Fallout: New Vegas Details Emerge

February issues of several magazines are featuring exclusive content concerning Fallout New Vegas.  One such magazine, PC Gamer, released somewhat early to their subscribers so naturally the details on the game have begun pouring out onto the web.

There is now an optional level of difficulty called “hardcore”, which increases the game’s realism and conversely the difficulty in the following ways:

• The player character will be required to drink water to survive.
• Ammunition now has weight.
• Healing is not instantaneous.

Being forced to either carry water or hover around a water source will certainly prove interesting in a desert environment.  Likewise, healing while under heavy gunfire will prove more difficult with the effects setting in slowly.  I imagine more powerful weapons will also have heavier ammunition, suggesting players will have to carefully choose what to bring with them on their journeys.  I believe having companions will almost certainly be a requirement on this setting at least for the purpose of carrying more gear.

I appreciate the realism here, which already is making the world of the game feel more dangerous.  Also, this higher mode of difficulty is more appealing to me than “hard” in Fallout 3, which only affected the strength of enemies and the EXP the player received.

The player character (PC) was once a courier, left for dead in the desert.  A robot named Victor (quite possibly the one in the teaser trailer) unearths the PC and presents him/her to his owner, a doctor named Mitchell.  The doctor treats the PC’s wounds and presents a vigour test, described as an electric parlour game, which determines SPECIAL.  Mitchell, a former vault dweller, presents the PC with both a Pip-Boy and a vault suit.

Major factions appearing in the game include, as speculated, the New California Republic (NCR), a group of slavers dubbed “Ceasar’s Legion”, and the residents of New Vegas.  The three appear to all be at odds with each other.  With whom will the player character ally?

When it comes to enemies, ghouls are of course returning in full force.  It is also confirmed that a ghoul can be recruited as an ally if they player rescues him/her in a certain quest.  Super Mutants come in more varieties including the intelligent Nightkin.

Real world locations that appear in the game include:

• McCarren Airport which serves as the base for NCR in Nevada.
• The Hover dam which is supplying New Vegas with electricity.
• Area 51 (rumored, no confirmation)

The Karma system is back and will be coupled with a reputation system.  Karma is character specific where Reputation is location specific (e.g. how the NCR feel towards the PC may differ that how Slavers feel about the PC).  Lastly more conversation options are unlocked depending on the skills the player excels at.  This system is much more complex than in the past providing different levels of options depending on the PC’s aptitude according to J. E Sawyer.

Thanks once again to a fan and The Vault for getting this info out as quickly as possible.  Now I am just waiting on some scans!  Once they are available I will certainly be posting them.

Related Entries:
Fallout: New Vegas Rumors Emerge
Fallout: New Vegas First Teaser Image… Maybe?
Fallout New Vegas: Teaser Video

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