Bethesda Softworks has outed a lovely TV spot for it's upcoming opus Fallout: New Vegas, and when I say lovely I really mean it. I admittedly slept on Fallout 3, having not playing it until maybe six months or so after it's release, but I'm really glad I got around to it. As one of the best games I've played in recent memory, Fallout 3 was not without it's drawbacks, which New Vegas looks to improve on, and add to tenfold.
The ambiance of New Vegas is a rapid departure from the ruins of Washington D.C. While the awesomeness of seeing our history destroyed and inhabited by super mutants and ghouls blew my mind, traversing from point A to point B got bland fast. If you didn't happen upon a tattered national monument, there wasn't much to be seen in D.C., unless of course you crossed paths with a traveler, or a stray robot, or a super mutant, or some other kick-ass randomness. And even though it was these things that mattered, that kept the game engaging, and that made me want to wander around the wasteland looking for the next random situation my character could become involved in, part of me was still lulled to sleep by the District of Columbia's far-too-typical post apocalyptic snooze-fest of browns and grays.
Enter New Vegas and it's well captured spirit of the old Vegas' panache. Sure, the neighborhood ain't as pretty as she used to be, but the charm is still there. Bright lights, flashing advertisements, exploding buildings, and a vault that looks like a freaking casino! That's a nice touch right there. New Vegas even features beautifully vibrant skies to get your eyes their daily dose of colors. Gone are the two-toned nuclear winters of Washington D.C., replaced with mythological things, like the post-apocalyptic blue sky, and sunset.
Above all else, Fallout New Vegas looks to deliver where it matters: gameplay, story, and the immerse world of throat-cutting and slaver-gutting that Fallout 3 so aptly portrayed. Gambling, shooting, exploring, blowing shit up, and tough moral decisions. Now all I'm left wondering is, will we be able to solicit ghoul prostitutes?