Run-and-gun you won't
Fallout New Vegas is a challenging game, so newcomers - or those expecting to run-and-gun their way through from beginning to end in the space of a few hours - may find it tough going especially early on when even some of the initial battles are quite tough. But it’s very rewarding if you throw yourself right into it and attempt to get to grips with everything you need to do if you want to be a good fighter. Combat is difficult if you're not equipped properly, but it's this challenge that really absorbs you in the gameplay and encourages you to think before tackling any mission head on. It’s a real balancing act of making sure you’ve got the right ammo, right weapons, consumables and potions to help you out in a tricky situation - that and a good aim and knowledge of your strengths.The V.A.T.S (Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System) once again makes an appearance, playing an important part in combat, and is intuitive and fun to use - plus you get to see some enjoyably gory deaths! Click on RB and the action freezes, allowing you to choose a body part of your enemy. Each body part is represented by a percentage that tells you the chance you have of hitting them in combat. You've also got a health bar on each body part so you can see when you've destroyed that particular limb.
Combat is tough, but not because the A.I. is particularly brilliant, just because it can take so many shots to bring them to their knees - as we said this is no first person shooter. This is why levelling up and building your character's strength becomes so important. Before you tackle missions, you'll soon learn that collecting bottle-caps, that you'll need to trade with, and making sure you've got the right weapons, ammo and consumables for the job, is of paramount importance. The developer has impressively created a complex system in which everything you do in the game affects your progress in some way. Fallout: New Vegas requires wits, skill and patience; it's like the thinking man's Oblivion.
You don’t have to use the V.A.T.S. system in battle, of course, but can instead plump for plain old combat. Bethesda has made this more accessible than in Fallout 3 by gifting you with iron-sights, similar to an FPS, so it's easier to target an enemy from over your shoulder. It's immensely satisfying when you manage to pull off a sneak attack headshot and blow an enemy's head clean off. Furthermore, the introduction of the 'Kill Cam' gives the action a slow-motion cinematic feel similar to what you'd get if you were using V.A.T.S. It basically means you've got a decent option now outside of V.A.T.S combat, which is good.
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