Fallout: New Vegas Ultimate Edition

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Let's be clear about this right now:

"Fallout: New Vegas" is a video game that does not work properly on a consistent basis. Both the original 2010 PS3 disc and this Ultimate Edition have problems that are unacceptable in most people's minds. The game freezes occasionally. The framerate chugs once in a while. Characters will sometimes get stuck on a hill or a table, or some other piece of environment. In terms of product testing and quality assurance, "Fallout: New Vegas" (and other Bethesda releases) should be ashamed that some of these issues aren't fixed.

If that's a deal-breaker for you, consider this a 2-star review. However, it's because of consumers like me that Bethesda is allowed to get away this lack of fine-tuning. I am personally willing to deal with these technical hiccups because in my opinion, "Fallout: New Vegas" is the best open-world RPG of this console generation. I don't really care for the sword-and-sorcery "Elder Scrolls" experience, and I think "Fallout 3" was a very good game with some baffling world design (subway system, anybody?). I invested 60 hours in the original "New Vegas" when it first came out in 2010, and this Ultimate Edition has already brought another 40 hours thanks to some solid bonus content and a well-crafted design that indeed lets you, the player, choose what happens.

I won't go into too much detail about what "New Vegas" is, because there are much better written reviews and video reviews that'll explain what you're in for. Aside from my aforementioned opinion that "New Vegas" is superior to the more critically-acclaimed and commercially-successful "Fallout 3", I would like to emphasize that the ending is the most personalized I can recall. Every faction you encounter, every live-or-die choice you made, every siginifcant story decision, and even the smallest rumor you stumbled across...most of these details will be reflected in a slideshow epilogue which tells you what happened to all of these people. If you don't believe how complex your tale will end, just go to the official "Fallout: New Vegas" wiki and sample the possible ending branches. Whatever you do in "New Vegas" will be your adventure.

As you're probably aware, this Ultimate Edition includes:

* all of the post-released patches to fix many of the technical errors when this game first came out.

* all the 4 DLC quests released in 2011

* the Gun-Runners Arsenal, which essentially means more weapons available to buy, and some bonus challenges to help you level up quicker

* all the pre-order bonus packs that were available depending on where you bought "New Vegas" in 2010.

So, what do I think about all of this stuff?

Personally, I think the patches being on-disc are the biggest deal. I think people forget that one day, the ways our games are being fixed through online downloads might not be available one day. This game used to have issues where quests couldn't be completed depending on who you talked to, and companions wouldn't appear on your map so you might lose them. And while "Fallout: New Vegas" isn't perfect by any stretch, it's nice to have a lot of these glitches sorted out permanently on this Ultimate Edition disc.

The pre-order packs are neat. My only gripe is that as far as I know, there's no way to turn them off before your game starts. As a result, you'll always have a canteen to keep your character from thirsting, and a few extra guns and outfits to get your started. It's not a huge deal because you can always just drop the items or sell them; then again, perhaps players will appreciate having these perks to get started on the long adventure.

The Gun-Runners Arsenal doesn't really mean much for me. The new weapons are incredibly expensive, so you won't get to enjoy them until you've played the game for a while. Plus, I never really dealt with weapon-modding, so the scopes and damage-modifiers I found usually ended up just getting sold. Also, the new challenges are pretty ridiculous, so I wouldn't count on them to get more XP too much. Besides, there are enough challenges available for players to level up without the GRA content.

The big deal for most buyers will be the 4 DLC quests.

I really hated "Dead Money" for reasons that would take way too long to get into. But in short, the toxic environment is annoying and bland, the enemies and weapons create a survival-horror experience that I hate, the companions are weird, and the story is just dumb thanks to a sinister villain's oddball intentions.

