My Fourth Playthrough of Fallout: New Vegas, a Game That Keeps On Giving
Fallout: New Vegas is buggy as hell, and yet it remains an almost perfect RPG 11 years after release. I could complete it once a year and I probably still wouldn't have enough. I know what I'm talking about, I'm currently completing it for the fourth time.
Some time ago, I was arguing with some players online about The Witcher 3 being a game with low replayability. Some defended it saying that RPG as a genre is not very suitable for regular re-playing. Without beating around the bush – I completely disagree. There are many role-plays that you can repeat over and over again and still don't get bored. One of the perfect examples is Fallout: New Vegas – I'm going through it for the fourth time.
Viva New Vegas!
Obsidian Entertainment's cult-classic game is undoubtedly my favorite installment of the Fallout series. This is interesting insofar as we remember that the game actually marginalized the classic tropes and fractions of the series. The numerous bugs that the developers never fixed also aren't a huge problem. New Vegas won my heart over with something much more important – namely, it's an extremely robust RPG, through and through.
Few games can boast such a rich world. Each of our steps can decide the fate of communities large and small. Developers gave us the opportunity to ally not only with the three main factions. In the post-apocalyptic Mojave, you can find a whole lot of smaller groups that can become bitter enemies or loyal allies of the courier. Or never find out about his/her existence.
In New Vegas, even inaction has an impact on the world. What a surprise for me it was to finish the game for the first time, during which I only focused on the main plot of the story. The summary slides showing Mojave's fate were full of names I had never come across. How did Jacobstown fall? Well, what in the hell is Jacobstown? New Vegas' communities seem to have a life of their own, even though their crudely animated. If we do not engage with them, they will try to their jobs and achieve their goals, perhaps getting lost in the mist of history in the process.
These little changes in the Mojave political arena are perhaps the most interesting part of the game. During our escapade into the Mojave Desert, we can decide whether a settlement will flourish or fall. We can direct individual groups towards alliances with one another or wipe them off the face of the earth. And these choices are not obvious. More than once, deeds noble from my point of view led to the demise of local communities. The consequences of my decisions were sometimes immediately clear, and other times they were revealed only after the end of the game.
The game doesn't really telegraph the watershed moments, doesn't prompt messages like "You're about to decide the fate of Mojave." I have influenced the virtual world completely by accident more than once. One of my sightseeing tours into abandoned Vault-Tec vaults is a good example. The exploration of the underground shelter ended with a big shootout, which led to the elimination of one of the most dangerous gangs roaming the desert. This meant that, after the end of the game, I was informed that traders were no longer afraid of traversing the inhospitable neighborhoods of New Vegas.
Post-apo Game of Thrones
The main theme of Fallout: New Vegas, of course, focuses on the rivalry of three big factions: the army-style New California Republic striving to bring order, Caesar's Legion crucifying people, and Mr. House, an entrepreneur who's trying to bring glory and civilization back to the city of New Vegas. In this respect, the game offers as broad possibilities as in the case of relations with the smaller communities. There's nothing stopping us from lying, acting to our advantage or earnestly helping several parties. We can also act like a dangerous madman who isn't afraid to challenge the most important figures in the Mojave region.
My favorite way to conclude the Legion plot thread is simply to obliterate Caesar the first time I meet him face to face. The game allows you to smuggle weapons into his camp and then simply kill him during the audience. It isn't easy, but it's entirely a viable solution foreseen by the writers, and we're talking about one of the main characters of this production. In addition, New Vegas doesn't telegraph this opportunity with any quest. The possible slaying of Caesar is entirely our independent decision.
Imagine a similar situation in Wild Hunt. Geralt enters Emperor Emhyr's quarters, breaks his neck, escapes through the window like Leo in the the prequel, and the game continues along a different path. It sounds absurd, but that's how Obsidian's Fallout works, and the open-endedness of this game is something to behold. Eliminating even such a crucial character doesn't spoil the game. The story continues, with various NPCs noting that the tyrant is dead, and we may freely wreak havoc elsewhere.
New Vegas makes it clear at every step that we have complete freedom. Quests do give some general direction to our actions, but how we conclude them is entirely in our discretion. NCR want us to destroy the Brotherhood of Steel? Well, I'd rather not. Instead, I can engage in diplomacy with an ambassador who's much more clear-sighted about things and broker a peace agreement. Did the game inform me that it's an optional solution/goal of the quest? No, I had to figure it out myself.
Or say you're not at all delighted with the prospect of handing over the reins of Mojave to a single one of the factions? Then take matters into your own hands – take over the robotic army and New Vegas will be yours. What you do with this power is up to you. Do you want a peaceful coexistence with other communities? No problem. You'd rather wipe them out because you think they are too stubborn dangerous? Can do.
A desert full of surprises
However, the enormous possibilities of influencing the story of New Vegas is not the only element that makes me love to come back to this game so much. An exceptionally interesting world full of surprises also plays an important role here. Mojave is a really large virtual sandbox, full of locations both visible to the naked eye and cleverly concealed. Most of them have more than a few bullets or Stimpaks to offer; they're not just about loot.
While traversing Mojave, we come across numerous ruins, shelters, caves, camps and large buildings. When entering them, we can always be sure that an interesting plotline awaits us inside. In fact, there's pretty much no generic content in the game, such as treasures or bandit camps in New Vegas. Instead, we get things like ancient buildings that allow us to learn about the history of pre-war America. Crumbling office buildings are full of terminals that offer a glimpse into the world from before the nuclear holocaust.
On top of that, the numerous crypts are basically dungeons that offer an additional genre, turning the somewhat upbeat surface exploration into a horror-like experience inside gloomy, suffocating undergrounds. Their exploration is often associated with some macabre secrets, which we can gradually reveal thanks to scraps of information found along the way. In the camps and settlements established after the war, we will learn many stories of ordinary people trying to rearrange their lives in this ruthless universe.
Even inconspicuous caves at the edge of the map provide interesting discoveries. One of these had a particularly interesting find. In the tunnel, I came across a gate secured with an extremely difficult lock. After dealing with it, I found a suitcase with a huge amount of pre-war money, as well as a skeleton with a gun lying next to it. What actually happened? Why did this man shot himself up in such a remote place with all his wealth? Where did he get all this money? Unfortunately, the game did not give me any answers, but the atmosphere of this location and the pure narration through environment was rewarding enough.
I'll see you again
All this adds up to a game that can be experienced time and time again, with each approach surprising us with something new. There's just too much content in New Vegas to get bored. Every time I set off on a journey through Mojave, I stumble upon characters and pieces of lore and story that I never saw before. Sometimes, they were simple hidden locations, and sometimes completely new storylines.
In fact, completing New Vegas twice the same way would be quite a challenge. There are simply too many variables. All you need to do is leave the beaten path for a moment, and welcome completely new possibilities opening up for you. Obsidian really delivered a stunning adventure. I'll certainly return once again... Who knows where my legs will carry me this time.
