Fallout: New Vegas is set in the year 2280, hundreds of years after the nuclear holocaust and a few years after the events of Fallout 3, while players can customize the age, race, and stats of their character. The action begins when the main character is shot. An unknown package has been stolen from the protagonist, and the perpetrators leave him, thinking he is dead. A robot finds the main character and takes him to Doc Mitchell, who heals him. Fallout: New Vegas is a standalone adventure and does not require knowledge of the events of Fallout 3, although there will be some references to the major events of the last episode in the series. There are significant differences in the tone of the title, and New Vegas is not a ghost town, but a "living" city that thrives!