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Fallout: New Vegas – Game Breakdown

By Deidra Hayes

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Reviewed by: Deidra Hayes

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Fallout New Vegas

Fallout: New Vegas is a 2010 action role-playing video game developed by Obsidian Entertainment and published by Bethesda Softworks. The game is widely available for PlayStation 3, Microsoft Windows, and Xbox 360. The game is set in the Mojave Desert 204 years after a devastating nuclear war. Players get to control a courier, who survives an assassination attempt and becomes intertwined in a conflict between governing factions that are vying for control of the region.

Fallout: New Vegas was a commercial success, with over 11.6 million copies sold worldwide. The game is quite popular as it offers hundreds of hours of exploring the game world, adult humor, plenty of unique dialogues, and an incredibly complex world with an exclusive storyline. This article will discuss all about Fallout: New Vegas game, its characters, gameplay, and more. So, keep reading to learn more. 

An Overview of Fallout: New Vegas

Fallout: New Vegas is regarded as one of the best Fallout games in the franchise and is one of the best RPGs. The game is a blend of classic Fallout storytelling with Bethesda’s open-world design and gameplay. It features a freely explorable open world where players can engage in combat with a variety of weapons.

Fallout New Vegas Gameplay

Although it is mainly an RPG, it doesn’t feature the quick, strategic teamplay found in genres such as Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) games. Instead, it emphasizes a narrative-driven, single-player experience. This action role-playing game is divided into 3 acts. In each act, there are several sub-acts. The game is broken out as follows:

1. Ain’t That a Kick in the Head: 

The players will play as the courier, an employee of the Mojave Express, and the game’s story begins with a delivery gone wrong. The players will be assigned to deliver a Platinum Chip to an unknown client, but the problem starts upon reaching Godsprings, a small town in the southwest of New Vegas. There, a group of mobsters steal the package, tie the Courier up, and put a bullet between their eyes. The Courier is then buried in a shallow grave, assuming he is head.

Miraculously, the Courier will survive thanks to a local Securiton named Victor. His body was quickly discovered and taken to the hospital, where the doctor managed to reconstruct the face. After the checkup and recovery, the Courier heads to search for the killer and Platinum Chip. This is the overall story of the game and how it starts. 

2. They Went That-a-Way

The Courier sets out to find the killer, and by talking to the locals, he understands that the group is headed to 1-15 South and Highway 95 to reach New Vegas- the remains of Nevada’s Las Vegas. The Courier will first visit Primm to uncover a power struggle between a local gang and NCR, which is one of New Vegas’ largest players. However, NCR’s wide influence on the western United States does not help and they struggle to keep their territories safe.

The next stop is at Nipton, another small town where the Courier meets Ceaser’s Legion, the second largest faction in New Vegas that turned Nipton into a graveyard. There are crucified citizens lined in the streets with burning debris in the air. All these make the city a total massacre. Before reaching New Vegas, the Courier makes a stop at Novac and from there he learns that the person who killed him is named Benny who is on his way to New Vegas. 

3. The House Always Wins

The Courier is on a mission to visit Benny, and he gets inside The Strip and is forced to have a conversation with the man in charge of the city, Mr. House. He will later realize that Mr. House was his client and still needs the Platinum Chip. Mr. House informs him where Benny is and tells him he decided to kill or spare Benny. Regardless of what the Courier does, he will be given an invitation by a Ceaser’s Legion spy, an invitation he cannot refuse. Once the Courier reaches The Fort, he will meet Ceaser himself.

He then finds out that the Platinum Chip Benny had is the perfect size to open a bunker in his fort, and he learns that if Benny is not dead, then Ceaser has held him captive. The players can choose what happens to Benny and this bunker, but one clear thing is that at the end of this encounter, the Courier will have the Platinum Chip. the Platinum Chip is a major asset to Mr. House, and both NCR and Ceaser’s Legion would plan to put House at a disadvantage.

4. Ace In The Hole

Every faction wants control over New Vegas, and the most power lies in Hoover Dam, which is currently controlled by the NCR. The Ceaser’s Legion had attempted to take the dam down before but failed to do so. The story branches out somewhat at this point, and the final act of the game involves building up an army of the players’s faction of choice.

Several assets are scattered across the wasteland, which helps make the battle in the players’ faction favor. The players’ greatest asset will be the Platinum Chip, which can be used to upgrade the Securitron force in New Vegas for Mr. House, or the players can choose to murder him. 

5. You’ll Know When It Happens

The Caesar’s Legion begins its assault on the dam soon after the visit from the president of the NCR. The NCR will have its ground, attempting to hold the savages back, and depending on what the player has decided or done with Mr. House, his Secruitorns can show up and overthrow both parties.

On the other hand, if the players are independent, the Secruitrons will be under the player’s command. The game will be a bloodbath, and hundreds of soldiers will die during the onslaught. However, the winner of the conflict can have control over the Hoover Dam and all of New Vegas. 

The endings of Fallout: New Vegas

Fallout: New Vegas has four main endings with hundreds of small variations, and the fate of Vegas depends almost entirely on who wins the second battle of Hoover Dam. The four main endings are the NCR ending, Caesar’s Legion Ending, Mr. House Ending, and the Independent Ending. In the NCR ending, the Courier assists the NCR in pushing the Legion back by killing or persuading the Legion’s general, Legate Lanius, and all of Caesar’s Legion, who are forced to retreat.

The NCR takes full control over the Mojave Wasteland while annexing The Strip, Freeside, and other small communities. As a result, for their service, the Courier will be given the Golden Branch, which is the highest civilian decoration in the Republic. As for Caesar’s ending, Caesar’s troops take the Mojave Wasteland by storm, which forces the NCR to retreat to Mojave Outpost.

This makes the Legion own The Strip and Hoover Dam. There, they enslaved most of the locals and the Legion created a new gold coin in honor of Courier by recognizing their accomplishments in assisting Caeser in taking over New Vegas. In the Mr. House ending, Mr. House’s Securitrons are wiped out of both parties at Hoover Dam, and Caesar’s Legion is forced to retreat along with NCR.

In the end, New Vegas remained one of the last surviving icons of Pre-War America, and Mr. House gave Courier every luxury he asked for out of gratitude as well as fear. As for an Independent Ending, the Courier and their Securitrons force both factions out of the Mojave Wasteland with no rule to control them at the Strip. Things eventually calm down and leave New Vegas devoid of any ruler. 

Also Read: Forza Horizon 5 PS5 Release Date And Features

Conclusion

Fallout: New Vegas is an action role-playing video game where the players get to play as the Courier. The Courier’s actions have a huge impact on the battles and the ruling faction afterward. The game has been quite popular mainly because it offers hundreds of hours to explore the game world with adult humor, unique dialogue, and incredibly complex storylines.

It is considered one of the best games as it has a blend of classic Fallout storytelling with Bethesda’s open-world design and gameplay, where players can engage in combat with a variety of weapons. The game is divided into three acts with many sub-acts. It is a very engaging and fun-filled game that has four main endings with hundreds of small variations that are purely based on the choices of the players. 

Deidra Hayes

Deidra Hayes is a gaming journalist with over 10 years of experience. She holds a Bachelor's in Interactive Media Design from Stanford University and has written for IGN and GameSpot. Deidra specializes in game reviews, industry analysis, and developer interviews. Her expertise spans multiple gaming platforms and genres.

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