Going into E3 2010, the one game I was looking most forward to seeing was Bethesda’s Fallout: New Vegas. Having put more than 100 hours into Fallout 3, I am quite eager to venture back out into the post-apocalyptic wastelands, but at the same time I was quite hesitant because while I found Fallout 3 so perfect, it was quite possible that New Vegas might go off in horrible directions, or ruin the things that made the previous game so engaging and enjoyable.

There was some reason to be concerned, as Bethesda switched development teams for Fallout: New Vegas, handing the reigns over to Obsidian Entertainment, who are largely known now for making the less successful follow-ups to a number of hugely popular titles (Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2 and Neverwinter Nights 2 for example). Though before the studio’s founding, a number of key employees were involved with the development of both Fallout and Fallout 2, so there was equal reason to be optimistic.

At E3, I was able to put in a good 30 minutes with the demo on the floor, and I can honestly say I could have spent the whole three days playing. Instantly, I was back in the wastelands of Fallout, and it felt like home. A miserable, depressing home to be sure, but an oddly comfortable and familiar environment nonetheless.

In this demo, I had a chance to briefly explore The Strip in New Vegas, which features five different (and functioning) casinos locked behind heavily fortified walls, and head out to a smaller encampment to undertake a short mission in the desert. Once that mission was wrapped up, including encounters with both enemy soldiers and fire gecko’s I took the “because I can” approach and tested out the Fallout: New Vegas arsenal by slaughtering everyone in the camp, much to the amusement of the folks behind me. Yeah, I’ll admit that was not the nicest thing to do, but it did help me get a handle on the new weapons in the game, and it’s a choice the game gives you, albeit with significant consequences. So that justifies it, right?

The good news is, it looks like everything that was great about Fallout 3 has been retained, with some new features and options added on. This is definitely more of a next chapter, a Fallout 3.5 if you will, rather than a full-scale new installment. With so much storytelling ground still to cover, it seems like the right choice to continue on with a working system  and tell those new stories, rather that going for a complete reinvention. It also means that many elements of the gameplay, the presentation, and the conversation styles return intact, or even slightly improved.

The setting, obviously, has changed, leaving the charred and dismal capital wasteland of Washington, DC behind, in favour of the sun-soaked wasteland of the Mojave desert. On the plus side, you’ll be seeing a lot less grey in this game, as the desert is filled with browns, yellows, and oranges, which is a huge change from the grey and brown colour palette that dominated Fallout 3. The graphics did seem to be improved over Fallout 3, with smoother animations and better textures, though part of that could just be the enhanced color palette.

The city of New Vegas is much more contained than the more sprawling Washington, DC, but with the inclusion of five different casinos and other buildings, there will be no shortage of areas to explore. The casinos in the game, each one with a different flavour, will offer a variety of gameplay options, including gambling. The outer wasteland will also be larger that in the last game, offering a ton of different landmarks and locations to discover.

Character building seemed to follow the same system as Fallout 3, using a mix of SPECIAL attributes (Strength, Perception, Endurance, Charisma, Intelligence, Agility and Luck), plus a host of skills and perks to customize your character to your liking. Again, a good case of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”.

There wasn’t a lot of information available about the game’s story, but it will center around the conflict between the New California Republic and Caesar’s Legion, a group of mercenaries kitted out in ancient Roman-style armor. You will be able to interact with both sides in the conflict, and no doubt establish your own moral middle ground from which to operate, plus discuss a wealth of side missions to take part in.

I didn’t have a chance to test it out, but it appears there will be a fairly extensive weapon modding system within the game, allowing you to build the arsenal of your dreams out of scavenged parts. There did seem to be a larger number of basic weapons in the game, once again featuring bullets, plasma, lasers, and projectiles.

Making an encore appearance is the VATS system, which allows for better accuracy in ranged or melee combat, and the glorious satisfaction of seeing an enemy’s head blown clean off in gruesome slow motion. If you prefer a more traditional FPS experience, you can forgo the VATS system and line up your attacks manually.

So, everything that was good about the last game, a Game of the Year winner in a lot of books, has returned, while the game world has been expanded, the weapons systems have been improved, and the colour palette is a whole lot more cheerful and inviting. In other words, things could be lining up for another strong Game of the Year contender. Fallout: New Vegas will arrive for the XBox 360, the PS3, and the PC on October 19 in North America and October 22 in Europe.

I can’t wait!

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