Fallout: New Vegas Preview

The editors at Hooked Gamers have taken most of what we know about Obsidian Entertainment's highly anticipated Fallout installment and summed it up in a quick preview. A sampling:
The lack of challenge in the combat in Fallout 3 affected the game as a whole. It was a fairly easy game, with little in the way of genuinely tough scenarios. One way Obsidian plans to rectify this problem is with the introduction of a hardcore mode. This mode goes beyond just upping the amount of bullets you can take and how many bullets you need to give in order take down a raider. Stimpacks will heal over time, instead of healing instantaneously and dehydration is now a factor in surviving. Damage variables have been adjusted and perhaps the most welcomed inclusion is how ammunition will have weight values. Hopefully, it will be possible to adjust all the hardcore options to accommodate the needs of every individual player, but this new gameplay mode sounds like it will give New Vegas a sense of true survival that every Fallout game needs.

With all the various changes going into the game, the same can be said for the visuals. Due to the fact that this area of Nevada is a relatively safe zone compared to the completely destruction and intense radiation present on other parts of the world, New Vegas has a much richer aesthetic. Blue skies, green grass and unlike Fallout 3, New Vegas might consider what 200+ years can do to a bombed out US. We have seen real world examples, like how Chernobyl has developed into some of an urban forest, but I digress. New Vegas will have a different look, which is both refreshing and sensible.