At the end of last week (around Saturday), I loaded up my copy of Fallout: New Vegas for Xbox 360 with the aim of not only completing the game, but completing it well. By this, I mean trying to complete all of the quests in the game (minus the ones that are eliminated by completing another quest). So far, I have already invested almost eighteen hours into the game, as I have been pretty bored over this summer holiday due to all of my friends being on holiday, and am currently level twenty-one. However, over the past couple of days, I have noticed that my Xbox crashes after every hour or so of gameplay (mainly when loading a new area and once when talking to someone). Thus, my first question is whether or not the PC version of the game is more stable? Does it freeze less and suffer from save corruption less? I know it'll still be a little buggy, as that is how the game is, but is it better in terms of glitches and bugs?

My computer, or laptop rather, isn't fantastic when it comes to gaming. Sure, the overall specification isn't bad, but the graphics card sure is. An ATi Radeon 4250 with dedicated 256MB RAM, which is accompanied by 4GB Memory/RAM, 500GB HDD and an AMD Athlon Dual-Core 2.1GHz, is all I have. Now, although I am certain this isn't good enough for maximum settings, would this machine be able to run the game smoothly on low (around thirty frames per second)? Also, whilst on the topic of system requirements, is there any news on what specification Skyrim will require as a friend of mine is looking to build/purchase a new PC with said specification.

Finally, I'm running out of quests on the Xbox 360 version of the game. I've just got the 'For The Republic, Part 2' quest and have already killed Mr. House. Any good quests you can recommend me that are available in this version of the game (no DLC)? Is there any news on a 'Game Of The Year' yet? Since the game is still ￡15 GBP on PC at my local video game store, it makes sense to just wait for the 'Game Of The Year' edition if it is anywhere near on the horizon? If I did buy the PC version, though, the main reason would be for mods. I hear there are some really good ones, which drastically extend the game. Is this true and how difficult are they to install?

Anybody willing to answer some, if not all, of my questions?

Are you running the latest patch on 360?
I play on ps3 and I had the same issues- minus the save corruption, before the patches.
The game runs very smooth now post patch(es).

Also the ps3/360 will have very good graphics when using hdmi and at least a 720p tv.
With some more affordable pcs you may not be able to run the game at max graphics.

But if I had $1500 to spend, I would have built my gaming pc by now and modded the game.

If you have a PC that is appreciably better than an Xbox, then the GOTY edition (when it comes out) would include all DLC and have access to better graphics hardware and user modifications.

If you mean, "should I buy FO:NV tomorrow and play on my PC instead of my Xbox"... then probably not, unless a reinstall / update fails to fix your game crashing issues.

It has been shown that user mods can be good enough to have the developers emulate their changes in later games, so that potential speaks for itself.

Mods vary in complexity and installation difficulty, but generally they come with instructions, and there is a free user created installer for (deliberately compatible) mods, that handles the entire process for you.

PC is about having a top of the line or near it system. If you are going to buy the PC version make sure you that you can enjoy the image quality, then you can worry about the plethora of modifications.

Is it worth it? I think so. I made the switch and I haven't regretted it. I didn't get it for PC though until I knew my machine would run it on the highest settings.

I had freezes here and there on the 360, as well as some infinite loading screens (easy to get around that though), but little else in the way of any so-called "game-breaking" bugs. On PC, I've had only one freeze and one infinite load screen.

I've never had a corrupted save. On either system.

Generally, many mods are easy to install but you need a couple other programs installed to help (for me, those were NVSE and FOMM).

I have the latest title update for the game, and the crashes are becoming more and more frequent. I really want to purchase the DLC, but it does not seem worth it until the game runs smoothly. None of have answered my question though. Will my PC run the game smoothly on low settings?

Some mods look so cool, though!

CPU Speed
Minimum: Dual Core 2.0 GHz Processor or better
You Have: 2.1 GHz
PASS

RAM
Minimum: 2 GB
You Have: 3.7 GB
PASS

OS
Minimum: Windows 7 / Vista / XP
You Have: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Edition Service Pack 1 (build 7601), 64-bit
PASS

Video Card
Minimum: NVIDIA GeForce 6 series or better, ATI Radeon X1300 XT series or better
You Have: ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4250
PASS
Features: Minimum attributes of your Video Card
Required You Have
Video RAM 128 MB 1.9 GB
Hardware T&L Yes Yes
Pixel Shader version 3.0 4.1
Vertex Shader version 3.0 4.1

Free Disk Space
Minimum: 10 GB
You Have: 356.9 GB
PASS

PC version is very customizable to run on most spec systems and also has a ton of mods to increase the lifespan of the game

Check out : http://www.newvegasnexus.com/ for the biggest mod library(as well as in-depth explanations on how to install them)

How do you buy DLC for the PC, anyway? If I don't get the game through Steam or Live, how would I go about getting it?

Fallout New Vegas is the game I learned to use mods for and I'm really glad I did because the bug that bugs me still isn't fixed on my PS3 version. I still love my PS3 and I have the Classic Pack on that for ordering early but I just don't want to play it until they fix that bug. Bugs are a big reason to switch to PC. The mod community can fix things. I can play FNV on PC because a modder fixed that bug.

Here's something else that you might like. I just played the Dead Money DLC. I use an Unlimited Companions mod and when I entered the Dead Money starting place, I thought all of my companions would just be left behind and I'd enter alone. I had hired them in this order: ED-E, Boone, Arcade and Raul. As I entered, the game told me that ED-E and Boone had gone home and I had lost their perks. As soon as I was in DM, I went into Sneak mode and I hear Arcade behind me, "Ok, I'll do my best"...and Raul was there too. Pretty funny. So I played a bit and made some saves and then unchecked the mod in the Data Files area, thinking they'd both be gone when I played again. They were there for the entire thing. I guess my point is...it just has so much more that can happen when you're on PC and can take advantage of a few mods. I don't use many but the ones I use make this game great. Skyrim's going to be great too.

See http://i1181.photobucket.com/albums/x438/Kicenna/Fallout/FalloutNV2011-07-2508-16-04-53.jpg and http://www.newvegasnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=42320


Good luck!

Buying DLC? Will my PC run it then?

I believe you have to use Steam. It's easy to set up an account and you can play in Offline Mode. Patches are available there and I believe they download automatically.