I’d like to do a review of Bethesda Softworks and Obsidian Entertainment‘s game Fallout New Vegas, but the game is so massive and there are so many different ways to play that I don’t see me being able to do that before next September, if I hurry.

What I can say is that most of the reviews fall into two categories: those who love it because it’s “just like Fallout 3“, which they consider to be a very good thing, and those who think it is too buggy to even be playable.

I’ve had a few crashes, but I save often, and the game auto-saves frequently, so the bugs haven’t been an issue for me.

As for the “it’s just like Fallout 3” idea, I have to say that, while that might be true in terms of gameplay, it’s absolutely wrong in terms of story and dialogue. New Vegas is so far superior to F3 in these areas it’s amazing.

I thought Fallout 3 was okay, but overrated. I think Fallout New Vegas is a vast, vast improvement. So far, it seems to me to be one of the best games in years. The story is much better than F3’s, the atmosphere is just as eerie, and the dialogue is much more intelligent than F3’s was.

The other thing is that New Vegas‘s tone goes back and forth between uproarious humor and pitch-black seriousness with stunning rapidity. And unlike Fallout 2, it never feels jarring.

Be warned, it’s seriously dark at times; and not just because of the on-screen violence. As often as not, it’s the things you don’t see that are the most disturbing. (I am thinking particularly of one quest involving a sniper that ends on an absolutely chilling note. No spoilers, but if you played the game you know what I mean.) It definitely deserves its “M” rating.  Nevertheless, it’s a very good game.