Goatmoose

So, we’re doing this again.

Back starting in 2008, Fallout 3 ended up reaming its millions of avid fans for another $10 every couple months as its five DLC packs were released with completely satisfying gaps between them.  An ample length passed between the last Fallout 3 DLC and the launch of New Vegas to get us all riled up and stiff for another Fallout title.  It came, we conquered, and now we’ve seen the release of the first New Vegas DLC, Dead Money, on December 21.  Let the process start again.

I don’t know about you, but I’ll buy a Fallout DLC just because it’s a Fallout DLC and I’m a hideously large fan of the games.  Some content for Fallout 3 was better than others and I assume the same will be true for New Vegas’ add-ons.  I didn’t much care for Operation: Anchorage with Fallout 3, its first DLC, just as I didn’t much care for Dead Money.  However, I paid my $10, played through it and don’t regret the decision merely due to my love for the series.  Even though I didn’t enjoy it a ton, it was worth playing – and raises the level cap to 35 – a nice little perk to take back to the main story.

If you haven’t yet heard, Dead Money takes you to a lost casino called the Sierra Madre, located in an isolated part of the wastes plagued by a poisonous cloud.  You find yourself there with a collar around your neck (much like the gun collar from Saw) and are somewhat under the whim of a nutter named Father Elijah.  The Sierra Madre is rumored to never have been opened, as the great war started right when the casino was to have its grand opening gala.  Elijah wants you to open it and you serve to find out all its secrets and uncover the truth of its existence and what happened.  The story itself is actually pretty interesting and unique, as the casino and its surrounding areas hold much to discover and have some good twists and ideas.  It’s the gameplay that is lacking.

The collar around your neck is detonated by radio frequencies, and the Sierra Madre is conveniently covered with radios.  You spend half of your play time trying to find and disable these radios within the few seconds you have before your head explodes.  This is somewhat neat at first, and annoying as hell after about an hour.

Part of what makes DLC fun is getting new weapons and armor to bring back to the wastes.  You’ll find a few- the police gun, cosmic knife, the bear trap claw, some machine guns, gas bombs, etc., but none are really that spectacular.  I ended up pawning them all at Gun Runners once I got back to the main game and buying the other main game weapons I couldn’t previously afford.  I think the police gun, which is essentially a .357, is the only one I kept.

And as for armor, you basically end up with some reinforced combat armor.  Joy.

The enemies are essentially two-fold.  You have Ghosts, who come in a few varieties depending on what type of weapon they use (bear trap claw seen above).  They are super strong and, until you learn the requisite skills from one of the other characters you meet, very hard to kill.  The other enemies are holographic guards that defend the casino areas.   These can’t be killed and will kill you with a few shots, so you’re generally left to find ways around them if you want to live.  Aside from a couple seemingly ill-placed radroaches and all those radios that can murder you remotely, those are the only enemies you’ll face.  The best tip for playing is to make sure you save often – your head will be blown off a number of times and the enemies can give you a good thrashing.  You won’t always want to retrace your steps, so a save at least every few minutes is recommended.

One neat element is that caps nor any faction money has any value in the Sierra Madre.  You find unique Sierra Madre chips nearly everywhere and, combined with other items you find around the DLC (cigarettes, pre-war outfits, etc.) you can trade them at unique vending machines for food, stimpacks and other essential items to get you through the DLC.  It really limits your resources and forces you to plan, be careful and pay attention to what you’re doing.

There is a lot more that could be said, but those are the essentials.  I don’t want to spoil what is actually a fairly interesting story.  Just know that at the end, you have a choice to make that determines your achievements.  Save first.  And before you go, find yourself some gold bars to take back to the wastes.  It’s certainly worth the payday.

Check back a little later for a Dead Money walkthrough/achievement guide.  The game has 140 points worth of achievements and sells for 800 Microsoft Points ($10).

Tags: fallout new vegas