first details about Fallout: New Vegas have been released and it's looking like it can actually be worth checking out. Bethesda have hired Obsidian to develope it, which means a few of the people who made the first two Fallout games are on the team. so far it looks like story, dialogue and gameplay will be heaps better, but unfortunately it's still based on Bethesda's awful engine, with the same stiff character models and hilarious animations.
here are some interesting details about New Vegas:
# There is an optional hardcore mode, the character needs to drink water, ammo has weight, healing isn't instant etc.
# Normal mode is more similar to Fallout 3 gameplay.
# The storyline is focused on the New California Republic vs. Caesar's Legion (slavers from the east) vs. New Vegas residents.
# You are not a vault dweller but are given a Pip-Boy by someone who is one.
# There are special moves for melee weapons in VATS - specifically a move for a golf club called "Fore" which seems to be a groin shot.
# The Hoover Dam is in the game and is supplying electricity to the city.
# There is a quest to rescue a ghoul from some super mutants. The ghoul can then become your companion
# The Geckos are back.
# There are both dumb and intelligent super mutants, including the elite Nightkin. On at least one occasion you can convince them to fight amongst themselves.
# Some super mutants look similar to the ones in Fallout 3, while others are new. There is e.g. a female super mutant with a 1950s hairstyle who apparently is one of their leaders.
# NCR base is the McCarran Airport, Caesar's Legion is based in the Vegas Strip, while super mutants are based in a place called Black Mountain.
# Skils have a bigger effect on conversation choices. E.g. someone with a high Explosives skill may be able to have a coversation about explosives where appropriate.
# There is a Reputation system in addition to Karma.
# Set in the Mojave wastelands. Vegas didn't get many nukes. More intact buildings, as well as desert vegetation. Vegas itself is mostly intact.
# Bartering is not just lower prices but negotiating for better rewards.
# Weapons also now have knock-back upon death, with shotguns sending people flying.
# Followers can be managed through a context-sensitive menu, with orders like "follow", "stay" or "attack".
# You're a courier, wounded and left for dead in a shallow grave. A friendly robot, Victor, digs you out, and his doctor owner Mitchell patches you up. You take a "vigour test", which is some sort of electric parlour game. This decides who you are and sets up SPECIAL. You can also take some Rorschach tests, but the mag says this is for fun. The Doc then gives you a Pipboy as he was once a Vault dweller.
# "Hoover Dam", and "Helios" (a solar plant, confirmed by the mag to have been built by Poseidon) are fought into and then you can direct the power to wherever you choose. In the case of Helios you can also keep the plant for your self, use the energy to call down a powerful laser, or even try to distribute to all equally, however there is a risk of overloading the reactors.
# There is a "reputation system", in which all three factions (NCR, Ceasar's Legion and the locals) will either see you as good or bad toward them individually.
