Fallout New Vegas Preview - All-in in the Wasteland

Fallout New Vegas aka Fallout 4 will debut this Fall. The North American Fallout New Vegas release date is set for Oct 19th, while those in Europe will receive the follow-up to the major game of the year candidate Fallout 3 on Oct 22nd. This of course assumes that New Vegas doesn't fall victim to the countless other video game delays of the past few years. Check out the New Vegas teaser trailer from Bethesda.

Fallout Oblivion - Remembering Fallout 3

Fallout 3 came out in late 2008 and debuted to much fanfare and equal amounts of criticism. The fallout franchise has changed hands as the original developers went under and the IP was subsequently purchased by the parent company of Bethesda Software (BethSoft) makers of the Elder Scrolls series and the recent smash Oblivion: The Elder Scrolls IV. Fallout 3 was modeled in the Oblivion mold; a first-person shooter (FPS) with role-playing game (RPG) elements. This bothered many video gaming purists who were hoping a return to the series roots of top-down / isometric RPG-centric action.

Critics complained of the Oblivion effect, where characters all looked very similar, didn't have a lot of things to say and the large number of glitches found in both games. Fallout 3 was a huge wasteland and no open-world game like that has been able to remain glitch-free. PC users had the benefit of a large and thriving mod community which extended the playing time of the game well-beyond it original limitations. Subsequent Fallout 3 Add-ons from Bethesda themselves all enhanced the game with new characters and story-lines to explore. The Fallout 3 Game of the Year Edition included these add-ons and was released in 2009, the month of October (Noticing a pattern here?).

Anticipating Fallout 4 aka New Vegas

Bethesda was very quiet after the Fallout 3 GOTY release, but rampant rumors and conjecture on Fallout 4 were all over the internet almost immediately after the release of the original version of the game. The worry has always been that it would simply be more of the same, or that Fallout New Vegas would simply be content that could have easily been released as a DLC add-on. Happily some new details on Fallout New Vegas are highlighting added features and extensions of existing ones. Here are some of the changes and additions that have been confirmed thus far:

• Hardcore Mode - Experience Fallout players can choose this option to add realism to the game. Players must drink water, eat and rest. They must also seek doctors for serious injuries. Seems a like a nice addition to Fallout New Vegas to me.
• More Melee choice while in V.A.T.s - This is something I really wanted in Fallout 3 and I'm quite happy to see them update melee in Fallout 4.
• A Reputation system - This is apparently in addition to the existing Karma system.
• More Skill Influence on Conversations - Probably goes with influence and Karma
• Issue Commands for Companions - This is another great mechanic for Fallout 4.
• Various AI Improvements - Glad to see they are working out some of the bugs finally for Fallout New Vegas.

Fallout New Vegas Pre-order pages are popping up at all the major retailers. Amazon is not only offering some exclusive DLC, it is also offering a future $10 off coupon for purchasers of the standard Fallout 4 editions on both the Xbox360 and PS3. There are collector's editions of Fallout New Vegas Pre-orders for both consoles and the PC which includes various goodies for the true Fallout fan.

Fallout New Vegas Home Page
Terminal Gamer Fallout 4 Preview