Leaked First Details of Fallout: New Vegas

Little is known about Fallout: New Vegas at this point, as information is scarce and both Obsidian and their publishers at Bethesda have been less than forthcoming about the Fallout spinoff. Because the game is being developed by Fallout 2’s original creators, it’d be more accurate to refer to Fallout 3 as the spinoff of the series, but I digress.

With a strong caveat, those hungry for information may be pleased to learn of some new information that’s recently surfaced on the GameSpot forums, divulged by a ‘trusted source’ at GameInformer concerning the magazine’s next cover – which is to supposedly feature Fallout: New Vegas.

- Similar to Dragon Age: Origins, at character creation the player can select from different background stories. The first few hours of the game are different depending on which background you choose, and you get some unique perks based on your background when the main game begins.

- One background story is shown, Chinese Agent. The background story takes place before the bombs fell. The player is part of a team of Crimson Dragoons infilitrating Hoover Dam. You manage to sneak through the Americans' defenses, set explosives, and head to an extraction point, but your escape is cut off by American soldiers in Power Armor. The player and other survivors of the Crimson Dragoons take refuge in a cave in the canyons, where they commit hari kari with cyanide capsules. The player about to do the same when the bombs fall. The background story ends an indeterminate time later, when the player exits the cave, removes his helmet, and sees his ghoulish reflection in the waters of the Colorado River.

- The background story segues into character creation. The player can customize the appearance of the ghoul, and you see you start the game with two unique perks. One, similar to the Ghoul Mask in Fallout 3, makes Feral Ghouls non-aggro. The other makes the player immune to radiation sickness and allows the player to discharge accumulated radiation in a blast similar to a Glowing Ghoul, healing the player and any mutants while damaging all non-mutants in range. 

- By default, the Chinese Agent has the skills Sneak, Small Arms, and Explosives tagged and SPECIAL stats set, although the player can modify their tagged skills and stats if they don't like the template.

- One character background option is Lone Wanderer. This selection has no background story or template and is a complete blank slate for players.

- The SPECIAL system used will be similar to Fallout 3, but skills will be harder to cap and one character will not be able to become a master of all skills. The article is not very specific because apparently it's something the developers are still tweaking.

- Gambling will return, but not as a skill. Your Luck stat will effect gambling results. You can attempt to cheat at cards using your Sneak skill or hack slot machines using your Science skill.

- There will be vehicles. The desert of New Vegas dwarfs the Capital Wasteland and you will need transportation to get around and explore it. You will acquire a vehicle several hours into the main quest. You can customize your vehicle with parts bought at shops or won through racing circuits and quests. Vehicles will not be common, but you will encounter road gangs, merchant caravans, and other vehicles in the wastes. The open desert is home to some very large mutant creatures, like giant radscorpions and sandworms, that will attack your vehicle.

- New Vegas has a coliseum run by a slaver gang called the Caesar's Legion. You can gamble on and participate in arena fights.

The information does appear to be somewhat authentic. Speaking to Ausir of The Vault, he said to me, “If it’s fake, I gotta congratulate the guy.” – Sentiments I would echo as a follower of the original series, as well as the unreleased sequel.

This story will be updated with more information as it becomes available.

Update: Bethesda's Jason Bergman, senior producer of Fallout: New Vegas posted a tweet several hours ago stating, "Feels good to be back in the office for actual work. 2010. Woo! Look for details on Fallout: New Vegas in the not-too-distant-future," perhaps hinting at the validity of the leak. 

Update #2: GameInformer’s executive editor Andrew Reiner just tweeted the following on his personal Twitter account: “Fallout: New Vegas is NOT Game Informer’s next cover”, and Bethesda has declined to comment on the detail of the rumor.

In response to a question from VG247's Pat Garratt on whether any of the details the were true, he (Andrew Reiner) replied: "I have no idea, but seeing that they couldn't identify the magazine correctly, I'd say fake."

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