The story is definitely Fallout but the gameplay is inherited from Fallout 3, meaning its using the same game engine. When I talk about gameplay, I can't help but compare it to FO3 but I'll try not to compare these two too much.
There's a "hardcore mode" available in the beginning that adds a hunger, thirst and rest meter that you must satisfy by eating, drinking and sleeping. It's not as hard as it sounds, its easy enough to satisfy so really, its more of an annoyance so far. Also, companions can die permanently in this mode so pay attention and save often.
If you've played FO3, you'd immediately realize that the combat has changed for the better. There's iron sights now and the weapons can be fired accurately in first person view now. It is so much better than the weapons in FO3 which were so horribly inaccurate, you could aim at the broadside of a barn and hit a nun. Playing the game as a standard shooter is now possible. V.A.T.S. or Vault Assisted Targeting System still exists but its just that; an ASSIST system. You don't have to rely on it 24/7. Its handy for crippling the legs of monsters because some of them are really good at hitting you and you can't fake them out like you used to in FO3. Blowing up their kneecaps works wonders. Its a system to make precise shooting of limbs easier. V.A.T.S. no longer makes you immune to damage so it becomes a tactical choice. Do you make targeted shots like shooting a guy's arm to make him drop his gun while his pal wails on you with his very large knife or do you go old fashioned and just go shooter on them? Glad to see this change.
Another important detail is damage threshold. Basically, a guy with armor gets a high DT value and certain weapons can't pierce it and do full damage. It adds a welcome challenge to the game and armor really matters now. It helps a lot. There's a crafting system for ammo, meds, chems and food but it leaves a lot to be desired. I'll explain why later.
The quests are refreshingly different and sometimes more complex than FO3. For one, speech skill checks and stat checks are no longer luck based. Its either you meet the requirement or you don't so dialogue options won't be the same for every character. But dialogue isn't the only way to solve a quest although it allows you to do pull off some pretty manipulative and funny shit. You can use sneaking, pickpocketing and lock picking skills to bypass obstacles. If your character is smart he can hack computers to get info some NPCs wouldn't otherwise give. Basically, if you've invested in certain skills, no matter how strange, its bound to give you a boon in certain quests. There's this one quest where you need to kidnap someone and a high guns skill allows you to pistol whip him silently but if you chose speech instead, you can simply talk him into walking into a trap. Basically, if your character is built to fight, by God, that's what he's gonna do. No talking out of that. There's main quests and there are smaller ones that intertwine with each other. Some are contradictory in fact and can't be done along with another so choose your sides. At least we've gone beyond the point of fetch quests that involve going to A and B while going through long metro tunnels. If you played FO3 and know what I'm saying, pat yourself in the back or better yet, hang yourself. Questing is better.
As for graphics, well, we've seen it all before. It's adequate though it feels old but only because I've played FO3 too much and see it as recycled material. The music features classic songs and the choices of songs are top shelf. They get repetitive though. Even a handful of good songs can get repetitive but hey, turn the radio off and enjoy the original music from FO they put in the game. I must mention the voice acting. I was so fucking relieved to hear more than 3 voice actors in this game. The voice acting is better and more varied. The voice acting features the talents of Danny Trejo. Let that sink in for a minute.
You might think that I love this game to death and think that its the Fallout game FO3 should have been. While the latter is true, I grieves me to say I must know expose the bad bits of FO:NV. Nothing is perfect and with the good comes the bad.
Did I mention the engine is buggy as hell? The game is plagued with so many problems. Even quests can get bugged and some things become impossible to do. That's the biggest gripe I have about this game. The patch relieves some of it but it shouldn't be so terrible in the first place.
Another problem is also caused by using the same engine. The interface is badly designed. To equip or use an item, you have to go to your PIP-BOY menu using the tab button. The game pauses. You must navigate about 2 or 3 windows to see your weapons list and pick out what you want to kill with. God, help you if you want to use food or medicine. See, food, medicine and chems are all categorized under "Aid" section. If you have a lot of assorted food and medicine like a survival skill oriented character would, it tends to get cluttered. Its only sorted alphabetically but gee, I would have appreciated a "medicine" tab or a "chems" tab or even a "craftables" tab. You can use hotkeys though but still, Id appreciate a system to more easily access my shit. A bag system maybe? Something that allows you to grab right away and doesn't involve goddamn PIP-BOY scrolling. Crafting is difficult due to this unless you keep note of ingredients but who does that? Crafting should have its own recipe notebook or a better system overall.
By the way, the hunger, thirst and sleep meters are misleading. For example, the more thirsty you are, the higher the number in the meter. Let's say, the value is 75 H2o. A bottle of water has - 50 H20. It seems bad but it reduces your thirst meter so negative is actually good for you? Seems a bit misleading but its a minor point.
I can't complain about the story just yet but it just left the dirty diaper called FO3's plot in the dust.
SUMMARY FA:NV when compared to FO3 is a vast improvement. Its much better executed and is just the smarter game. Even on its own, its a pretty. It has the spirit of Fallout in it too but its a spirit trapped in an old, bloated rotting carcass. Its a good game trapped in a bad game engine. It's like a genius brain trapped in a body with radiation poisoning and pubic lice. This game is worth getting only if you can update it. If you've played FO3 before, this game will make you love again. If you haven't played FO3, skip it and play this.
I hope it won't crash so much now that I've written good things about it.
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