In 2008, Bethesda revived the long dead Fallout franchise with the release of Fallout 3, after acquiring the franchise from Interplay. Having had to wait almost 10 years since last playing a “core” entry to the franchise,  I was stoked to play Fallout 3. And while the atmosphere was there, it left a lot to be desired as a Fallout game. Thankfully two years later Obsidian has stepped in to fill the void that Fallout 3 failed to fill.

Good

Story

While Fallout 3’s story painted a stark black and white contrast between the Brotherhood of Steel and the Enclave, the factions in New Vegas are much more gray. Between the Legion, the New California Republic (NCR), and Mr. House, they each have the own good and bad points. The Legion is ruthless, brutal, and oppressive; but to citizens in its territory, they offer safety and security that the other two are unable to provide. The NCR offers democracy and freedom in the style of the pre-war governments, but has expanded too fast, annexing whomever they wish – with or without their consent. Finally, Mr. House offers a vision and knowledge to return to pre-war glory, but is a heavy handed dictator with little regard for those who disagree with him. Of course, players who dislike all of these factions can also elect not to side with any of them.

Layer on top of this many competing sub factions and you have a giant muddled mess with no clear morality to pin down. Situations the player encounters in the story much more closely resemble parts of the first two games, particularly the situation in Junk Town from Fallout 1 and competing interests in Vault City, New Reno, and the NCR from Fallout 2.

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I have had a hankering lately to play a game that does not exist.  Specifically, a Western RPG as they used to be, before Bioware and Bethesda took up the reins of Western RPGdom.  Of course, many of you will say there is nothing wrong with those two being in charge, but I’m afraid that Dragon Age and Fallout 3 just don’t scratch that itch for me.

So, why?  Why am I dissatisfied with the current crop of Western RPGs?  What are they missing, what are they doing wrong?

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Welcome back, food critics and food lovers alike, to our hallowed Kitchen Stadium.  As you well know, we’ve come to the final portion of our program, tasting and judgment.  The Iron Chef has already wowed the chairman and his guests with his five-course meal, and now it’s time for our challenger, Bethesda, to see if he can compete.  The challenger has informed us that he’ll be serving five courses of Wet today, so we’ll see if he can impress us with his culinary prowess.

So without further ado, bon appetit!

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