"Honest Hearts" and "Old World Blues" are easily my favorites. "Hearts" deals with tribalism in Utah, where two leaders ask you to sympathize with their opposite approaches to religion, violence, and survival. The pressure on you to handle the exodus from the dangerous Zion Valley is well-realized. "Old World Blues" is widely-considered to be the best of the DLC content, and it's hard to argue with that. This mad sci-fi tale is one that you have to see to believe, with robots that'll make you laugh hard while trying to reclaim your organic limbs because you're essentially a robot now.

"Lonesome Road" is an interesting but inconsistent story that sheds some light on events leading up to The Courier ('You') getting involved with the Platinum Chip, and how the NCR/Legion conflict plays into it. I found that the story was intriguing on paper, but the characters you encounter don't really mesh with it. It's almost like two separate stories are trying blend together with an important purpose, but to me, it just doesn't gel.

Even though I only really liked 2 of these main quests ("Honest Hearts" and "Old World Blues"), the cost to buy a 2010 "New Vegas" disc and purchase these 2 DLC quests is the same as picking up the Ultimate Edition release, so you're better off just buying the whole package.

OVERALL

I don't blame people for being harsh on "Fallout: New Vegas". For some people, even one technical error is enough to write off the whole game. If you're hoping that this Ultimate Edition rights all wrongs...I'm sorry, but it doesn't. If you're going to experience the Mojave Wasteland, you're going to have put extra work into it. Keep multiple save files. Keep your PS3 offline so that your machine isn't doing work that isn't needed. Be prepared to restart your PS3 when the game starts getting choppy and/or freezes.

I choose to take the good with the bad because I love this game! I find the story and world to be endlessly fascinating, even moreso than the better-received "Fallout 3". The options available to the player are almost-unmatched --aside from the very beginning and very end, you can explore this massive world however you want to! Do you side with the militaristic New California Republic, or the blood-cleansing Caesar's Legion? Will you use your Speech skills to your advantage only to attempt peace, or will you also use it to intimidate the weak? Do you steal, pickpocket, hack, and lockpick to survive...or do you make your means through combat? Do you kill only those who attack first, or everyone who stands in your way? Do you want to complete as many quests as possible, or do you just want to see the main story through? Do you travel alone, or do you bring a companion with you? And if you happen to stumble across a scenario where your companion might have to be killed to please another person, what choice will you make?

This game forces players to make hard choices yet always rewards the choices they make. This indeed is going to the experience you want it to be. I urge you to forgive the technical shortcomings, and realize what a stunning achievement "Fallout: New Vegas" really is.

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I bought this game last week because it finally came up for 23 dollars with free two day shipping. I got it 6 days ago, and I can't stop playing it. I didn't think that the expansion packs were going to be so huge and add so much, but I have only been playing the old world blues expansion and it is amazing. I was afraid that it was going to be all glitchy like it was when I first owned new vegas back when it came out... but i've played for over 30 hours and it hasn't frozen up on me once!

WARNING:

Do not buy this game right now if you are:

-In school. You will not be able to stop playing it even though you have 4 exams this week that you haven't studied for.

-Have a job. You will get very sick and call your job coughing and say you can't come in because your radiation level is too high.

-Have a wife. She will start to get irritated when you keep asking her to combine items from the fridge to make something that gives you more HP and less rads.

-Wanting a tan. You will see plenty of sunlight while playing, but it won't be the kind that gives you warmth and a tan. It's more of the kind that makes you feel sick and get a headache because you've been staring at a screen for 6 hours.

Buy this game now if you:

-Love being immersed in a great game and getting XP and upping your stats.

-Love searching every nook and cranny of a room for hidden items.

-Have nothing important that you need to get done in the coming months.

-Have a lot of self control.

-Understand how to turn off the game before the splitting headache and nausea start.

-Do not have any loved ones.

-Don't have any pets or animals to take care of.

-Have a lot of food storage.

Trust me, this game is really good. I don't know how to stop playing it. If you are worried about the low reviews, worry no longer. 30+ hours with absolutely no freezing yet. I don't feel like it will change as I keep playing but if it does i'll let you all know.

