New Vegas a Horrible Handicap But the Game Still Managed To Crack #1 Spot in the Franchise

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New Vegas a Horrible Handicap But the Game Still Managed To Crack #1 Spot in the Franchise

Fallout: New Vegas is the underdog of the Fallout franchise. If there was ever a game in the series that rose to the occasion, it was New Vegas. Built on an outdated engine and developed by a team with limited resources, it seemed destined for mediocrity. Yet, against all odds, it thrived.

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The game is considered the best in the franchise. | Image Credit: Obsidian Entertainment

But its success wasn’t thanks to Bethesda’s support. In fact, Bethesda gave Obsidian a horrible handicap, which only made the game’s triumph all the more impressive. Recently, Emil Pagliarulo spilled the beans on just how many hurdles Obsidian had to jump through to deliver the game.

Fallout: New Vegas overcame the odds and thrived

Despite being built on the same engine that powered its predecessor, Fallout: New Vegas is considered by most fans to be the best game in the franchise. The game’s charm comes from its unique gameplay experience, which was built around surviving in the brutal post-apocalyptic wasteland.

The stakes were higher than ever, the choices carried more weight, and the consequences of those choices were often devastating. Characters were far more complex than in earlier games, with motivations and backstories that gave the world a much deeper sense of realism and meaning.

Even with the buggy state of the release, the game still managed to immerse players, highlighting that its gameplay and narrative that matter the most. It also showed that even with limited resources and the burden of using outdated engine, it delivered.

Emil Pagliarulo, Lead Designer and Writer for Fallout 3 shared some insight into the challenges Obsidian faced in the development of New Vegas in an old interview with

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. He revealed that Obsidian was given an outdated engine to work with and was expected to develop a standalone game.

The plan was always for Obsidian to develop their own standalone game […] So Obsidian using the Skyrim tech was never really a feasible option.

Despite the limitations, the team at Obsidian rose to the challenge, managing to create a game that felt fresh, engaging, and full of depth. The game took the best elements from Fallout 3 and added its own elements to offer a more complex narrative and a world that felt more alive and full of consequence.

A stinging victory for Obsidian

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Despite challenges, the developers created a gem. | Image Credit: Obsidian Entertainment

For Bethesda, the success of Fallout: New Vegas must sting a little. Fallout 3 was their brainchild. It brought the Fallout series into the modern open-world era, using revolutionary design and gameplay mechanics.

However, while Fallout 3 was groundbreaking, New Vegas pushed the boundaries of what the franchise could be. Obsidian, operating on a far more limited technical foundation and under tight deadlines, managed to deliver a game that many fans now consider more compelling than Fallout 3.

The major difference between the two lies in New Vegas’ nuanced narrative. While Fallout 3 focused on a more traditional good-versus-evil story, New Vegas introduced a morally complex world. The factions within the game operated within shades of gray, tapping into themes of power, politics, and survival.

Despite the technical issues that plagued New Vegas, Obsidian’s creativity, passion, and commitment to delivering a meaningful RPG experience shone through. They proved that technical limitations don’t have to define a game’s success.

In the end, it was the heart of the game: the characters, the choices, and the story that made the game a masterpiece. This success solidified its place as the best game in the Fallout series, a title that many fans feel should have rightfully been Bethesda’s.

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