s that it can be a tad buggy. When it was first released; freezes and crashes were notoriously frequent, as were countless number of small bugs that, while hardly game-breaking, could add up. Patches have thankfully ironed them out to the point where the game is generally no better or worse than the standard Bethesda game. They’re still present, but it’s perfectly playable now.

Cashing Out

In the end, despite its initially buggy nature, Fallout: New Vegas is a strong entry to the Fallout franchise. It may feel a little too similar to Fallout 3, but with its stronger and more open-ended narrative, deeper mechanics, and branching quests, it’s in many ways a better product and a worthy addition to any RPG fan’s library.

Score

8.5/10

In Fallout: New Vegas, you’re constantly moving, seeing new things, meeting new people, making new friends and creating new enemies. You can liken it to a nearly never-ending adventure that rarely stops to take a breath. It’s a unique game because you need great patience in an environment that moves at a rapid pace. Another reason you want to be patient is because you want to see everything out there. If you move too fast, you’re going to miss out on so much this game has to offer. Then you will have not only wasted your time, but your money as well.

When you’re making your way through the Mojave Wasteland, also keep in mind that you need to use different tactics base on different situations. The right answer might be correct in one place, but that doesn’t mean it will be correct in another place. This game is very dynamic in that regard. You really do need be a creative and an on-your-feet thinker in order to have success.

If you’re not a creative or on-your-feet thinker, don’t worry; you can look at this as mental training. For instance, if you attempt to use Melee Weapons in your first confrontation and it’s successful, that doesn’t mean you should use Melee Weapons for your second confrontation. Perhaps a little persuasion would work best. It all depends on the environment, your current status and who you’re dealing with. Whether you’re an experienced gamer or a newbie, it’s imperative that you learn from your mistakes in the Mojave Wasteland.

Just in case you have been in LaLa land this entire time, and you haven’t retained even an inkling of information that was provided for you, then we can simplify everything into one very important point. This is an RPG game where your primary focus should be to level up with Experience Points. Those Experience Points are extremely valuable because they can then be used for different skills.

What skills you choose is up to you, what type of character you want to use and your own personality. Don’t fight who you are. It’s important that you choose naturally. Pretend that you will actually be in the Mojave Wasteland. Once the game begins, it will feel that way anyway. If you’re looking for a game that makes you feel like you’re there in every way possible, then you have found gold. If you choose your skills wisely, you will become much more effective, which makes this incredible environment even more enjoyable. Accumulating Experience Points can be done in several different ways. You can complete quests, kill enemies, barter successfully, discover new areas, hack computers and pick locks. Now that’s what you call a serious adventure.

Enjoy your time playing Fallout: New Vegas. We sure did. We see it as a huge success, regardless of what metrics are being used.

You can also lose health by falling off buildings, mountains, sheds and any other high object. This might sound clumsy, but that’s not the issue. The issue is that if someone is trying to punch, stab or shoot you, then you might not have as much room as you think. If you end up falling, you can break a bone or do other damage. It will be necessary to go to higher elevations at certain points in the game. Just don’t go out of your way to go to higher elevations. You might be tempted to take in the view, and the surroundings might seem peaceful and safe, but that’s rarely the case in the Mojave Wasteland. Someone is almost always lurking, waiting for the right time to strike. You don’t want to be the target. In order to heal, you’re going to need to pay for treatment or sleep it off.

Radiation is another factor. In case you didn’t already know, human beings and radiation don’t mix very well. The problem here is that when you’re in the Mojave Wasteland so you’re going to be exposed to radiation. The good news is that there is a way to deal with this problem. The best way to deal with radiation poisoning in Fallout: New Vegas is to use RadAway. All your radiation-poisoning problems will be a thing of the past. If only we could have RadAway in the real world.

Another important tip, as well as one that often goes overlooked, is that the amount of equipment you can carry depends solely on your Strength. That being the case, it’s important that you pay attention to your Strength. In other words, don’t neglect it. You don’t want to go crazy and become a hulked up, non-flexible character, but you do want to have enough Strength to carry the essentials as well as one of your favorite weapons. If you’re not sure on how much weight you can handle, just look at your Pip-Boy.

