Using a varmint rifle, we watched several overgrown geckos' heads explode with a few quick shots. There's a kill cam that can be set, which slows down the final shot and makes your kills feel more cinematic, but this can be turned off if you don't like seeing limbs fly in slow motion. Sawyer said that geckos were a favorite from Fallout 2 and that there will be tougher versions to fire at later in the game. The core controls, as well as the Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System (VATS), remains mostly the same, and we later found out that special skill options have been added for melee attacks. Sawyer explained that there wasn't a lot of development time for New Vegas, and because a lot of people played Fallout 3, the developers didn't want to make any drastic changes--just improvements to the existing controls. He also said that aiming should be more responsive, reactive, and predictable. To discourage players from always aiming for the head, certain weapons will be more effective against limbs. At times, a red shield icon will appear to let you know that you're dealing less damage per shot and that it might be a good idea to switch targets to conserve precious bullets.

The size of New Vegas is comparable to that of Fallout 3, but because of its sprawling landscape, we were able to see other towns with large, noticeable landmarks off in the distance. During our stay in Goodsprings, we saw a giant roller coaster in the horizon and decided to head over to it to check it out. Primm is a small town right along the border of California, but the one thing that stood out--other than the burning oil drums and lack of civilians--was this dilapidated roller coaster. Of course, this version was nonfunctional, but that didn't stop us from using it as a vantage point to lob a stream of grenades at the raiders that had taken over the town. As run-down as Goodsprings looked, Primm was utterly deserted because the local residents were holed up in a casino to avoid being killed by powder gangs and raiders. Novak was another sad-looking and depressing place; a place where people made a living salvaging parts from a local rocket base. The only thing festive about this town was Dinky the dinosaur, the town's major landmark and lookout point. We were told that these large landmarks were put in place to make it easier for players to navigate, but they also give each location a unique touch. Each area has its own set of problems that you can either help solve or exacerbate, but the central conflict of the story is primarily between the New California Republic and Caesar's Legion, a slaving organization.