As I'm interested in buying one of these titles and this amazing community has been very helpful so I decked to see how the games changed

Also many thanks for helping me out in my other thread I was pleasantly surprised to see so any people still here

Writing

Choice and consequence

Combat

Balance

The world feels like a real place and not an amusemant park.

There aren't dungeons every couple of feet

NPCs aren't leveled

also they added traits, iron sights, and hardcoe mode.

New Vegas added alot of new features that Fallout 3 didn't have like gambling, factions, weapon mods, expanded crafting, survival, hardcoe mode, improved companion interaction, etc. But one thing Fallout New Vegas doesn't have that Fallout 3 did and this is just a personal opinion is an apocalyptic enviornment. New Vegas takes place in a desert and to be honest there wasn't anything in the desert to begin with so it does not feel as gritty and dark like Fallout 3 did. I suggest that you get Fallout 3 it is an awesome game and to many people pass it up for New Vegas because of all the features New Vegas has. So definetley consider Fallout 3 and if you do decide to get it get the Game of the Year Edition.

How did New Vegas improve on Fallout 3:

- Skills pack a bigger punch and offer more uses

- A bit better leveling pace

- The story and characters are better written, there's much more personality, they make more sense and the events tie in with the original series (Fallout and Fallout 2)

- There are more choices to make with consequences

- Branching storyline with multiple endings depending on how you play

- More stuff to do (eg. more quests)

- Better balanced and often more challenging combat

- hardcoe mode (which should've been the game by default)

For some highlights.

Combat is improved, with more weapons, ammo sub-types (eg hollow-point, armour-piercing rounds) and a revamped armour system which makes choosing the right ammo, or even the right weapon, more important.

The crafting system is greatly expanded; with all the add-ons installed(and you should install all the add-ons!) almost every little piece of junk you find has some potential use.

Skills have more use in quests, and there are more perks, meaning you can commit more fully to a character build or role-playing idea.

Companions now give you temporary perks and have their own questlines.

The main quest is much more freeform. Fallout 3's main quest takes you through one chain of events which you can affect in parts; New Vegas has no real chain of events, and the form the final quest takes is decided by your actions.

Better writing and more voice actors, the main thing to me.