Fallout: New Vegas is buggy as hell; where's the outrage?

Ars: "While writing our Fallout: New Vegas review, Andrew Webster contacted me to ask for guidance on how to give a verdict to a very enjoyable game that was filled with bugs. I told him to go with his gut, and he gave it a "Buy" rating. We weren't alone in our verdict, as the game scored between 82 and 87 on Metacritic. Based on my Steam and Xbox Live friends list, the chatter on the forums, and posts on Twitter, it's selling very well."

[xYLeinen]

Guess people are starting to look past bugs in a otherwise solid game. Glad media are stepping up from being whiners and looking past silly things.

[Raf1k1]

It makes sense to look past a few bugs in a game but when a game is filled with many bugs (a lot of which are very obvious) it's not something you should be looking past. This kind of thing leads to devs getting lazier and releasing games as bug filled as this one.

[kneon]

I've expressed my "outrage" by not bothering to buy the game. I'll wait at least 6 months, maybe a year until more patches are out and the price is down to a level that a game of this "quality" deserves. Or I'll just wait for the GOTY edition like I did for FO3.

[Vortex3D]

Same with me. I stopped buying any new games today at the release day. Just about every game shipped today have some kind of nasty bugs. If I'm going to buy the game at full price on the release day, I want to enjoy the game, not having to deal with the bugs.

But too many gamers rather buy the game on the release day and live with the bugs because it's difficult for them to wait.

So, game publishers see shipping games with full of bugs as acceptable practice. Make the money first and fix later.

Until most gamers are willing to not buy games until the game is well polished on the release day, game quality will keep getting worse.

After reading some of the comments here, it's clear that some gamers just don't care about the bugs as long they can play the game now. What is wrong with gamers nowadays? It's acceptable to pay for a broken product out of the box?

[lazysey]

I can tolerate Modern Warfare 2, so these bugs people have been experiencing aren't even visible to my eye or brain.

[Dark_Overlord]

All too many times ive seen games slammed for minor bugs, then someone like Bethesda releases a game riddled with them and gets a free pass?

It shouldn't be one rule for one, then one for another. If a game is buggy as hell and they effect the experience, I don't give a damn which developer it is, the game rating should reflect this. Another reason why reviews hold no weight to them.

[Unicron]

Well said. And agreed.

[NecrumSlavery]

agree. I love Fallout New Vegas to death. It is so much fun. A real winner. But the bugs and glitches are unexcusable and this is a 7-7.5 game. Does that make it a bad game? No, but the score is a review of the quality of the engine as well, and the gamebryo engine is a turd.

[Troll_Police]

Preach brother!

[Dno]

I wish the media would ingnore the problems in FFXIV like they did here. I been playing since closed beta and i love it. So do most people who actually played the game

[VandimionX]

Agree, FFXIV is no way near as bad as people say it is. I kinda feel the same way about FFXIII as well. When will people simply just enjoy games again? It seems every game has to be the best at everything for people to even consider it being worth their time, unless a bunch of reviews say it's OK to like it. (*cough*FO:NV*cough*)

This generation of gamers are too self-entitled... it's sad.

[BabyTownFrolics]

and those that do experience issues experience them at different levels of intensity. so like any situation its kind of hard to expect such rigidness from reviewers. Also what about the lucky folks who are not having problems, are they playing a different game, or perhaps are their certain factors that cannot always be accounted for.

I understand you anger though.

[Raf1k1]

This is a game that lets you roam around freely doing whatever you want so it's not a surprise that people experience different things as some bugs are likely to be only in certain parts of the game. If someone hasn't gone to that part then they're likely to not come across those bugs.

Anyway, bugs aren't all that reliable in software either. Sometimes a bug will be triggered while other times it won't and the game will play as it should.

[Triggs]

@raf1k1:

I agree - this game is huge and not linear (I cant take on quests from places at the south of map and some players can do the other way, or east/west). I'm level 21, and 48 hours of gameplay I have come across 6 crashes, but I could quickly get back to the game. (FYI my version is PC).

There was only one quest bug I encountered when I killed an NPC who was a problem of another NPC (who asked me to kill him) - when I reported back, I told the latter that the former agreed to work with him. I was given a nice weapon for the job, so I just laughed off the bug. Other than that, in my experience the game looks to be significantly more stable than Fallout 3.

[kneon]

Right on. Reviewers need to revoke all the free passes they've given out to the "specially anointed" developers that apparently can do no wrong, Infinity Ward, RockStar, Bethesda etc.

A bug is a bug no matter the game and no matter who the developer is, let's start treating them that way.