We recommend that at least half of what you carry should be weaponry. Yes, the Mojave Wasteland is that kind of place. About 20% to 25% of what you carry should be for Armor. Defense is almost as important as offense in the Mojave Wasteland, but it’s not as important. Curative items like drugs, food and Stealth Boys should take up the least amount of space. Allot about 10% to 15% of your space for curative items. If you have excess items, either use them or sell them at a later time. Some gamers don’t even realize when they have two of the same weapon. This is a big no-no. You always want to take inventory so you don’t make such an amateurish mistake. It could end up getting you hurt, or possibly even worse.

The easy answer is that Perks will help you. Don’t get the wrong idea, though. They’re not going to make a world of difference. The best approach to Perks in Fallout: New Vegas is to select a few at the beginning of the game. After every three levels or so, try to get another Perk. Perks aren’t something to focus on, but they’re not something to completely ignore, either. They have the ability to improve your current abilities and attributes. If you have a weakness in a certain area, then a Perk can help you improve in that area. You just need to know which Perks to take seriously and which ones to avoid.

The Perks area for Fallout: New Vegas can get confusing. To simplify things, let’s start by stating that the Perks available to you are mostly determined by your S.P.E.C.I.A.L stats. Other factors are what Perks you already have as well as your gender. Well, not your gender, but your character’s gender. Most people use a character with the same gender as themselves, but you never know. The key to Perks is to just go for the Perks you need as the game progresses. If you stick to that one simple rule, then you should do just fine in the Perks area. Let’s take a look at the specific Perks and what they’re all about.

Worthwhile Perks: Tag!, Strong Back, Here And Now, Explorer.

Tag: This adds a +15 to one of your non-S.P.E.C.I.A.L skills. This is a good value.

Strong Back: Will allow you to carry an extra 15 pounds of equipment. That might not sound like a lot, but it could mean several more weapons, or at least one large weapon. Great value here.

Here And Now: This Perk allows you to jump to the next level. Great value.

Explorer: This is a very cool Perk, especially if you’re the exploring type and you’re looking to play the game it was meant to played. This Perk will reveal every single location in the Mojave Wasteland. Insanely valuable. The important of this Perk cannot be overstated.

Avoid These Perks: Intense Training, Educated, Swift Learner.

Intense Training: Adds one point to ever S.P.E.C.I.A.L stat. This Perk is about as close to a waste of time as you can get. Don’t get excited about it.
Educated: Two skill points will be distributed for every level you advance. Not a big deal.

Swift Learner: This Perk will give you a +10% Experience Bonus. The best of the worst Perks.

Now that we have covered basically everything under the sun in regards to Fallout: New Vegas, we’re going to give you a few tips that won’t only help you excel, but they will also make the game a lot more fun. When it really comes down to it, this game isn’t about winning. It’s all about exploration and enjoyment. Throw a lot of intensity in there as well.

The most important factions are NCR and the Legion. If you can side with one of them against smaller factions, then you will be sitting pretty. If you end up in the middle of a war between NCR and the Legion, then you better make a quick decision. Remember, you mean little to them and you will be seen as nothing more than a distraction. Prove your value by fighting alongside one of them. It’s important that you save your games on a regular basis. There are definitely going to be times where you make some bad decisions. This will especially be the case on your first few plays. You might run into trouble with the factions, sure, but you might also make some bad decisions on new quests. That’s why it’s so important to save often.

The Science and Lockpick skills are very important. Then again, you don’t want to put all your eggs in one basket. As long as your Science and Lockpick skills are above 50, you should be just fine. This will allow you to get into locked buildings and hack computers. If you want to have access to every building and computer, then you’re going to need to get your Science and Lockpick skills up to 100.

In regards to Speech and Barter, always remember that they’re both important, but that Speech is the more important of the two. If you can get to 100 for both skills, that would be ideal. If that’s not possible, then at least try to get to 100 for Speech.

Once again, exploring is at the heart of the game. The more you explore the more success you will have. It earns you experience points, which in turn makes you stronger. Begin with the smaller and safer areas to build yourself up. Otherwise, you will find yourself going backwards. If you ever run into trouble, strongly consider backtracking. This is a great way to heal and repair. If you go out exploring again at 100%, your odds of success will increase dramatically.

Barter: As stated earlier, Barter is important because it allows you to buy low and sell high. It can also lead to more conversations with people, which can then lead to more allies. It can also raise bounties and payments. Another important note is that Barter skill points can lead to more side quests. All that said, Barter isn’t the most important of the Ancillary Skills.