UPDATE!! OCTOBER 27th

Well i'm back to give everyone out there an update. Ive played at least 30 more hours or so. It's been working out great and not really interfering with my life like I thought it would. I was worried about my exams because this past week I had 4 mid terms, but fallout actually helped me! I aced all of my exams but it makes sense to me now because I used the Intense Training perk to raise my intelligence. I thought I was going to get fired from my job but they actually gave me a raise! I did not expect it at all, but once I hit 75 barter skill I was given some unique dialogue with my boss and he gave me the raise i've been waiting for. Also, my wife isn't getting angry at me anymore, she dissapeared... Im positive that she's a permanent companion so she's probably just waiting outside the door of my house, ill check later. So basically the game is still running fine, and I actually found a few new locations that I didn't even think were in the ultimate edition. I walked away from my PS3 and discovered a house, I might explore outside but when I aproached the back door of my house it warned me that I should be at least level 30 before exiting... better wait a little bit. I really like the book chute in the Big MT expansion, it takes old books and converts them to blank books so you can make some skill books... it's slightly bugged though because it doesn't accept books from the house map that I just discovered. I try to put them through the ps3 and the tv, neither work. Im sure there will be a patch for this soon. Anyway, I can't write much more because my science skill is only 50 and I don't want to get locked out of this terminal. That's what you get when you focus everything in lockpicking! Oh well, ill be back after I get some rest... both my legs are crippled and my head would be too if I didn't have my brain taken out in Big MT.

November update:

Well everyone, all I can say is stay away from the strip. I went there and killed that guy who shot me in the head, but it took forever to walk around the casino because I was moving at like 1 frame per second. I got out of there and headed for the hills and all was good after that. I went into the divide and finished that expansion pack with no problems. Left there and went over to the Zion canyon expansion, finished that with no problems. So basically all the expansions are working great. Put all those together and you have yourself an excellent game.

Buy Fallout: New Vegas Ultimate Edition Now

If you enjoyed Fallout 3, this game has a lot to offer you--new weapons, a vast world to explore, new crafting and ally systems, a more developed karma system, new perks, and more. For new comers, this can all be a little intimidating, but the game walks you through it all quite well. The game play is solid and the story is interesting--more so than Fallout 3's story.

That being said, this game gets a 2 out of 5 for one reason--the insane level of glitches in the PS3 version of the game. Do your research--the PC and X-Box 360 versions have small issues, but the PS3 version is terribly glitchy and prone to freezing. My copy froze three times in one hour yesterday. This is terribly frustrating. It pulls you out of the game and story. It is an unacceptable situation. Developers have a responsibility to the consumer to hold a product until the bugs have been worked out. The makers of this game have not kept their end of the bargain here.

This is a fun game, but don't buy it for the Playstation 3.

Read Best Reviews of Fallout: New Vegas Ultimate Edition Here

I'm going to echo some of the other reviews, the bugginess eventually led me to quit.

With the Ultimate edition I was playing through all the extra missions before the last couple segments of the main missions. There is plenty to explore and do inside this world, inside these several worlds actually, as a couple of the DLC areas have a rather different feel to them. HOWEVER I'm playing on a PS3, and with just a few side missions remaining before getting ready to complete the main storyline I reached a point where the game predictably hangs just a few seconds after loading my save (about 11MB).

For most of the time I spend with this game a save/reload sequence generally resulted in 30min-1hr of play time (seems like less than that when travelling with a companion, which really sucked because companions are fun, and unlock a number of other side missions). In the end all the hang/freeze/glitch behavior wore me out, and I've put this away without finishing, and can't imagine I'll ever bother to pick it up again.

Want Fallout: New Vegas Ultimate Edition Discount?

This game is an action packed RPG game that Will give you days and days of fun. I enjoy it so much. If you like fallout also try bioshock or skyrim.