Written by: Beta on April 9, 2011.

(Writers note: I played Fallout New Vegas for 46 hours 1 minute and 1 second and didn’t see half of what this game had to offer. The experience I had will not be the same as yours, because there are so many ways to experience this world. There are a ton of locations and quests that I didn’t get chance to see due to the factions which I decided to align with. You can be straight up evil, you can be a saint in the wasteland ,or you could be the roguish Han Solo type. It’s up to you!!!)

During the time I spent growing up in Vault 101 in the Capital Wasteland, which was once known as Washington DC, we learned that in 2077 there was an extremely disastrous 2 hour nuclear war between the US and China. The vaults were created to protect and house the last of humanity, while the earth was radiated and couldn’t sustain life. Our lives in 101 was safe. There was school and people had different responsibilities and jobs to do, but it was pretty boring for the most part. Inside, I knew there had to be more than that. Well, after 200 years our vault had finally been open by some scientist named James’ son, after James had went missing. When the doors were open I made a run for it.

The outside world was larger than I could have imagined. Growing up in such an enclosed and protected environment doesn’t prepare you for how vast, interesting, wonderful, cold, desolate, and dangerous the world really is. It appeared that the Capitol Wasteland had taken a beating. Don’t get me wrong there were communities that were starting to pop up throughout the area, but the land and water were highly irradiated. There were bands of raiders and plenty of mutants roaming around, which I was vastly unprepared to deal with. So when I felt ready, I decided to follow a map I found off of some caravan traders body while I was scavenging. Out here now, we call it prospecting. It just sounds better in our minds.

I traveled West across the country and came upon many different tribes and gangs. Met a few lovely ladies on the way. Hid from Super Mutants and Rad Scorpions. Dealt with a couple of unruly Ghouls and raiders. Nothing prepared me though, for this huge gang I came across in Flagstaff, Arizona called Caesar’s Legion. From what I understand the leader Caesar was sent east by a group named The Followers Of The Apocalypse to study tribal languages. Caesar, his companion Calhoun and a Mormon missionary named Joshua Graham were captured by the Blackfoot tribe. The tribe was in a war with other tribes and were under trained in warfare tactics. Caesar helped organize and train them, eventually became their leader and started taking over other tribes to amass his own army. That is one group of people I knew to stay as far away from as possible.

Finally after 4 long years, I made it to Nevada and was almost at my destination of the New Vegas strip. From the stories I heard along my journey, New Vegas was the place you could go where there was endless booze, women, Jet, and caps. All a commodity out here in Nothingville! Only problem was I had no passport and definitely not enough caps to grease the palms of whoever I had to, to actually get in. Damn securitrons were everywhere. So, Stealth Boy or not there was no casino for me at that point. The lands around New Vegas were greener than I could’ve imagined. There were a ton of free roaming Brahim. So a little steak dinner every now and then wasn’t a problem. One of my favorite meals consisted of some fresh apples and potatoes, a Brahim steak, and a Sunset Saspirilla.

Looking for work I made my way to a little town named Goodsprings. The previous night in the canyons I heard a gunshot and saw some guy with a checkered suit and some Khans around a courier. They left and before I could get to him, a securitron I’ve seen wandering the Mojave named Victor got to him and took the couriers’ lifeless body to the Doc in Goodsprings. The next time I saw the courier he was helping to rid the town of some of those pesky mutated Geckos, and stopped a Powder Ganger invasion. At that point I knew that traveling with the Courier on his journey of revenge would not only be a way to get me into the New Vegas strip, but it would give me great stories to tell and hopefully I’ll be able to write my own Wasteland Survival Guide. After following the courier to Primm, I decided to approach him with a deal. I’ll watch your back, but whatever caps and supplies I found along the way I keep. He accepted and we made our way to Nipton. While in Primm he picked up a companion named ED-E. I recognized it as an Eyebot that the Enclave would use to send out their messages and survey DC.

From the information gathered in Primm our next destination was a town called Nipton. Clearly Caesar’s Legion had made their presence in Nipton known. I was surprised that with the NCR (New California Republic) protecting Nevada, Caesar has his troops out here. Our next stop was Novac. I remember one night, while in a Jet/ Psycho induced haze, coming upon a giant T-Rex that was yelling at me to leave that area. The courier fighting various gangs, mutated rats, bloatflies, cazadors, giant ants, Centaurs, and mutants was a sight to see. He had obviously mastered the V.A.T.S. system on his Pip-Boy. As he was fighting these creatures and doing various missions for people his experience was growing. He had also obtained various Perks which would affect himself and the things around him. One of the things I noticed is, while I was back East the food I ate would give me a quick health boost, but out here in New Vegas the food gradually gives me energy.

While in Novac we were able to find out the name of the gang (The Great Kahns) who was with the checkered suit man, where they were headed and we picked up another companion named Boone who was a 1st Recon Sniper, and happened to be inside of the mouth of the T-Rex, watching over the town. See, I knew I wasn’t crazy!

Boulder City was the location where we finally found out the identity of the checkered suit guy and who he was working for. At that point I knew where we were going next, New Vegas Baby!!! The strip was exactly how I pictured it in my dreams. There were neon signs everywhere. Drunk soldiers and ladies of the night roaming around aimlessly like the tumbleweeds throughout the Mojave desert. While the courier was invited into the exclusive Lucky 38 Casino, I made my way around to check out the rest of the casinos. The Ultra-Lux was too fancy and wouldn’t allow “my kind” in. If you ask me there seems to be something mysteriously evil about that bunch. Next was the Gommorah. These guys seemed to be like the mafia, which I read about their tales during my schooling in Vault 101. I decided to go to the Tops. It seemed like the best atmosphere, plus there were daily performing acts. They had singers and a couple of fellas doing stand up comedy. Apparently the courier was in there also. There was a scuffle and the courier came out wearing the “checkered suit” when all was said and done.

Throughout our travels we came across the NCR. We learned there was an outpost on the strip. The courier and I payed them a visit. From what intel we could gather, the NCR was protecting the Hoover Dam, which was giving power to the region. They had been attacked by Caesar’s Legion before and were preparing for another attack. The courier pledged to help and we were off. I decided to go with him after seeing what the New Vegas strip really had to offer and knowing that the region would have to be protected from Caesar and his army eventually. While at the Hoover Dam we thwarted an assassination on the President and ultimately protected it from Caesars’ troops. The courier and I parted ways a little while after that, but our journey has ultimately left profound memories with me.

For more on Fallout New Vegas check out fallout.bethsoft.com

Synopsis

Fallout: New Vegas, the follow-up to Fallout® 3 – the 2008 Game of the Year – brings this beloved franchise to a location only Fallout could do justice: Vegas. Fallout: New Vegas takes all the action, humour, and post-apocalyptic grime and grit of this legendary series, and raises the stakes. Published by Bethesda Softworks, Fallout: New Vegas is currently under development at Obsidian Entertainment and is slated for a autumn 2010 release.