Energy Weapons: This pertains to Small Energy Cells, Micro Fusion Cells, EC Packs and Flamer Fuel. Without any exaggeration, these are awesome weapons. These are the kind of weapons that get you pumped up about playing the game. Put simply, these weapons make you feel very powerful, which is always kind of cool. It’s highly recommended that you put a good deal of your points into Energy Weapons. If you’re like most gamers, then you won’t regret it.

We hinted at this before, but if you’re more of a standard firearm kind of player, then disregard everything we wrote about Energy Weapons. If you’re thinking about taking a balanced approach, forget about it. Remember, this isn’t the real world. Different rules apply. A balanced approach will do more harm than good. You need to decide which road to take and go with it. If you try to balance out between Energy Weapons and Guns, you’re only going to negatively impact the effectiveness of your weapons. For example, if you prefer Energy Weapons, yet you decide to add some Guns, you’re going to take away the power of your Energy Weapons. You don’t want to do that.

Explosives: This skill will allow you to disarm hostile mines and decrease the effectiveness of grenades and missile launchers. This skill is MUCH more important in the early stages of the game. When you’re roaming around new areas and trying to build your Experience level, you’re going to want Explosives. Otherwise, you will find yourself a bodiless limb, which isn’t much fun. After you have explored several areas in the beginning of the game, you can seriously decrease your skill points for Explosives and put them to better use. In fact, if you get really comfortable with the nature of the game, it wouldn’t be insane to forget Explosives all together.

Guns: This pertains to any weapon that uses ammunition. If you’re going for all Energy Weapons, then you can completely ignore the Guns skill. However, if you’re going to ignore the Energy Weapons, then it’s important to pour a lot of points into this skill. This would be a good time to point something out. While Energy Weapons are the more effective route, going with Guns can be a lot more fun. It’s a freer and more adventurous life in the Mojave Wasteland.

Lockpick: After you play Fallout: New Vegas for a few hours, you’re going to notice that there are locked doors, safes and containers all over the place. You should be familiar with this type of environment if you played Fallout 3. You should also be familiar with the importance of this skill. You simply can’t be a great player without a lot of Lockpick skill points. This might not sound exciting, but it actually leads to a lot more excitement. When you’re constantly opening locked doors, it leads to completely new areas and adventures. Your goal should be to reach 100 Locksmith skill points by Level 30.

Medicine: If you want effective health recovery, then you should consider adding Medicine skill points. You don’t need to go anywhere near the maximum skill point area, though. Medicine will help you heal faster, but there are others ways to keep yourself healthy. For example, a Stimpak is the most effective way to improve your health. Rad-X and RadAway are also more effective for radiation poisoning.

Melee Weapons: If you’re the type of person who likes to walk into random bars and pick fights, then you’re also the type of person who might want to consider using Melee Weapons opposed to Energy Weapons or Guns. Just note that people who like to go into random bars and pick fights might have fun for a while, but they’re eventually going to meet their match. If you’re excited about the Melee Weapons used in Fallout: New Vegas, then you’re not likely to be disappointed with what is offered.

The options include a Lead Pipe, Super Sledge, Sword, Knife and Axe. Striking an unsuspecting victim across the head with a Lead Pipe is the epitome of fun.

The Super Sledge is a unique weapon that can do a ton of damage. With the Super Sledge, you never have to worry about a second strike. If you’re a gamer, then you have plenty of experience with a Sword. This is the perfect weapon for slicing your enemy into two pieces.

The Knife is for those gamers who enjoy close-quarters combat. In other words, if you want to make it personal, then this is the best weapon for you.

The Axe does the most damage of them all and comes highly recommended.

Some players feel that Melee Weapons should only be used when you run out of ammo, but we would have to disagree with that. Using Melee Weapons can definitely add some oomph to your Fallout: New Vegas experience. That said, if you simply want to do well in the game, and you’re wise about making the most out of Energy Weapons or Guns, then there is little use for Melee Weapons.

