Fallout New Vegas – Dead Money DLC Review

Game Review: Fallout New Vegas – Dead Money DLC

Release: 12/21/2010

Genre: RPG

Developer: Obsidian Entertainment

Available Platforms: Xbox 360

Players: 1

MSRP: 800 Msp ($10)

ESRB Rating: M (Mature): Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Use of Drugs

Website: Fallout

Dead Money starts off like all the other DLC quests have for Fallout 3. You intercept a mysterious radio signal on your Pip Boy and a location appears on your map to investigate. This time around, I was told of a grand casino that was waiting for me to explore. I went there expecting to find a huge building but all I found was a hole in the ground. This was very intriguing so I continued on. When I entered the hole, it took me to a small room with a headless dead body lying on the floor (nice touch..) and a heavy, locked door. Before I could enter, I received a message stating that I should be level 20 before entering ( I was only 6.. Yikes..) and that my level cap was raised by 5 levels (hooray).  There was no turning back once I entered, but I proceeded anyway, so I could have a tale to tell you. I was immediately treated to the story of a casino called the Sierra Madre. It was a premier casino that was going to be the crown jewel of the desert. Only problem was the doors never opened. It was a victim of the nuclear war and was buried before anybody ever got to enjoy it’s beauty. It wasn’t empty though. Oh no, it was filled with a tasty, legendary treasure. After hearing this little introduction, I was excited to go get me some loot. The door then opened and I found myself in a dirty hallway. I started walking and when I got to the end, a gas cloud shot out of the overhead vents and immediately knocked me out.

When I came around, I was standing in a town square with a glorious casino on a hill  in the distance, overlooking the town. A holographic image of a man started talking to me and told me of my predicament. He told me his name was Father Elijah and that he had brought me here to help him whether I liked it or not. You see, I was being held captive with a nasty collar of explosives around my neck. I could not remove it or it would explode. I could not run away, disobey, or do anything other than what he said, lest he pop my head off like a swollen grape. I was at his mercy, so I listened.

Father Elijah had tried, without any luck, to break into the Sierra Madre and steal it’s riches. So, he crafted a scheme that involved myself and three others, working together, to get the treasure for him. The other three “lucky volunteers” also had explosive collars on and were in the same boat as myself. We were being forced to work together as well. You see, our collars were linked together so if one of us died, we all died. We had no choice but to cooperate and do this man’s bidding. My first task was to seek out the other three and get them to meet up back at the square, and so began the fun of Dead Money.

The new characters were interesting and fun to have around, and it was nice having somebody to watch my back. Each of the three companions will grant you a special Perk that will come in handy when travelling around Sierra Madre. For example, Christine gives us more time when running past the speakers before we go Boom (more on this in just a bit).

Dead Money is by far, the most dark and sinister DLC yet for a Fallout game. It plays out more like survival horror than just an RPG. When you finally start off, you find out that you are stripped of all of your “worldly possessions”. You get a new outfit, a spiffy holorifle, and a few other doodads and that’s about it. You will need to scavenge around for any other supplies. Any companions you may have had before you entered are no longer with you as well. You get the three new ones to accompany you in Dead Money (remember, they’re linked to you and your shiny, new collar). Bottle caps aren’t accepted here either. Instead, you need to find the Sierra Madre casino chips to use as your currency at various vending machines that are scattered about.

As you traverse the area, you need to be wary of the many dangers  found in Dead Money. There are traps aplenty (trip wires, bear traps, etc..) that need a cautious step to survive. You also get the added danger of speakers that are hanging around all over the area. These are harmless to the average passer by. Thank God you’re not average! – note sarcasm - Yeah, your collar just happens to get interference from these speakers and if you stay near them for too long, BAMM. There are two kinds of speakers, some are glitchy and can be destroyed with a shot from a gun. Others though, are solidly constructed and and can not be destroyed. You need to avoid these as much as possible. It’s easy enough to tell the difference between the two as the glitchy ones will be glowing blue with sparks shooting from them and the others won’t. There’s also this icky red mist, called The Cloud, that floats around in certain areas outside. You guessed it, it’s not good to breathe this stuff in, so if you have to run through it (and you will), don’t lollygag. Oh and you can’t forget about all of the nasties that will be lurking around either. They’ll take you down faster than a five-legged, radiated Jackrabbit if you don’t stay on your toes. The bad thing with these creepies is that they are “Dead Spacing” it. In other words, they won’t die unless they get amputated, so be sure to hit’em hard and knock their block off. A quick tip on this, I picked up a cool knife spear off of the first Ghost I killed. I then used this almost exclusively to take them out fast and efficiently. It worked wonders and was a nice change of pace for me since I’m going “guns”.

Dead Money does a great job of offering you a different experience form the normal Fallout gameplay. Like I stated earlier, it’s almost like a survival horror game than the typical rpg/shooter that Fallout is. It’s very dark and atmospheric with a huge chance of danger around every corner and this is executed very well. It makes you slow down and think before you step. Another thing I liked was I found some cool new weapons and armor that I will definitely be using when I get back to civilization. These items might not be as useful though if you are already a high level character before starting. This leads me into my next point.

The recommendation I got at the beginning of the dlc about being level 20 or higher should be followed. I was only level 6 when I started but I had to go to do the review. It wasn’t that it was undo-able, but it gave me a run for my money, no pun intended. The part that was the worst for me being so low was the lock picking and the hacking. It  was too high for me to do, even though I am concentrating on those skills. A better way of approaching this would have been to scale the difficulty depending on what level you were. That way I could reap the rewards from Dead Money and still be able to enjoy them while I am playing through the main story of New Vegas. It’s also worth a mention that while I never experienced any major glitches with Dead Money, I have heard reports from other gamers that their games froze on them and other bad things. The problem with this though is that it’s a known fact that Fallout is glitchy and can freeze on you regardless of whether you are playing through the dlc or the main game. It’s just a risk you take when you play and shouldn’t really hold that much sway, if any at all, on whether you buy Dead Money or not.

Brian’s Final Say: I had a good time with Dead Money. The story was pretty cool and the macabre atmosphere was a nice change of pace from the Fallout norm. If you are a fan of New Vegas, then you will more than likely pick this up. Throw in 5 more levels to the level cap and it’s definitely worth the 800 points.

+ Cool story and atmosphere.

+ 5 more levels to the level cap.

+ Companions are fun and interesting to meet.

- Waiting to be the recommended level 20 before starting is sucky.