I fully recommend New Vegas, provided you can tolerate the occasional crash. My number one rule: save often - and I mean very often. Get into the habit of saving right before you change areas or use fast travel.
But why do I recommend New Vegas if I disliked Fallout 3? Under the hood, it is essentially the same, occasionally broken game. However, a few massive design differences elevate it into a masterpiece:
- A Superior Main Story: While it starts as a simple revenge story, the narrative evolves with clever twists and turns that genuinely surprised me.
- A Detailed, Thoughtful World: The Mojave may be a desert, but it never feels empty. Nearly every corner holds a hidden detail or a micro-story waiting for players who care to look.
- Meaningful Consequences: Quests and player decisions carry actual weight. The moral gray areas make choices incredibly interesting and worth agonizing over.
- Superb Writing and Dialogue: The characters are on a completely different level compared to Fallout 3. I actively looked forward to speaking with every NPC to uncover their backgrounds.
- Deadly, Tactical Combat: Enemies remain dangerous even when you are maxed out. If you don't use your head, you will die fast. VATS is a lifesaver here because certain enemies are so blindingly fast they will rip you to shreds. (Watch out for those poisonous flies... oh my god, but in a good way!).
Of course, you still have to wrestle with plenty of bugs and a user interface straight from hell - but you learn to live with it.
