FONV - Done Right

I bitch a lot around here about the devs; what I think they could have done better, or shouldn't have done at all - but I'd like to take a few minutes here to mention some things I think they did right.

Firstly, the Presidential Suite in the Lucky 38. This is the first official 'player house' I've seen in TESIV, FO3, or FONV that I actually liked and may well use to the exclusion of a self-made home. It's upgradable without being pointless (see the "themes" from FO3 for what I mean by waste of my fucking time and caps), has plenty of storage, and can sleep four companions in addition to me. Six, if I let them take my bed, as well. My one complaint about the suite is that it lacks a reloading bench or campfire-equivalent; so that you can't do all your crafting at home.

Second, The Strip from a distance. Wow. I watched the sun rise over the Strip from outside the Followers Safe House, and damn; what a view. There's about a half hour in game time where you can see the sun cresting the horizon, while the Strip lights are still on.

Third, Fisto. Congrats, Devs, you successfully made me inadvertently cringe.

Fourth, Crafting. I like the new system. I don't personally use it, but it's nice to have the ability to make Stimpaks myself. Reloading is especially nice; I'm impressed that they went as far as primers and powder type. Kudos, there. Would be nicer if you had to spring for a die set as well as the "recipe", but it's still a massive improvement over other systems where you magically make all ammo out of "powder" and scrap metal.

Fifth, Gun Runners. I like the kiosk design, and how it makes it all but impossible for the player to steal weapons and ammo.

Sixth, Sex. No more beating around the bush (oh, the wit!) here; for once they actually flatly acknowledge that it goes on, and you get to flirt with and even possibly engage in said acts with NPCs. Granted, you don't get to see anything... but it's still better than pretending we're all eight and live in a giant Disney movie where the height of intimacy is holding hands.

Seventh, Gambling. I'm not much of a gambler here in the real world. I know that eventually, the house always wins. Otherwise, they wouldn't stay in business. That said, I developed a bit of a taste for dice poker while playing The Witcher, and it's nice to see another game that lets you wager a bit for something different than running packages and killing raiders. Unfortunately, as in real life, I completely suck at New Vegas Roulette. Not horrid at blackjack, but could certainly live without Caravan; that convoluted mess.

There are also some parts I don't agree with. Not going to delve into bugs, or lapses in setup in some area; this is just the ways things are 'supposed to work'.

Mainly, it's those asinine level requirements on items showing up in a merchant's inventory. Really? We still have to deal with this shit? Look, walk into a store sometime, here in the real world. Do they ask you how old you are? If you want to wear an expensive suit, do they ask how long you've been wearing pants? Of course not. Retailers care about whether you can pay the number on the price tag. Really, it's time to do the same in games. Remove the requirements, let the player buy whatever they can swing the price of. I mean, Combat Armor goes for upwards of four grand in NV, level one players aren't going to be able to afford that anyway.

There's also the matter of the NCR. You devs think Californians are the greatest race to ever walk the face of the Earth. We get it. Now lay off. I'm seriously considering siding with Caesar just because I'm sick of dealing with those blowhards and their OMG SO GREAT backstory. Have you read any of the in-game stuff surrounding them? It reads like a seventeen year old's fanfic dedicated to their favorite branch of the military. Not only are the NCR Rangers the greatest ever, but there's a level still greater! The Super Saiyan... I mean ELITE NCR RANGERS! With their high gloss black armor and expertise in not only every form of combat ever, but also as scouts. PH34R!

...I was so hoping taking control of ARCHIMEDES II would let me turn the death ray on NCR positions around the wastes... but noooooo, it's a one-shot deal that only kills the ones in the courtyard.

We won't even get into how badly the voice actors are mutilating their pronunciations. I haven't heard Latin that bad since I got bored enough to watch Harry Potter on Cinemax once at three AM.

Okay, someone just came through and talked to me. My train of thought is even more derailed than it was when I started the tirade, so I'll shut up now.