[mastiffchild]

Dead right Dark Overlord!! Some devs and publishers get a free pass for these things, from the press, and Bethesda are definitely one of them. Why isn't there a REAL outcry over this one (NV) being very buggy? The engine isn't new or unused, is it(though it's proven to be buggy)? The last two games using it from Bethesda were BOTH terrible for bugs, weren't they? And by Bethesda's own admission they used only the same number of QA testers this time as failed to find obvious, game ending bugs the last two times!!

Look, FO3, NV and Oblivion are all massive games with tons of code and scope for glitches and buis and we, gamers, expect a few to slip past but we don't expect games in the same series or from the same dev and/or publisher on the same engine to have the same number the third or fourth time out. We DO expect the dev/pub to do ALL they can to make the number of bugs as small as they can-and they haven't so there should be complaints and BIG ones in the media.

We ARE paying for a release copy of our Bethesda game, yet again, just to find out WE are doing THEIR QA testing. If 300 testers failed last time(and failed REAL bad) then why are only 300 being used THIS time? Does that sound like a publisher doing all they can to assure us gamers there will be as few bugs as possible? No. Does it sound like a company that knows it can get away with making us pick up the tab to do their QA for them while the media says sod all? Pretty much-to me anyway.

Bethesda aren't the only media darlings getting away with murder though(they ARE the worst in my book, mind, as they repeat offend time and again)as Platinum are pretty much allowed to do what they like and never get the blame for things going wrong-for example, the below par(though nowhere near as bad as was made out by the press)Bayonetta port to PS3 was blamed entirely on the Sega team who made it last minute(compared to 360 development anyway)and nothing was said about Platiunum not bothering with it AT ALL themselves!! Then look at the mess Gears2 and MW2 were at launch and tell me those two franchises didn't get a softer ride than they should have last time out. Another game with Gears2's awful online woes would have been docked review points all over but Epic, and Cliffy B, weren't. Same for IW and MW2-lack of QA and betas left a mess for gamers to put with to this day but no moans from the media at all and it's t65he same for a select few devs and publishers that appear allowed to mess up while others just aren't.Treat all developers and publishers equally, gents of the gaming press, because while you don't you're providing a crap service to us gamers who pay for the whole sodding shebang!

[MJ1991]

I honestly haven't seen that many bugs yet

[BrianG]

I don't know about others, but the fact that you said "many bugs" and not "any bugs" shows that you've at least seen some.

And games with bugs shouldn't be overlooked, especially if the bugs are so obvious that the developer could have easily spotted them and issued a fix. I've also heard people complain of freezing, that to me is not minor by any means, that is a major bug.

I don't doubt that the game is great, haven't played it yet but plan to soon, but that doesn't excuse the fact that standards seem to be lowered when a Fallout game is being reviewed.

[Dno]

Well said

[NegativeCreepWA]

I'm enjoying the game to much to care.

And I say when you can find a game on the same scale as elder scrolls and fallout with less bugs and as entertaining, then come back and cry about it.

[PooEgg]

I didn't notice many bugs during my first couple of days with the game, but the more I play the more issues I discover. I have also had two game freezes and last night I stopped playing because the game was slowing down so badly that it became annoying. At the same time I have logged over 45 hours of play already, so bugs or no bugs I feel the game has already been worth what I paid for it.

The one thing I am troubled about is the fact that the same game reviewers who gave the game a pass turn around and basically say that the gamers are supporting buggy games by buying them, but hello a lot of gamers base their buys on reviews, so if you give the game a pass how can you not expect the gamers to do the same? If 'YOU' give the game a 'Buy' rating wouldn't you expect gamers to buy the game? So much for trusting your reviews in the future.

[aquamala]

Wast bad for me the first 10 hrs, but after 20 hrs in, the game now crashes randomly a lot, and it's not like combat or quest related, I would be walking around, and there it is, the game freezes, it's unplayable for me now

[Hell-Helghast]

The only time i care about bugs is if it ruins online or if people are using to for an advantage over the other team.

[chasegarcia]

Bethesda Softworks has been making buggy games for as long as I can remember. Especially on PS3.

[Der_Kommandant]

Bugthesda

[Motorola]

Im playing on PS3 and only 1 freeze. its a new PS3 though, only 1 month old. Old one is somewhere in gamestop. point is: it cant be THAT buggy. Im loving the game btw. worth that 1 force shutdown

[BabyTownFrolics]

1 rad scorpion was stuck in a rock, and the game has frozen once on me. I guess i'm lucky.

[Matthew94]

because ALL fallouts are buggy

its almost tradition

those who bought it knew what they were getting into

[GoldPS3]

I still don't know what makes this game fun to people.

DSP is outraged lol

[Akagi]

Blame GameBryo.

