Easily some of the strongest writing I've seen in a video game paired with janky and frustrating combat that can make much of the moment-to-moment experience a chore to get through.
Balancing out all its parts, New Vegas is still a very good game. For as frustrating as some of its individual aspects may be, they aren't central to the experience in the same way that the story and writing are. Both in the macro-level conflict between the NCR and Legion and on the micro-level writing of the various characters and factions across New Vegas, the quality and quantity of writing are some of the most impressive I've seen in a game. So while the rough gameplay occupied a majority of my actual playtime, its always the writing that I think about instead when I look back at my experience.
New Vegas is absolutely worth playing. Just turn the difficulty down to easy and don't pick fights that you don't need to. Dedicate your attention to the game's strong writing and keep your involvement in other aspects to the minimum needed to get the full experience from the parts that are actually worth getting through.
Balancing out all its parts, New Vegas is still a very good game. For as frustrating as some of its individual aspects may be, they aren't central to the experience in the same way that the story and writing are. Both in the macro-level conflict between the NCR and Legion and on the micro-level writing of the various characters and factions across New Vegas, the quality and quantity of writing are some of the most impressive I've seen in a game. So while the rough gameplay occupied a majority of my actual playtime, its always the writing that I think about instead when I look back at my experience.
New Vegas is absolutely worth playing. Just turn the difficulty down to easy and don't pick fights that you don't need to. Dedicate your attention to the game's strong writing and keep your involvement in other aspects to the minimum needed to get the full experience from the parts that are actually worth getting through.