RPGWatch Game of the Year 2010

RPGWatch has tallied its users votes and made its editorial picks: Fallout: New Vegas wins both, followed in editors’ choice by Divinity II: The Dragon Knight Saga and Dragon Age: Awakening, and in user choice by Mass Effect 2 and Divinity II: DKS.

There’s no doubt Fallout 3 offered a compelling vision of post-apocalyptic suburbia, the senses almost overwhelmed with jumbled, broken concrete and the distance framed with the twisted ribbons of old freeways. Fallout: New Vegas takes that sense of spatial immersion but connects back to the original games to create a truly satisfying RPG. Obsidian has coupled the freedom to explore an open world with deeper quests, interesting characters, a shades-of-grey storyline and competing factions capable of pleasing both fans of Fallout and those attracted to Bethsoft’s open worlds.

The gameplay has been incrementally improved with tighter combat and (slightly) better balancing but the real pleasure comes from the greater range of choices and a better sense of continuity. From the “Novac” sign to Fallout character and location references to the almost-camp humour, Fallout: New Vegas understands the Fallout universe. There are some great set pieces, surprisingly complex quests with different resolutions and different character builds get to feel useful with a wide range of different dialogue skill checks from Doctor to Explosives. All up, Fallout: New Vegas is a deserving winner.