Over the last few weeks I have been rediscovering my love for what I deem to be one of the best games of all time, Fallout: New Vegas. Obsidians most recent take on the wasteland exploring RPG series. I adore this game for its western environments, fun cast of characters and general sense of do whatever that its predecessor Fallout 3 just missed the mark on. Don’t get me wrong, 3 is a fantastic title in its own right, and I would argue it is a must play but New Vegas just gives you so much more to do and enjoy.
The apocalyptic fear and loathing does have one divisive moment though that a lot of fans cannot forgive. Throughout the game you learn that various factions are vying for control of the enormous and impressive Hoover Dam (which I have seen in person and can confirm the Dam in game doesn’t do it justice) The 3 factions are The NCR, or New California Republic, the closest thing the wasteland has to law and order, Ceaser’s Legion, a massive army of tribes turned Roman legionary cosplayers and finally, Mr House, the man running New Vegas since before the war and with an army of Securitron robots at his disposal. Of course, if none of these options tickles your fancy you are welcome to gear up yourself and take the dam in the name of… well you.
Now the snag I’ve had, was my own sense morality getting in the way of most options! Like a lot of moral choice games, there really isn’t a cut and dried “good” ending. Every group has their flaws and good parts (besides the legion, hard to find any good in a bunch of murderous slavers). So you have to pick based on which ever is just the least offensive, while you could argue that the independent way is the best, that is still a pretty brutal method that is based entirely on your own self-interest!
Not only are the biggest choices the difficult to decide on, but even the smaller factions are a mixed bag of good with bad moments. Though one faction does stand head and shoulders above all as the out and out good guys. The Followers of the Apocalypse are a group who first appeared in Fallout 2, a game with MANY ties to New Vegas. They are the wasteland equivalent of Doctors without Borders, doing all they can to support and aid the people of the Mojave without thought of reward, welcomed by almost every faction, they are pure and ask for your help to support good causes. The issue is, you can’t gain the support in the final battle for anyone BUT the NCR, so you’re stuck with a group that sees large scale annexation as the only way to go…
The worst moment came from the faction I normally see as cooler than anyone else, The power armour wearing Brotherhood of Steel, geared up to the 9s with laser weapons and all the best tech, these are guys you want on your side, I was happily doing missions for them when I was abruptly sent to a Followers base by a companion of mine, upon arriving I saw that the Followers had been wiped out by the Brotherhood, rogue members sure but still, I was devastated! I cut ties with the armour boys and now I don’t know who to support!
Really, it’s come down to picking the lesser of evils, and I guess that’s the NCR. I’m not too keen with this option but I guess I can keep ignoring their requests to kill the other factions and just befriend them all on behalf of this gigantic conglomerate of settlements!