Fallout: New Vegas Guide Blog Update

The second of David Hodgson's stories on his official game guide is up on the Bethesda Blog, this one focusing mostly on the game's crafting system.
Crafting doesn't involve making papier-mâché Vault Boy heads; this is all about hunting and scavenging, and then combining items to create much more potent food, drink and equipment. Indeed, the official strategy guide goes to extended lengths to provide you with the most helpful information to get you tracking down the tastiest morsels and most delicious beverages. Or the most potent poisons with which to coat your melee weapon, and charge head-long into that Fiend encampment you've been wanting to ransack. There's a mind-snappingly large number of items you can craft over a Campfire after collecting various wild plants, pieces of meat you've sliced off a dead animal, and other accoutrements. You haven't lived until you've tasted Rose's Deathclaw Omelet; a special recipe only given out to those who've returned triumphantly with a (special) egg or two. And of course, you don't want to run across the monstrosity that laid those eggs.

Of course, there's a more violent, anarchic point to Crafting too. With the introduction of Reloading Benches, you (and your associated Skill) can spend time searching for any type of ammunition including bullets you normally would never use and break them down into their component parts. Then, with a modicum of talent, you can craft variations of your standard bullets, shells, and clips to suit a variety of (usually blood-soaked) situations. Naturally, the official guide details all the bullet types, how to create them, and their strengths (and weaknesses), so let's focus on one example of a common bullet type: the 9mm.