The video game industry treats the “Fallout” property like a hot potato. Black Isle Studios kicked off the series with “Fallout” and “Fallout 2.” After Black Isle closed its doors, Bethesda Softworks purchased the rights and developed “Fallout 3.” Although Bethesda still acts as publisher, the development reins to “Fallout: New Vegas” were handed to Obsidian Entertainment, the studio most known for the disastrously received RPG “Alpha Protocol.”

While the “Fallout” series suffers from a lack of consistency in its development teams, it is surprisingly stable. All four games offer must-play experiences and remain true to the series’ heritage.

“Fallout: New Vegas” is born of the same blueprint established by Bethesda Softworks. As a result, “Fallout: New Vegas” shouldn’t be viewed as a true successor or something new, but rather more “Fallout 3.” And that’s not a bad designation to have.

In terms of its place in this hardware generation, few games offer an experience as deep or as rewarding as “Fallout 3.” More than 200 hours of my life were spent exploring Capital Wasteland, and if more content were offered, I’d return in a heartbeat. That’s essentially what “New Vegas” offers — new experiences for the “Fallout 3” fanatic.

The gloomy gray tones of Washington, D.C., have been replaced with the sun-soaked golden hues of Nevada. The game takes place three years after the final moments of “Fallout 3” and 204 years after the Great War of 2077. Unlike D.C., Nevada wasn’t hit by a nuke. The Vegas strip is largely intact, and the civilizations spread across the Mojave Desert are thriving.

Your role in the madness is not defined. The game begins with a structured story of your character, called “the courier,” setting out to figure out who put a bullet in his head and left him for dead. The quest quickly opens up, allowing you to mold the experience to your liking. The amount of interaction you have in this tale is the same as in “Fallout 3,” but many of the decisions you make come with severe consequences, much like the nuking of Megaton. If you agree to work for one of the factions in the world — be it Caesar’s Legion, the New California Republic, the Brotherhood of Steel, the Great Khans or a loveable robot named Yes Man — you may in turn close off missions offered by other factions.

Just being friendly with one faction could shut down an entire thread of missions. If you’re a completist and you want to see everything “Fallout: New Vegas” has to offer in terms of the story, you’ll have to play through the game three and a half times. You cannot see it all in one playthrough.

Each playthrough takes the player over many of the same tent pole plot points, but these recurring moments are few and far between. In a way, “New Vegas” could be viewed as three games in one package. Knowing that fulfilling a request for a character could close off entire threads of missions made me sit back and really think about the forces at play in the world, and how my tinkering with them could alter the road ahead.

In just the missions and story, “New Vegas” offers a nearly unprecedented level of depth. When you throw in the weapon modifications, companions and attribute sculpting for your character, it delivers a true sense of ownership over the experience and gives you millions of reasons why you should go back and play it again and again.

Now, the bad news. I was never once blown away by a single moment or action. Sure, I laughed when I ran into a cross-dressing super mutant, and thought to myself “what have I done?” when I deployed an orbital laser directly above an NCR military base — but none of the missions or battles are memorable. By comparison, this is a stark contrast to “Fallout 3,” a game that I felt delivered big moments all the way through.

Obsidian’s writing is top notch, and I wanted to see more of many of the characters I met, but none of the scripted moments deliver the nuclear bang that Bethesda achieved.

‘Fallout: New Vegas’

8.5 (out of 10)

PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC

Bethesda Softworks, Obsidian Entertainment

ESRB rating: M for Mature

New game releases

The following titles were scheduled for release the week of Oct. 24:

• “Fable III” (X360)

• “Tony Hawk: Shred” (PS3, Wii, X360)

• “Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II” (X360, PS3, PC, DS, Wii)

• “The Sims 3” (PS3, X360, DS)

• “Rock Band 3” (PS3, Wii, X360, DS)

• “Deca Sports 3” (Wii)

• “CSI: Fatal Conspiracy” (Wii, X360, PS3, PC)

• “SBK X: Superbike World Championship” (X360, PS3)

• “Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare Pack” (X360, PS3)

• “Superstars V8 Racing” (PS3)

• “WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2011” (PSP, PS2, PS3, X360, Wii)

• “The Fight: Lights Out” (PS3)

• “Blood Drive” (PS3, X360)

• “Grand Theft Auto IV: The Complete Edition” (PS3, X360)

• “Dragon Age: Origins — Ultimate Edition” (X360, PC, PS3)

• “Shaun White Skateboarding” (PS3, X360, Wii)

— Gamespot.com

Top 10

Downloadable games

The editors of Game Informer Magazine rank the top 10 downloadable games for October:

1. “Comic Jumper” (X360)

2. “Dead Rising: Case Zero” (PS3, X360)

3. “Left 4 Dead 2: The Sacrifice” (PS3, X360, PC)

4. “Plants vs. Zombies” (X360, PC)

5. “Borderlands: ClapTrap’s New Robot Revolution” (PS3, X360)

6. “Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light” (PS3, X360, PC)

7. “Super Meat Boy” (X360)

8. “Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1” (PS3, X360, Wii)

9. “DeathSpank: Thongs of Virtue” (PS3, X360)

10. “Mass Effect 2: Lair of the Shadow Broker” (X360)

— McClatchy-Tribune News Service

Weekly download

‘Dead Space Ignition’

Platform: Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3

Price: $5 stand-alone, free with “Dead Space 2” pre-order

It’s trendy for publishers to precede the release of a big-budget game with an inexpensive, downloadable not-quite prequel. “Dead Space Ignition” represents the weirdest venture into this territory thus far.

Nowhere near a third-person horror shooter like the upcoming “Dead Space 2,” “Ignition” instead is a series of hacking mini-games glued together by a motion comic-powered storyline Though gifted with good voice acting, “Ignition’s” animation looks drab even for motion comic animation, and the three mini-game varieties include one that’s enjoyably frantic, one that’s engaging but simple, and one that’s a shoddy tower defense wannabe. “Ignition’s” short length may be a plus for those who simply want to blow through it and collect the reward (an unlockable suit for main protagonist Isaac to wear in “DS2”).

Devoted fans of the “Space” fiction stand to gain the most from “Ignition,” The fleeting fun of the two good mini-games makes this a worthy diversion for those who already plan to get “DS2” and get this for free. If you need to pay $5 to play this, you probably have no reason to be playing it.

— Billy O’Keefe, McClatchy-Tribune News Service