Obsidian

In life, we run on as this monomyth entity, built upon a mental chronometry. We await for events to happen.  Each day, we find ourselves in different situations finding ways to problem-solve and assert ourselves. However, due to this repetition, our nature tends to falsify ourselves by thinking these actions and what we do are of our own volition. This is the basis of Jainism and metaphysical libertarianism. I have always thought that this very idea kind of balances it out and even is broken down into bite-size pieces within Fallout: New Vegas. Now I have my own opinions about the game, but a stand-out component is its four main DLC expansions. This DLC is a more explicit example of my previous points. From a futuristic take on the Old Testament stories to old espionage casino heists (almost like an Oceans 11).  I will be evaluating them in a nuclear system with one nuke being the lowest and five nukes being the highest. The subjects of these evaluations are Dead Money, Lonesome Road, Honest Hearts, and the New World Blues expansions.

Dead Money:1

Dead money begins when you are trapped and captured and brought to the outside of the Sierra Madre casino. Father Elijah tasks you to recruit the other prisoners who were also captured to make way on his assignment to break into the Sierra Madre, if not, there is a bomb collar strapped to your neck. You will find three individuals, Dog, Christine, and Dean Domino. Dog is a super-mutant with a split personality, Christine is mute, and Dean is a former performer and now a ghoul. After, you all embark on the heist. Overall, I did like the concept of this DLC, but due to placement issues, and the type of direction they wanted to take it, it never really fit the gameplay of Fallout. But I loved the aesthetic and even some of the npc’s have these great designs and characteristics that fit well.

Honest Hearts:5

Honest hearts start with an exodus, out of the Mojave to Utah. Where others go to Zion for a new life, you go to investigate a man who was too angry, too determined to die, a mystery man who stood up to Caesar. As you explore the area of Utah you come across four main figures and the groups they lead:

• Salt-Upon-Wounds: He leads the White Legs
• Daniel: Leads the Sorrows
• Joshua Graham: The Dead Horses

Salt is a war chief and the main protagonist of the DLC and a very invasive leader. Daniel is a pacifist Mormon, whose goal is to establish a Swig in the Sorrows territory. While the absolute unit of a man, Joshua Graham. He runs his base of operations out of New Canaan, where he provides The Dead Horses with modern artillery to combat the White Legs. I liked this part of the expansion and the story of Graham and the constant themes of religion and Christian references.

Old World Blues:3

The Old World Blue DLC is based on a 50s sci-fi-esque movie. With large computers and imagery of what people of the nuclear society would have thought the future held. Your goal is to restore life to Montana and the scientist trapped in a virtual state. Each has its flaws. I liked this expansion due to its comedic undertones and just unique visuals and concepts.      

Lonesome Road:4

Lonesome Road is the backstory of the courier and his organization, before the start of the main game. We find another absolute unit of a partner named Courier Six, also known as Ulysses. He is the last fighting remnant of the Divide, a war-torn land, with scraps of battle between the NCR and the Legion. We find that the platinum chip is the reason for the birth of the Divide and Ulysses is willing to keep fighting for it. Through side content, we also find that he was the broker for the armory found wielded by the residents of New Canaan. I loved this DLC with really great set pieces and the story of the Courier cements this expansion.

Principally, I think these series of expansions elevate the game and its status as a whole. I really wish that they put this type of quality of narrative and character writing. Also, it would have been better to dedicate the time used for Dead Money, to continue with the patches and quality of life improvement to the game as a whole. But just as I said in the beginning, each pack shows the epistemology of both the false control within gaming and kind of the basis established during the early 2010s.