It’s time folks – The end is extremely effing nigh! We’ve received a metric assload of traffic on this title but the wait is over.

I’ve clocked in well over 30 hours into this title and can say that everything you loved about Fallout 3 is back with some great new additions. The use of factions and faction armour/fatigues is the most significant to me and is a great addition for a lot of reasons. For one, it keeps the game fresh on multiple play throughs and forces the user to use a little strategy when deciding where to go an who to deal with. At one point early on I was wandering around when the game politely reminded me what outfit I was wearing — “Ya… big deal?!?”– Then I was attacked and killed. Repeatedly this happened when it finally dawned on me. What a dumbass I am…Changed to something more neutral and I was good to go. It’s a great addition to the game. On top of that, certain doors open and close on you while playing through the game depending on what you do for which factions which really makes the replay value of this game something special.

Another cool addition is the ability to modify your weapons or break them down for parts along with specialized ammo. Regular ammo, while relatively widely available, will force you to maintain or repair it much more frequently whereas the specialty ammo will not and can even deal some significant damage. This adds another interesting dynamic to the game along with a level of strategy. Remember books and magazines? They’re back but not all of them give you permanent boosts – Some are only for a specific amount of time to help you perform that quick barter, or a dirty repair. Repairs…yes – I nearly forgot. Fixing something like a robot isn’t as simple as “*click* awesome my repair skill was high enough”. No sir, now you get to inspect it and if your skill is high enough, you can determine what parts are needed then you can go get them and THEN you can fix it. A side note to weapons – Now you can actually aim down the guns actual iron sights (my understanding is it was a mod for Fallout 3 on the PC and enough people demanded it? Correct me if I’m wrong on that). Not my cup of tea but for people who wanted that as opposed to VATS its there and you will be happy.

When I made my 1st impressions review yesterday, I still hadn’t made it into Vegas – I could see and was even just outside the gates but “Beef-Hooked” if i couldn’t get into the Sin City. If there’s one piece of advice I can give everyone…Pay close attention to your speech skill. This isn’t the Capital Wasteland – I’ve had to do some things so ass backwards because my speech skills were so shitty. I’m just not used to needing it so much. That also brings me to another point – I’m having one hell of a time finding any good armour that doesn’t completely suck the ass of a dead donkey. Same with Caps and Stimpaks. For some reason, they seem to be hiding very well from me because I’m always broke or in dire need of health – Go to the nearest travelling trader you say? Ya I did that…they’re sold out.

I’m finding this story to be more and more compelling as I romp around the Mojave Desert and meet new factions and get to know them. Some of the missions that require attention may or may not help with some serious decision making as the game moves along. The number of missions is quite high once you really get into the game. When I tried to get into Vegas and was denied for various reasons, I found myself struggling with deciding what to do because the options open to me consisted of betraying a faction I was aligning myself with or going headlong into what would be a long gruelling bloody battle because I’d already pissed that group off to no end.

My understanding is that the game has finality to it once the game has been concluded – so don’t expect to be allowed to run around mucking with people once you finish it. It’s not there which makes me wonder how the DLC will work that was just announced. Are they going to shoe-horn it into the campaign or are we filling the shoes of the protagonists and leaders of the different factions and experiencing the story from their perspective? Time will tell as the 1st DLC chapter is slated for release this holiday season.

The game will no doubt get criticism from people who say the graphics engine needs to be upgraded – It still looks great – or “it’s too much like Fallout 3″… Who cares? Isn’t everything that we loved about Fallout 3 the reason we’re here in the first place? More of everything that worked is always a good thing.

It’s easy to see there was influence in the development cycle from a few key pieces of the original development team from the beginning of the series. They lovingly came back to the wastelands and brought us a masterpiece of gaming. All has been forgiven Obsidian. We’ll pretend that Alpha Protocol didn’t happen.

Pros:

• More of a great thing is an amazing thing
• Faction and Weapon enhancements
• Tons of replay value
• Upcoming DLC already announced

Cons:

• Waiting for the DLC
• Waiting for the next Fallout game

Feed Your Console gives Fallout New Vegas: 10 out of 10