Fallout: New Vegas Dead Money DLC – Review – PC

Bethesda has a huge reputation for making games that you can play for 60+ hours. For many players, a second playthrough with a new character is just as rewarding as the first but at some point, it has to get repetitive right? That’s where DLC comes in. DLC for games extends the replay value of a game and in some cases, changes the gameplay mechanics quite a bit. Fallout has always been about survival in a vast wasteland, but in Dead Money, survival is no walk in the park. With you as puppet and traps around every corner, will you survive the opening of The Sierra Madre Casino?

Story: A transmission invites you to The Sierra Madre – a new, unopened casino built a few years before the Great War. Unexpectedly, you are knocked out and awaken in front of a hologram video. Meet Elijah, a leader and criminal who has tricked you into coming to the opening on the casino to make you his puppet and break into the casino – a heist if you will. The rules are simple – listen to everything Elijah says. Find 3 companions and break into the casino. If you fail to listen, Elijah will detonate the explosive collar around you and the other companions’ necks. Along the way, the companions warn you of how evil Elijah is and present to you other options. Can he be trusted? Who should you listen to in order to survive?

Gameplay: Just like previous Fallout DLC, a transmission is broadcasted and picked up by your Pip-boy. Follow the marker added to your map and you find the start of the quest. One thing I didn’t know, but should have expected, was the recommended level of 20+. With the save I used, my character was only level 9 but hey, it can’t be that bad can it? Lucky for me, the beginning contains a lot of running around and ways to get XP so I was able to gain a few levels along the way.

Upon entry, you lose all equipment you previously had. However, once you are free to roam, you find some weapons fairly quickly. With weapons you need ammo; since it is an abandoned area, ammo is scarcer than it is in the wasteland so keep that in mind when fighting off enemies or shooting traps. Surprisingly though, there is quite a bit of exploration involved, and what seems to be a small place turns into something big.

What I enjoyed most about this DLC was the change in gameplay. When walking around in this creepy, abandoned and forgotten place, it felt like I discovered the city of Atlantis or was playing Bioshock. It was a lot slower than I was used to when walking around the wastelands. I mean, walking around the wasteland takes forever due to its size so it too is slow, but this was a different kind of slow. You walk around in tight streets lined with buildings and walk in ruined buildings. What make it so slow are all the traps in front of you. In some areas there is a frequency that can detonate your collar if you stay too long or if you wait too long to change or destroy the radio. Walk too fast and you might run over a trip wire or mine. Walking into a building might result in getting shot by a rigged shotgun or dangling grenades ready to detonate on contact. The worst trap is the gas blocking direct access to areas of the map which requires you to take a long way through a building or use one of the companions who protects you for a short time. Again, I enjoyed that though. It provided more of a creepy survival horror feel and kept me guessing what trap was laid out for me around the next corner. Once in the casino, stealth is also heavily used.

The companions you come across are quite different and each has a different view on the situation. You’ll be switching between them with fetch missions and talking to them to find out more information about Elijah’s plans.

Graphics/audio: Graphically, the DLC still retains the same look and feel of Fallout, but you are in an abandoned place; a place that other people have also been trapped in and do anything to survive. I’m not sure where you actually are, but the sky is very dark providing a dark and creepy feel to the environment. I liked the little slideshow presentation at the start introducing the Casino as well. It was nice to learn a little back story in cut-scene form and not from a stiff character standing in front of you.

I kind of missed the old 50′s music but, at the same time, it was great to have something different – soft, ambient violin and keyboard playing which reminded me of Bioshock a bit. There are lots of little creeks, voices and random sounds as you walk around. It keeps you on edge and wondering what’s around the corner. It is different because I felt like I was playing a survival horror game. The voice acting and different characters are superb.

Overall: It felt like I was playing one of those horror movies where characters are brought into a game and must do what a voice tells them to do. It was not something I was expecting from Fallout, but I enjoyed the change in scenery and gameplay. I missed the old music, but it was nice to hear soft, ambient sounds mixed with a violin and keyboard. If you are looking for more things to do in Fallout and don’t mind a change in gameplay, this is a great new add-on.

Pros:
-Creepy survival gameplay
-soft, ambient audio mixed with a violin and keyboard
-Great dialogue
-Reminded me of Bioshock

Cons:
-Lacking the old 50′s music you had in the wasteland
-The slow pace gameplay of stealth and avoiding traps becomes tedious

Overall score: 7/10

A Steam code for this add-on was provided from the publisher for reviewing purposes.

Popularity: 4% [?]