[blink3020]

I'm not buying it for awhile, if at all. Maybe i'll get it used way down the road. I'm not paying full price for a half-@**ed product.

[Motorola]

on PS3, its not that bad. idk about 360 dont have one..PC on the other hand, u have the devoted community to fix it with patches.

[tweet75]

when characters go through doors they dont open them just walk into them. Not a big deal and other than that things have seemed perfect to me.

[sarshelyam]

...it seems so, intermitant. In the dozens of hours I've already spent with the game, it froze...once, and that was in the "Tutorial" portion of the game, basically its first 10-15min. I reloaded the save and only lost a handful of minutes.

Since that, not a single bug. I'm playing the PS3 version and recognize others are having an issue and it doesn't surprise me. For the record, Fallout 3 gave me plenty of trouble on both the PS3 and 360. Certainly at a ratio that far exceeds New Vegas...so far.

[Shield]

What happens in New Vegas stays in New Vegas!

[Timesplitter14]

Why do we need an outrage?

I won't force myself to dislike a game just because there are bugs. I honestly don't think it's such a big problem

[Lilbambit]

...but its such a large game and engrossing game its hard to get bothered by them. Personally I haven't experienced anything game breaking, after 24 hours played time I've probably experienced 10 strange bugs at the most. that really isn't too bad for such a huge game.

For me its most definitely going to be my GOTY.

[dragon82]

Its my GOTY too.

[troncoparati]

Remember when Red Dead Redemption got out? It was buggy as hell and that didn't bothered reviewers. Double standard...anyone???

[Da One]

Would rather be put over a barrel than have a quality product.

Come on when the hell did we start bending over to this kind of ****

[ASSASSYN 36o]

I am to busy enjoying it. I am not in shock and awe about the issues with this game. I knew this was going to be the case with with a fame using the same engine as it's predecessor.

[Vip3r]

I'm a huge fallout fan but unlike Fallout 3, I've noticed a lot of bugs in this game. More so than actual beta's I've been in in the past.

This game is beginning to feel like the one big F3 DLC pack to me.

[creeping judas]

I like squashing bugs in the game. Got my Bug Squasher perk!!

[RyuDrinksTheDew]

there are definitely a lot of glitches, but it doesnt take away from the fact that is game is tons of fun,

[Tex117]

The bugs in my game aren't GODAWFUL, but its frozen on me twice in 15 hours and has jerks very often.

BUT,

I just can't quit playing. Its better than FO3 IMO. Its more clever.

[Alcohog]

FFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

[writersblock]

Gaming is going downhill, and we all know who's fault it is

Dumb consumers more than willing to shell out money (their parents money, more likely) for the same thing over and over, even with tons of glitches and poor quality, and even if its like the 20th sequal with the game shit (COD, Halo etc)

[Mikeyy]

I guess there is no outrage because where just simply used to it from this game engine.

My outrage is how they keep making the game just frikken END on you after the final mission, that shit has to GO in an OPEN RPG. Just to make us buy DLC to be able to play further... Which im buying the dlc anyway but then it gets even more annoying, the dlc is Xbox timed exclusive. WTF is that? How is that remotely even fair to ps3 owners?

Im trying to read the fallout wiki and try and get an idea where the point of no return is in the main quest line, anybody got this figuered out? Its confusing? In FO3 you blow up raven rock, dont return to the pentagon, in this game all I can gather is you don't want to finish "Volare", Correct?

[sarshelyam]

...but it does tell you. It's one of those messages where you're given an option to go, or wait behind to do other things. It's fairly clear.

[limewax]

the lack of outrage is due to the fact that not everyone is suffering from this. I was expecting all hell to break loose on the game after reading reviews however, this actually wasnt the case for me. Im pretty far in and have spent quite a good amount of hours since the strip onwards too (cant remember my play time) however I have had no serious glitches. of course the frame rate will drop a bit here and there, And I had one glitch where I got sucked into and stuck to a wall while I got killed....To be honest after playing the game for a long time and suffering just that, Would you say that is particularly any worse than fallout 3?

I dont doubt that others are suffering such problems, However many are not having issues too

[divideby0]

no outrage here.... just canceled my pre-order after seeing the graphics and hearing about the bugs... still may pick it up over the holidays when you can get it on the cheap
lack of sales is the only real message to send

[CrippleH]

If it's a AAA game there will be no media complaining about bugs and glitches. Look at Fallout 3 and MW2.

[dragon82]

People aren't all complaining because all people aren't experiencing the same bugs. I never had any issues with Fallout 3 other than a few lock-ups and I had about 400 hours into it between all 4 of my play throughs. The same goes for my over 40 hours I have into Fallout: New Vegas so far. I have the PS3 versions of both games by the way.