FNV contra F3, rlysrsly?
FNV has much, much better storyline, even if not looking at personal taste but standard evaluation of what makes a good story,
real adult themes (not only the token curseword as in F3),
really interesting characters, show me just one from F3 (just you don't say three dog..) and I'll give you a list of FNV favourites,
many, many times the amount of dialogue which also branches now and isn't written by an eighth grader,
is a real westcoast Fallout universe game following the timeline of the earlier games in the series (except tactics), keenly aware of its predecessors,
has a pretty great companion system with companion questlines,
has this whole morally ambiguous faction story arc with faction loyalty mechanics,
like F1 and F2 fun and engaging quests, deep and thoughtful, intelligent and creative (thinking of the briliant DLC main quests here mainly which can really form your character or even like a great book be food for thought for yourself),
real super mutants,
ironsights,
fps-like ballistic system with real ranged shootouts (not the facehug spray it was in F3),
balanced perks (more or less but overwhelmingly so compared to F3 otherwise play Sawyer's final patch),
functional melee,
weapon mods,
creative factions which have evolved along the Fallout universe timeline following historical principles (Sawyer is a trained historian),
the most player choice driven story line with the greatest amount of variables possible influencing each other in the most mind-boggling complexity I've seen since F2 and even surpassing it, how the quest choices play together in as incredibly many different variations, how a small choice there might have enormous consequences at another time if for this alone FNV should be famous (if you don't want to play the game but are interested i rpgs in general read just how many ways there are just to deal with Benny and how this influences the rest of the game, comparable only to Dragon Age 1 on the whole regency issue), I've had 12 different characters in FNV, five all moral variants of the same guy...,
has a real, thriving world full of hundreds and hundreds of NPC's, both named and generic, unlike the barren world of F3 which had next to no end game and where you could hardly kill off any npc's as it would just leave it even more empty,
hardcore mode,
the original fallout series musical score,
real deathclaws,
humour, I actually laugh a lot when playing FNV, can't for the life of me remember one funny moment in F3 and I played it for years, if you have memory of one such please remind me,
numerous skill and perk affected dialogue options as has always been a Fallout mainstay,
a lot more quests and even more sidequests a lot of which have neither quest marker nor appear in your notebook,
etc.
Before anyone puts forth opinions on FNV I have to ask you, have you met the Burned Man, decided the fate of the Sorrows, Dead Horses and White Legs in the Valley of God and understood its symbolism and philosophical subtext? Did you find the survivalist's final resting place, shared in his grief? Have you learned the true identity of Dr. Moebious, found the all too real Chinese prison camp for unethical human experimentation, met the Toaster and Muggy, taken share in the tragedy of Vera Keyes, found what lies at the heart of the Sierra Madre contruction or how it is connected to Big MT? Have you 'tried' Fisto? Have you taken Grek's clothes, have you visited East Vegas and the sewers, have you made a sniper or pistol-slinging character? A true diplomat character? Have you understood who Ullyses is and what he is supposed to represent? Did you realize how radically different the type of story in the Lonesome Road was in comparison to the usual chronological story telling? Have you feasted with the White Glove Society, saved the prostitutes from Gamorra, met Mr House in person, worn the Lucky Shades, have you grasped what kind of creature the NCR really has become and how the different factions ties in with the political and ideological heavy weights of our time, each with its merits and failings (legion being the most caricatured but still uncorrupt, military dictatorship, which has remade Arizona from a region of gas tank castles into a thriving empire with next to no crime and post-technology idealism)? Have you eaten the faces of House, Caesar, Kimball and the King? Seen how Freeside locals react to martial law, or the Brotherhood to deserters talking to Children of the Apocalypse? What being ordered to gun down women and children can do to a soldier, or what a cowboy-ghoul prostitute or vaquero looks like? Have you even listened to Pete tell the story on the Nellis Air Force Base mural? Etc. etc. so many memorable moments in this game, alright you get that I like it
To really experience FNV you have to dig deep into it, the real grittiness, humour, references and culture critique is hidden under sheets and under the bed, in notes and diaries, in sidequests .. And you should definitely try the expansions.
But again, if F3 was your first Fallout game you probably had the unfamiliarity with FNV that old Fallout gamers had with F3, but looking at pure mechanics... I get it if you preferred the urban environment of F3, but really what most people argue as strengths pro F3 are rehashed quests from F1 and 2, usually with a real poor execution. Plus sci-fi/post-apocalyptic Western universes are pretty damn neat, if you decide giving it a try again try to wear that cowboy hat.