Ok I'll get this out of the way first: Fallout 4, it is not. The game had some major problems at launch for PC. The community and some extremely fast patches have alleviated all the problems I had. It didn't even take a week for the game to get "fixed" from a technical perspective. Along with that, I was a little disappointed with the lack of improvements to the engine. This was also fixed with a few community mods. No discussion about the technical issues here, please, this is gameplay discussion only. Thanks!!

The real reason I am writing this is to praise the developers for making Fallout: New Vegas more like Fallout and Fallout 2.

I only put about 20-30 hours into Fallout 3; that was after years and countless hours playing Fallout and Fallout 2, mostly the latter. Fallout 3 just didn't feel right for some reason, mostly due to the fact that it was so different from the original two games. Not just from a technical perspective, but the mood and atmosphere just seemed much different. Despite the fact that the stories paralleled a lot, and that there were plenty of references to the older games, I didn't feel the drive to continue progressing my character like I did in the first two games. There was a lot to like about Fallout 3, but it just did not come together for me like the old games did.

After 50 hours of Fallout: New Vegas and a few mods/patches, I am extremely happy with everything about it. It feels much more like the old Fallout games in terms of dialog, mood, flexibility of builds, balance, crafting (respectively), and so many more little things. I don't know if I just "missed" it for whatever reason in Fallout 3, but I feel that New Vegas has really hit the mark on atmosphere and core gameplay elements this time around.

So, thank you developers. I am pretty sure it was an intentional effort, and if so, it was a great success.

Any old wastelanders out there agree with me on this one?

tl;dr...
I played a ton of Fallout and Fallout 2, and about 30 hours of Fallout 3. I like Fallout: New Vegas way more than Fallout 3 because I feel it has returned a lot of the feelings of the old games to the Fallout game world. Anyone else agree?

I agree. In a lot of ways, New Vegas is the sequel that Fallout 2 deserves.

I also love all of the references in the game. Hell, there are even throwbacks to the classic game Wasteland (the mentioning of the Desert Rangers.)

I may have only played part way through both of the originals but I must say this game REALLY captured the true Fallout spirit. Fallout 3 is dead to me simply because the factions are the only real similarities between FO1/2 and the thrid. <_<

They really should just rename Fallout 3 to Fallout: D.C. and rename Fallout: New Vegas to Fallout 3.

That is a great way to put it. I feel it is much more deserving of the Fallout name, haha. The references to the old games are great. Also, the darker side of me loves the massive increase in vulgarities.




The spirit is much more in tact for sure. The factions in New Vegas is definitely something worth mentioning. What a vast improvement over FO3. The variety of choices is great, and so far all the quests have been at the very least fun.