That sounds good, really exploring the GS area helps as there's a surprising amount of good stuff, things to be bought at the store and it's not unusual to leave with scoped and silenced varmit rifle. As Kicenna says you'll probably be heading for Primm now, it's the way the game pushes you but don't stop randomly exploring, it really is fun.

I really envy you playing for the first time.

I find it just great on Normal. Early game is very difficult, but at later levels it eases up and becomes a joyride.

Too hard? Too easy? Just right? I don't think you can say one way or the other. How hard the game is all depends on how you decide to play it! Doesn't matter how good or otherwise you might be, if you like to be careful, engage targets from a distance, make use of sneak criticals, heavy VATS usage, etc, then of course the game is going to be a whole lot easier than if you like to play with some cojones and take on the big guns up close and personal, and don't resort to VATS all the time. I'm on my first playthrough, only on normal difficulty (hardcoe off), and I wouldn't say it's easy by any means. I'm only level 11 now, so haven't done that much or gotten very far, but I think it's a respectable challenge in the right places - that's all down to how I play though: my character is based around melee, unarmed and explosives.

I think I was around level 7 or 8 when I first encountered a deathclaw - I was on my way to Novac, and was a short distance away from reaching Ranger Station Charlie, about to check out some movement ahead that looked like it could be hostile. Before I know it a friggin' deathclaw seems to appear out of nowhere, running over a hill a little bit in front of me. It kind of ran about in a deranged fashion and I didn't even know if it had spotted me yet or whatever. I just kind of stood there for a moment wondering what to do . . . heh . . . and then I suddenly know for sure it's coming for me as it charges straight forward and runs up the small hill I'm at the top of, so I decided to stand and fight the SOB. Had no companions or anything at that point. Just popped some chems and equipped my best stuff (measly leather armour and a metal helmet). Went into VATS just as he was in the middle of a leaping attack and mauled his ass with my sledgehammer, sending him flying all the way back down the hill he just ran up - did not know who he was fecking with. :celebration:

Whipped out my grenade launcher and fired several rounds out of VATS, one of them smacking right into his head as he charged back up the hill. Switched back to my sledgehammer and went for another mauling attack, which failed as the DC smacked me just as I attacked and knocked me right back. Went into VATS again and went for another maul with the last AP I had left, and thankfully it worked and sent him flying again (always awesome). I decided to stay back while he was knocked down and heal up and try to recharge a little AP before he was in my face again. I decided to use some Turbo and managed to dodge his next leaping attack and switched weapons and started to tear him up with my bladed gauntlet, knocking his ass down yet again thanks to my Super Slam perk. Switched back to my sledgehammer and hit into him some more, again managing to send him to the ground. DC was down to 1 single bar of health, and I tried to finish him off with a charging attack but got careless and misjudged it and the swing was just out of range; before I knew it the deathclaw had gotten up and smacked into me twice very quickly, leaving me with about 5-10% health (extremely lucky I didn't die). After healing I went into VATS for my final attack, doing a maul and sending his crumpling, b**** ass corpse rolling all the way down the hill he first came up. :biggrin:

That was a tough fight. So no, if you like to play with some bravado, this is not a laughably easy game.

Even though I've played through New Vegas many times, those Vipers still overwhelm me on occasion.

I unlocked the first companion in Novac, game feels much easier with a pal to help kill stuff.

Oh yeah, Boone will help you a lot. Boone and Ed-E are my two favorite companions. Boone doesn't complain or whine when you want him to carry something...he just says fine by me. He doesn't complain when you've asked him to wait, he says he'll sit tight. He doesn't complain when you return, he'll tell you he's got your back...and I know he always does. I think you'll have more fun now.

I wish new vegas was "too hard." There's really only a few areas that actually give me many probs. I'd relish the time that you feel the game is "too hard." Soon you'll be wishing for a higher difficulty level.

Yeah, that character was crippled from the start.

It's advisable not to choose Fast Shot along with Trigger Discipline. Fast Shot multiplies attack speed by 1.2 and accuracy by 0.8, while Trigger Discipline multiplies attack speed by 0.8 and accuracy by 1.2. So you end up with a 4% (= 100% - (100% * 0.8 * 1.2)) decrease of both accuracy and attack speed if both traits are taken.
http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Trigger_Discipline

Take your time, explore, complete quests, loot. Plan your build. A general sniper build is a good one to start with, until you find your pace - sneak attack criticals will sort out those vipers. Just get a good rifle, Cowboy Repeater is accurate and deadly enough early game. Even vanilla NV has a level 30 cap so you can re-jig and retune along the way once you've found your pace - I started as a rough gun-totin' cowboy and ended up as a sneaky ninja burying knives in the backs of enemies. There's also no shame in legging it if you get in over your head. I had to make haste quick fast back to Sloan after ignoring the warnings about Deathclaws, lemme tell you.

See also a topic I started on http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1209862-combat-philosophies/, on how different players approach different fights.