Fallout: New Vegashas become something of a white whale for me, if the thing preventing Captain Ahab from harpooning Moby Dick was that he kept getting distracted by all the other whales he could be skewering.
I’m sure Iwouldlike Fallout: New Vegas if I gave it an honest shot. I likeObsidian’s games, I like choice-driven RPGs (especially if they’re first-person —Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlinesis an all-time favorite), I enjoyedPentiment, the most recent work from New Vegas’ director Josh Sawyer. And,The Outer Worlds, the closest thing Obsidian has made to a sequel, was one of my favorite games of 2019. There’s no good reason for me not to have played this game.
And yet, every time I start New Vegas, I only get an hour or two in before stopping. My last attempt was last summer. My wife was gone on a trip for two weeks, and I took the same time off work so I could plug away at some extracurricular projects. Mostly that meant writing, but one of the less important projects I wanted to accomplish during that time was finally playing New Vegas. It didn’t happen. I made it through the first hour or two — long enough to create my character and start wandering the desert town where the game begins — but not long enough to get hooked.
Character Creators: Blessing Or Curse?
I’ve made other similar attempts before, and this is as far as I ever get. Part of the problem is that the game starts with a character creator, which is a feature that I always love in a choice-driven RPG. When I play a game like Fallout: New Vegas, my goal is to play as a distinct character — not just a version of myself. I used to play myself but, when I did, I just ended up making all the good choices because that’s what I think I should do. When I play as someone else, it gives me the opportunity to remove myself and really think about how my character would respond. It doesn’t necessarily mean I’ll pick all the evil choices, but it’s permission to not be a boring paragon of virtue.
I enjoy playing this way, but it also makes the hurdle to getting into a game like this a little higher. I can’t just pick it up and play it, I need to think through who my character is, what they look like, and what kinds of choices they’ll be making in my playthrough. There’s a bit of storytelling work to be done. Not serious work, but the type of effort you would put in when preparing a character for a D&D campaign.
New Vegas Vacation
That barrier may have stopped me in the past, but I’m sick of having to admit that I haven’t played a game everyone who knows my taste says I’ll love. And I finally have a plan to fix it. Next week, I’m going on vacation. My wife has a work trip in Baltimore and I’m going with her. She’ll be attending a conference during the day which will give me plenty of time at the hotel. I could take my PS5 and Switch and play the usual buffet I have access to at the Golden Corral of gaming I call my home. But, I’ve decided to only take my laptop. I might even delete all the other games I have on it, so that New Vegas is my only option.
Animal Welldebuting to such glowing reviewsreally feels like the universe is testing me, but Iwillfollow through.
The specifics may still be subject to change, but the purpose is clear. I’m locking myself in a sensory deprivation tank, where the water I float on is Fallout and the darkness surrounding me is also Fallout. When I get back, I’ll have — at the very least — put a dozen or more hours into Fallout: New Vegas. And, with some luck, most of that time won’t be spent in the character creator.