Repair: This Ancillary Skill is all about maintenance. You want your weapons and apparel to stay in good condition at all times. If you fail in this area, you will definitely fail in the game all together, which is something you obviously don’t want. Another neat aspect for Repair is that you can create items when you’re at reloading benches. This will save you a whole of bottle caps and makes Repair important. However, Repair is most important for explorers. If you’re just attempting to play the game straight through – not recommended whatsoever – then you won’t have to worry about Repair as much. If you’re going to play the game the right way, which means a lot of exploration, then Repair is imperative. That’s not all Repair can offer. If you have two weapons that aren’t in great condition, you can use Repair to combine those two weapons and form a well-operating machine. This is one of the more creative aspects of the game, and it’s also a great tool to take advantage of.

Science: This might not sound like the most exciting skill in the world. After all, not many gamers are the type of people who cherish the days of sitting in science class. Let’s be honest. Science can be boring at times. That said, science can be a great ally in the Mojave Wasteland. The number one reason for this is because the Science skill will allow you to hack into computers. When you have the ability to hack into computers, you can disable enemy robots, collect valuable information about your enemy’s game plans and unlock a lot of side quests. Therefore, if you don’t have the Science skill, you’re basically taking the experience down a few notches. Another benefit for the Science skill is that you will be able to recycle Energy Weapon ammo at workbenches. However, this is only valuable for those who are going the Energy Weapon route.

Sneak: This skill is exactly as it sounds. If you want to go places undetected, then you’re going to want the Sneak skill. You can attack people from behind, steal items that are of great value, pick someone’s pocket and more. At this second, it might sound like Sneak is very important. That’s not the case, though. Sneak is nearly obsolete because you can do the same exact thing with Stealth Boys.

Speech: This skill is used to influence other characters through means of dialogue. The number one reason to use Speech skills is to retrieve valuable information that otherwise wouldn’t have been attainable. It’s the most important non-combat skill in the game. That being the case, you should strongly consider getting your skill points as high as possible and as fast as possible. If you can get to 100 points, then you will be the most persuasive character in the game, which will open a lot of doors.

Survival: We did mention that survival is the key to the game in the game’s early stages. However, the Survival skill isn’t very important. All it does is increase your Hit points when you consume food and drinks. That might seem important, but there’s no use for it since you can just use healing items. When you use healing items, you don’t need to lug around food and drink, which means you can leave more room to carry weapons. The Survival skill is pretty much useless. It wasn’t in Fallout 3, and it should have been left out of this game as well. It should be mentioned that the Survival skill can also help you create items at campfires, but don’t overvalue that.

Unarmed: This might sound similar to Melee Weapons, but with Melee Weapons, you’re actually implementing an object. Unarmed refers to true hand-to-hand combat. You can choose between Brass Knuckles, Power Fists and Displacer Gloves. All of these are self-explanatory. As you might have guessed, this skill should be used sparingly, if at all.

Now that you have learned everything about stats and skills, let’s get to tactics. This is an important aspect of the game. Without using wise tactics in the Mojave Wasteland, you have no chance. We have already established that there is the Main Quest and Side Quests.

We have also established that the Side Quests are much more important as well as the key aspect of the game. The Side Quests are key because that’s where you will meet new people and earn points by communicating and establishing new relationships. You have to choose the right places to visit. After that, you have to determine who are the right people to talk to. If you choose incorrectly, you will be rebooting.

The communication aspect of the game is very similar to Fallout 3. The difference is that it’s much more complicated and challenging. If you visit relatively safe places, and you communicate well, you will be able to keep your karma at the right levels. On the other hand, if you visit too many places, or if you visit the same place too often, you’re going to make a lot of enemies. This will lead you to a great deal of trouble and should be avoided. You need to be in the explorer mind frame. You don’t want to get attached to any one area. That will only lead to disastrous results.

Strength: How much equipment you’re capable of carrying. Important stat. Make a moderate investment.

Perception: Explosives, Energy Weapons, Lockpick, Red Compass. The latter pertains to being able to detect threats, which is incredibly important when you’re in enemy territory. Relatively important stat. Make a small to moderate investment.

Endurance: Physical Fitness. Durability. Resistant to environment and radiation. Essential stat. Make a large investment without going overboard.

Charisma: Barter, Speech. Barter is important so you can buy items for less and sell them for more. Speech is even more important because it’s all about persuasion and getting people to like you. Think of the Speech stat as the equivalent to using a Jedi mind trick. Important stat. Make a moderate investment.

Intelligence: Science, Repair, Medicine. Imperative if you want to play for long periods of time. This is the MOST important stat in the game. It also boosts earned skill points. Make a large investment.

