For some reason I felt the need to get into NV right off the bat. When I couldn't get past the death claws, I took that guy's advice and went south east but I had not idea how large the world was and wound up going north again past the death claws. Whether a glitch or intentional, you can walk on the sides of the mountains. I used a sneak boy and managed to get past the death claws. Then I ran past the NCR troops to get on the monorail with no ill effect (also could've been a glitch!). I was there like 90 mins into the game

Absolutely believe you. I'm at 35 hours and just popped into Freeside for the first time. Haven't even hit the Strip yet.

Completely believeable. The only reason I rushed to the strip was to get the $ from gambling to start buying weapons.

I spent a good 5-7 hours just gambling when i first got there too!

I"ve now played 109 hours.. discovered 88 places on the map, done 26 quests.. (all side quests.) and have yet to enter New Vegas. Unfortunately I've also leveled my character as far as I can.. I now have more than half the map to explore and over half the quests to go and I have to play the rest of the game as a shooter. I wish to god they wouldn't give so much XP. Just give me a half XP mode and I'd be a happy puppy. But I'm playing on the xbox so modding the game will have to wait until I get the game on pc... in a year.

I think I was somewhere around 23 hours when I went to Freeside and the Strip. I played it as though my character did actually care about being shot in the head, so did pursue the clues to find Benny and the package he was delivering. I didn't rush it, but I did follow the road the way the game asks you too. Basically leveling him enough where 'he' felt he could face Benny and come out a winner. So, I made enough money, got on the strip, tracked Benny down and took out the man that put one in my head. That accomplished, he went back into the wasteland to find his next direction. If he is concerned with who is in control he will explore and learn more about the various tribes and factions first.

Yeah, I do worry that once I reach level 30--with the way things are going it will be long before I complete the main quest--the excitement that comes with exploring and fighting enemies will peter out a bit. The level cap raise in Fallout 3 worked wonders for me. When I do get to the Vegas strip, I'll make sure it's before I reach level 30.

Not to complain, but this is one of the reasons I really disliked the level cap when I heard about it.
There's a lot to do here, and I'm well over 60 hours and just tooling around the SW corner of the map, nowhere close to Vegas, and I'm about to hit level 25.
It makes me feel that I need to start rushing now, or at the very least, there won't be as much of a reward for exploring. I mean, exploring is fun by itself, but if I'm not getting a level up, or new skills, popping more lakelurks, or Vipers, or whatever, gets to be kind of pointless.

I was eighty hours in before I entered the Strip, and I actually think this has had something of a detrimental effect on the end-game for me. Basically, I've wandered almost every corner of the wasteland already, and for the end-game quests I now have to wander the wsteland a whole bunch more, only this time there aren't going to be many sidequests or anything left to find along the way, just miles of road to trudge up and down looking for MacGuffins for whichever faction I side with. On my second playthrough, I'm going to hit the Strip as soon as I can, and then backfill when I'm sent on the end-game quests, hopefully it'll be less of a chore this way.

NEW VEGAS has the same "problem" as FALLOUT3 and OBLIVION: there is much, much more to do than levels to do it with. I'm about 1/2 through the game content and already level 25. Having cut the Perks in half means I'll encounter even less of the possible fun and the early slog through enemy-infested death-traps further cuts that.

It's most def a game for the "hardcoe" crowd, those prepared to play the thing over and over with different builds. I would *never* suggest they should do it any other way . . . but! For those of us with many, many other demands on our time, it would be nice to have an All of One mode: a play experience that cuts the XPs by 2/3rds, puts Perks every level and opens up the initial areas a little more. Something that gives us the maximum experience in one play - just as an option.

(I should have tried the XP annihilator mod from FALLOUT3; bet it works here too)

I stand by most of my earlier ranting (too many boarded buildings, too many areas with *zero* to do _cough_Bonnie Springs_cough_, too many scripting errors and/or plain screwy quest design) but it is, like its predecessor, an embarrassment of riches.

Good show, Beth and Ob.

Rofl you kidding me ? You just play the game way too much, and your slow as hell.. I entered the strip at like 20 hours after curiosity set in, but after that im about 67 hours into the game and got bored and decited to beat it despit having alot of areas to explore.. (mostly just shacks with nothing in them anyway) going to reload an old save and continue.

The problem with some of you people waiting so damn long to get into the strip is that you are only going to be flying through area's in that game like it was nothing because your to way to high of a level now to even enjoy anything in there

Regardless of that fact, i think the strip svcks, i hate having to load outsie the strip walk in the first door, then go to the 2nd door then run to another door... I wish they just made a instant travel directly to the hotels.

I went in to Vegas about 25 hours in, and its a blast I tell you. First thing I do loose all my precious money which i had saved for new weapons on blackjack and roulette. I was like "ill win this time" *FFUUU* losed and then "this time iam certain" then it went on in similar fashion. I was about 3 seconds away from having a complete tantrum and kill all them cheating dealers. Suddenly lucky break bet 20 caps on a slot machine, JACKPOTT 4k. Luck inplant = Epic win = hokers, booze, drugs. Highroller.

I love vegas.