Fallout 4 and Fallout: New Vegas may look similar from afar, but they have a lot of differences. One was developed by Obsidian Entertainment, the other by Bethesda. One has a player character with nearly no backstory, the other follows a fully-voiced protagonist after their son's kidnapping. From combat to dialogue, the two games take subtle but vitally different paths.
Some fans prefer New Vegas, others prefer Fallout 4. For fans who are interested in the graphics and setting of Fallout 4, but long for some of the features that have kept New Vegas one of the most beloved Fallout games, here are the five mods players can download to make their version of the Commonwealth feel a little more like the Mojave Wasteland.
Extended Dialogue Interface
Fallout 4's dialogue wheel was welcomed by some fans, while among others it was met with dismay. In Fallout 3 and New Vegas, the game's character had no voice, and all dialogue options were fully written out for the player to choose.
Fallout 4 went for a dialogue wheel instead. Instead of being able to tell exactly what their character was going to say, Fallout 4 players often found that the delivery of the Sole Survivor's line was not as expected.
Extended Dialogue Interface is a fantastic Fallout 4 mod that removes Fallout 4's 4-pronged dialogue wheel and replaces it them with a full transcript of the protagonist's line. It also adds some other useful features, like dialogue cues which indicate which options move the conversation along and which are separate inquiries. For players who want to fully immerse themselves in their character just like they can in New Vegas, this mod is a must-have.
Start Me Up - Alternate Start And Dialogue Overhaul
One of the biggest differences between Fallout 4 and Fallout: New Vegas is just how much they tell the player about the player character. The Courier could be anyone. They could be an old prospector, a young hot-head, a recent widow, a gambling addict, a wannabe singer who took on a delivery job to try and pay their way to the big city. In Fallout 4 the player character's life is far more prescribed. Depending on their gender they were either a soldier or a lawyer. They are in a heterosexual marriage. They have a son, Shaun, who was kidnapped.
This hugely limits the variety of roleplaying options in Fallout 4, which turns off many New Vegas fans who like to be able to return to their game as a new person each time. Start Me Up - Alternate Start And Dialogue Overhaul gives the player the choice not to be Shaun's parent. It adds an alternate plotline where the player is released from Vault 111 by mistake.
It also gives them the option to start as a wastelander, with their gear determined by one of 38 background occupations. The mod also lets players start in one of 38 different locations across the map. For players who just want to skip the intro, there's Quick Start. For players who want the option to play through the main story from the retail release, a Normal Start also remains an option. What many New Vegas fans will appreciate, however, is the choice.
Silent Protagonist
Some New Vegas fans will want to take the flexibility of their player character to the next level. Silent Protagonist removes the player character's voice from the game entirely. It aims to give players the option to imagine their own voice just like they can in New Vegas and Bethesda RPGs like Skyrim.
This is one of the biggest changes players can make to the Fallout 4 experience, and it won't be for everyone. For fans who prefer the silence of the Courier, Silent Protagonist can lend itself to far more immersive experience.
Classic V.A.T.S.
Fallout 4 made some changes to the V.A.T.S. system found in Fallout: New Vegas and Fallout 3. In the previous two games, V.A.T.S. completely stopped time, allowing players. In Fallout 4, V.A.T.S. only slows time down. Many fans found the changes to Fallout 4's combat welcome, making the game a tighter FPS.
For some New Vegas purists, however, bringing back the classic V.A.T.S. is an absolute necessity, which is exactly what the mod Classic V.A.T.S does. Players who want to try out different V.A.T.S. speed options are also in luck. The mod lets players change the system's speed on the fly, from real-time to just 5% of normal speed.
Infiltrator - True Disguises
Fallout: New Vegas introduced a disguise system as a unique mechanic: Players could dress up as one of the many factions vying over the Mojave Wasteland, and draw different reactions from all the other factions depending on their reputation. The system wasn't perfect — players could put on a Caesar's Legion disguise right in front of an NCR soldier and still draw fire. However, it added a great non-lethal option that added a lot for role-players, even if its mechanical application left something to be desired.
Fallout 4 did not include a disguise system at all, to the disappointment of some fans. Infiltrator - True Disguises is a mod that adds a disguise system to Fallout 4, and one which makes some improvements on the New Vegas system as well. The mod makes infiltrating enemy bases viable, adds a reputation system, and even allows players to make custom disguises.
In one of its most ingenious additions, it lets players reset the ability of various factions to recognize them by visiting a barber or a surgeon and changing their appearance, giving the player an immersive reason to shake up their look every now and then. The mod comes with many different options, all of which can be adjusted from the game's settings. For players who want this New Vegas feature in Fallout 4, and who want to see how it could have been taken further, Infiltrator - True Disguises is a great way to bring the factionalism of the Mojave into post-War Boston.
Fallout 4 is available now on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.