Something else you'll notice early on (though perhaps not in the opening town of Goodsprings, which is a tad dull) is an overall improvement in characterisation and dialogue. The satisfaction of scuttling after a Powder Ganger hoodlum who's criticalled both of your legs with dynamite, and managing to hack off his arm with a machete, increases inordinately when it's done to a plaintive southern belle singing, “I'll be your cowgirl, if you'll be my cowboy”. On top of this, if you thought that bongo, bongo, bongo, you didn't want to leave the Congo and that Fallout 3 radio playlists were a delight, just wait until you hear New Vegas's country and western station, Mojave Music Radio. This cowboy feel is gently introduced in early missions, such as one that has you choosing how to re-instigate the rule of law in a town called Primm – saving its deputy sheriff from escaped outlaws as tumbleweed rolls around beneath a clear night sky. For a start, there's the feeling that you're on a new frontier, an active participant in a strange futuro-Western. Whether or not you leave Doc Mitchell's house in hardcore mode or as a GP-slayer, there are things you'll notice as you first trot through the Mojave Wasteland, particularly if you've played Fallout 3. The fact that your ammo now has weight means that you might become more appreciative of melee weapons, too. It makes you far less blasé about the game's systems, and makes tactical combat (and, at some points, its avoidance) a necessity rather than an occasional dalliance. But on top of this, the limits imposed by hardcore mode enforce a fresh appreciation for the nutritional potential of your inventory, your health, your addictions, your tactics and your relationships with the inventories of the NPCs around you. Medicine and the new Survival skill suddenly become central, and the blinking lights of a Nuka-Cola machine can signal your salvation.įor existing Fallout players, it's refreshing just to be forced into a character reboot – after 80-plus hours in Fallout 3, you could critically damage a Deathclaw with a raised eyebrow. The vast amount of clutter you can sweep into your inventory starts to make sense, as much of it can be sold. It feels how its already worthy predecessor was meant to. Playing Fallout: New Vegas in hardcore mode is a revelation.

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