Agility: Guns, Sneak. The importance of the Agility stat is debatable. If you’re the type of person who wants to run and gun to make the game extremely adventurous, then this is an important stat. You can use a Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System. If you’re more of the methodical type, then you should go with Energy Weapons. If you happen to be psychotic, then you can just go with Melee Weapons, but don’t expect to last too long if you do. It’s still possible to last a long time with Melee Weapons, but it’s not likely. In regards to Sneak, it’s valuable at times, but still overrated. Your investment here depends on the approach you would like to take.

Luck: A lot of people say that it’s better to be lucky than good. Well, that isn’t the case here. Perhaps the virtual world operates a little differently. There isn’t much left to chance. Either the computer recognizes and awards your skills or you fail. That might sound blunt, but that’s just the way it is. The Luck stat is by far the least important of all the S.P.E.C.I.A.L stats. It will raise all your skill levels a little, but not enough to make a substantial difference. Consider making a small investment.

Okay, so we have covered the all-important S.P.E.C.I.A.L stats. Now let’s get to the Ancillary Skills. There are 13 Ancillary Skills total. Just as is the case with the S.P.E.C.I.A.L stats, some Ancillary Skills are more important than others. Some gamers see the word “ancillary” and decide to move on. They don’t want to know any details because they think they can survive without these skills. Those are the types of gamers who end up repeating the same mistakes over and over again and never succeed. Some of these Ancillary Skills will make your character much more effective, which will make the game much more enjoyable to play. Of course, the S.P.E.C.I.A.L stats are more important, but the Ancillary Skills are the gravy that can make you an elite player. That being the case, make sure you pay careful attention to the following information.

Fallout: New Vegas takes place in the Mojave Wasteland. In case you haven’t figured it out already, this a post-apocalyptic world. It’s a world where you will find friendly people, hostile people, interesting creatures, unsuspected dangers, radiation threats, scores of secret locations and much more. Your ultimate goal is simple: survive.

You can play Fallout: New Vegas in 1st person or 3rd person. We highly recommend 1st person. However, if you’re old school, and kind of on the stubborn side, then go for 3rd person. Just don’t expect the same type of experience. Regardless of which option you choose, you will see that this game has both shooter and action elements. Before you get to shoot or act, you need to customize your character statistically and in appearance. Then you’re off to your non-linear and always unpredictable adventure. If you’re not familiar with the phrase “non-linear,” it means that the story isn’t told in order. For example, the movies Pulp Fiction and Mulholland Drive are non-linear.

Now that a brief vocabulary education is out of the way, we should note that you should feel free to explore the instant the game begins. You can do this for several hours if you’d like. It’s recommended because it’s a great way to get a feel for the game. Not only that, but your character won’t have much strength built up early on. If you stick to the easier areas, you will be able to gain Experience points, which can then help you build up your strength. Just keep in mind that this game is all about decision making. If you make logical decisions, then you should do well. If you roll the dice too often, you will get burned. If you happen to be the gambling type, at least make sure you save the game often. This can help prevent enormous amounts of frustration.

Since the vast majority of your time will be spent exploring the Mojave Wasteland, think of this game as drifting off during class and finding yourself in the most interesting and unique world you can imagine. It’s a place where you can do whatever you want. While this might be a virtual game, you’re not going to find this type of environment in the real world. In order to keep the adventure going as long as possible without consequences, you should strongly consider making more friends than enemies. It’s easy to make friends in the beginning of the game. However, as you delve deeper into the Mojave Wasteland, you will end up being forced to side with certain factions over others. This is unavoidable, and it makes the game exciting. You will see the intensity build with each hour spent playing. The rise in intensity begins slowly, but it ramps up pretty fast as you continue.

If you want to be a tough guy and do harm to others, feel free to kill anyone you want. Just be prepared for revenge from their family, friends and allies. If you take this approach, you’re not going to last very long. Even if it’s not a kill, and you just stole something from someone, you’re going to have to look over your shoulder at all times.

If you take the good guy approach, which is also the wise approach, then you’re going to have to find a delicate balance between friendly and pushover. If the people you meet mistake niceness for weakness, prepare to defend yourself. Karma might not be as important in Fallout: New Vegas as it was in Fallout 3, but it still holds a lot of value.