Fallout: New Vegas may very well be one of the star attractions at next weeks’ Eurogamer Expo.
You may have seen the recent Train2Game blog post about Chris Avellone, Senior Designer of Fallout: New Vegas, in which he gave Planet Fallout readers advice about breaking into the games industry. Of course, the interview was about more than how to become a games developer, and Avellone revealed much about Fallout: New Vegas.
For those who might be unfamiliar with Fallout: New Vegas, (have you been living under a rock?), it’s a post-apocalyptic action-role playing game set three years after the events of 2008’s Fallout 3.
New Vegas isn’t a direct sequel to Fallout 3, but rather a stand alone game in its own right being produced by Obsidian Entertainment.
Fallout: New Vegas is set around a post-apocalyptic Las Vegas, Nevada in the year 2280. You play the role of a courier found shot in the head and buried in a shallow grave after being ambushed for the important package you’re carrying. After being treated for your injuries (Thus allowing you to choose your name, gender, appearance, skills and attributes) you set off to discover who tried to kill you, retrieve the package and explore the world. You can find out a bit more about the back story of Fallout: New Vegas in this developer diary from Obsidian.
Fallout: New Vegas isn’t however just a reskinned version of Fallout 3, and Chris Avellone told Planet Fallout about some of the changes.
“We added more skill checks for various skills (Barter, Explosives, Sneak, Guns), displayed the success values for skill checks, added some stupid-speak at points for low INT characters, and changed the text of the line if your skill isn’t high enough (as an example: adding [Crappy Speech] “uh… maybe… you’d be making a mistake?” vs. [Good Speech skill] “You pull that trigger on someone that’s got NCR’s full support, you’ll be making a mistake.”) “
Avellone also talks about one of the most interesting new additions to Fallout: New Vegas, a ‘Hardcore Mode’ for those who want a bigger challenge while wandering the Mojave Wasteland.
“If drinking out of toilets makes you a hero, Hardcore mode delivers. I’ve never been so conscious of water sources in each environment until I played in Hardcore mode. And I eat until I’m stuffed and then some. The player has to worry about dehydration, ammo weight, resting, starvation, and healing items (Stimpaks) healing over time instead of instantly… all the things that make you more a virtual man than the next virtual man who’s playing on normal”
The Fallout: New Vegas Senior Designer reveals much more about the upcoming game in the in the rest of the interview with Planet Fallout. Other new features include new companions and different factions you can make friends and enemy of in New Vegas.
Fallout: New Vegas is scheduled for release on October 22nd and will be available on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC. A poker-themed Special Edition of Fallout: New Vegas will also be released, but is only available at GAME and Gamestation here in the UK. There are also four different sets of in-game bonus items available for Fallout: New Vegas, depending on where you pre-order the game from.
Pre-ordering Fallout: New Vegas from GAME gets you the Classic Pack which contains:
* Armored Vault 13 Suit – Extensively patched up and dotted with piecemeal armor, this outfit is an homage to the classic ending of the original Fallout.
* Vault 13 Canteen – This handy device is useful for staving off dehydration and providing a small amount of healing in the Mojave Wasteland.
* Weathered 10mm Pistol – A well-worn 10mm pistol that packs an extra punch despite its modest size.
* 5 Stimpaks – Food and water are good for long-term healing, but when the fighting is fierce, Stimpaks help keep Wastelanders upright.
If you pre-order Fallout: New Vegas from Amazon you’ll get The Tribal Pack, containing:
* Tribal Raiding Armor – Pieced together from scraps of armor, this outfit provides protection without impacting mobility.
* Broad Machete – This heavy-bladed melee weapon does high damage against limbs and can quickly deal out a flurry of attacks.
* 5 Bleak Venom doses – Useful on any Melee Weapon, Bleak Venom makes short of work of most living targets.
* 10 Throwing Spears – If you would like to silently pin an enemy’s head to a wall, Throwing Spears are the way to do it.
Meanwhile the Fallout: New Vegas Caravan Pack from Play.com contains pre-order bonuses of:
* Lightweight Leather Armor – This hand-modified suit of leather armor reduces its overall weight without impacting its ability to protect.
* Sturdy Caravan Shotgun – Despite its rough appearance, this Caravan Shotgun will reliably fire 20 gauge shells until the Brahmin come home.
* 4 Repair Kits – Useful for repairing any outfit or weapon, Repair Kits are a valuable tool for any caravaner.
* Binoculars – The Mojave Wasteland is a dangerous place, but with these trusty Binoculars you’ll be able to spot trouble coming.
Finally, pre-order Fallout: New Vegas from Gamestation, and you’ll get the Mercenary Pack consisting of:
* Lightweight Metal Armor – Modified for long-range travel, this Metal Armor sacrifices some protection for mobility and overall weight.
* Mercenary’s Grenade Rifle – Though similar to other 40mm Grenade Rifles in the Mojave Wasteland, this model has a faster reload cycle.
* 3 Super Stimpaks – When you absolutely, positively, need to keep your blood inside your body, Super Stimpaks fix you up in no time.
* 3 Doctors Bags – Mercenaries and broken limbs go together like Iguana-on-a-Stick and Nuka Cola. Thankfully, these Doctors Bags take a bit of sting out of the inevitable crushed skull.
Perhaps you’ve already pre-ordered Fallout: New Vegas, but are anxious about how long away October 22nd seems to be. Then fear not, for a playable version of Fallout: New Vegas will be available for you to get your hands on at the Eurogamer Expo at London’s Earls Court October 1st-3rd.
Train2Game will be giving away the new PlayStation Move controller with a PlayStation 3 320GB slim at Eurogamer 2010.
To enter the prize draw pick up a entry form at Stand 12 in the Career fair. We look forward to seeing you there.
So Train2Game, what are your thoughts on the new features in Fallout: New Vegas? Have you pre-ordered the game? If so, which set of in-game items have you picked to come with your copy?
As usual, leave your comments about Fallout: New Vegas here or on the Train2Game forum.
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