Fallout: New Vegas Dead Money DLC Reviews

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Written by Brother None on December 26th, 2010

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And that sets the tone for pretty much the whole thing. You'll sometimes get a choice of different skills or stats to use to solve the same problem, but in these instances you've either got a high enough number or you haven't and will have to do it another more time-consuming but no more interesting way. The choice doesn't feel at all meaningful.

The only meaningful choice you're given is whether or not to stick it out past the point where boredom has thoroughly set in. It's a tough one, because you can't actually leave Dead Money until you finish it, so the only way to return to the Mojave Wasteland is to reload an old save, assuming you've kept one.

Once the team is together, you must do the bidding of Father Elijah together or else someone or everyone is going to lose their head. That's right, in Dead Money you need to learn the concept of teamwork. Keeping your team alive is the main concept. Just like when you play a game like Left 4 Dead, each member of the team must work together to survive.or else. What this means is that if one member of your team dies, then you all die. Trust me when I tell you that there are plenty of ways for the characters or yourself to die and I'm not just talking about enemies. I hear that even radio signals could set the explosive collars off. Here's a good tip: make sure you save.a lot!

All in all though, Dead Money was not very fun. The story was good, especially at the end when it all comes together, but the sneaking around, the insane amount of dangerous traps, the lack of supplies, confusing town layout and unclear directions made it a very difficult game. I'm all for changing the gameplay but I don't think it was executed well here as it was more frustrating than it was refreshing. It wasn't really for me and didn't fit my character's playstyle. I can't even imagine how people are playing this with Hardcore mode on.

All of this creates what I found to be pretty interesting and evocative for the Fallout series: a definite venture into the genre of survival horror, or as I like to refer to this, (survival stealth horror.) Everything about the setting is completely absorbing, with the creepy ghost aesthetic, the dreary, decayed architecture, and the gloomily dark and hazy surroundings that create the perfect landscape for a chilling gameplay experience. Using stealth and your Sneak skill will play a major role, so dump some points into that category in preparation, as well as the Lockpick, Science, Repair, and Unarmed options. You always want to have a way to get past security measures and hidden areas using lock pick and science hacker skills, and repairing is important to keep yourself equipped properly and used to disarm certain traps. Unarmed comes into play because of one of the DLC's unique weapons.

.which is the Bear Trap Fist. Do I have to explain that? The Ghost People use these contraptions in great numbers, and also use a lot of Spear Knives which you can either jab or chuck at your enemies. You're given the new Holorifle early on (a gun seemingly from the Gauss rifle family, relying on energy ammo and a decent scope), as well as the opportunity to find and utilize the Automatic Rifle, the Police Pistol and various new mods, ammo types, health upgrades and items galore. The world is also littered with Sierra Madre chips, which act as currency and can be collected and exchanged in return for health, ammo, etc. at unique vending machine stations throughout the Sierra Madre (and yes, the security/stealth, utopian themes, vending machines, etc. definitely gave me a Bioshock vibe.)

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