DLC Review/Retrospective - Fallout: New Vegas - "Lonesome Road"

"If they matter... if history matters... we'll see at the end of the road."

The opening moments of Fallout: New Vegas see you shot in the head and left buried in a shallow grave somewhere in the Mojave. Somehow still clinging to life, you're rescued and brought to the town of Goodsprings, where Doc Mitchell cares for you until you've made a full recovery. This is not the beginning of your story, the Courier's story, nor is it the end - but it was meant to be.

Enter Ulysses: the original Courier Six. The man who was supposed to deliver the Platinum Chip in the first place, but backed out of the job when he saw that you were next in line. Aware of what he'd be carrying, and knowing full well that the job was very likely a suicide mission, he stepped aside in the hopes that you would be killed before you even made delivery. Obviously, this didn't happen, much to Ulysses' disappointment.

But who is this other courier? Why does he want you dead?

Throughout Fallout: NV and it's subsequent add-ons, this story arc quietly builds in the background. A throw-away comment here, an oddly-named item there, until eventually it comes to a head. And it all begins with you sitting in a cave somewhere in the Big Empty, hearing Ulysses' voice on a holotape, the contempt he has for you and everything you've supposedly done. And in the closing seconds, he makes a solemn promise:

"At the Divide, he and I... there, we'll have an ending to things."

And he would be right.

Lonesome Road has you tracking down Ulysses through the Divide: a massive fissure that's formed in the middle of a once-thriving city of the Old World. Here, the wind is strong enough to tear the skin from your body, irradiated soldiers from both sides of a dead conflict wander in a haze of insanity, and mutated creatures lie in wait just below the surface. It's very unlikely that you'll find your happy place here. This is a depressing, emotional, and heart-breaking road you must travel, but I couldn't think of a better way for this game to come to an end.

This is your story. Your road. You're here because you want to be, and you can leave at anytime. But if you keep walking... you're gonna see some things.

The Divide ain't what it used to be.

The first thing you're going to notice about the Divide is, well, that it's pretty damn big. You begin on a cliff overlooking the whole of it, and it's just an amazing sight to see. I just sat there staring for a bit, and eventually said to myself, "Shit, I gotta walk through that." The Divide ain't pretty like Zion; it's a very intimidating piece of real estate. This is made even more interesting by how it was designed. Unlike the other three DLC hubs - The Sierra Madre, Zion, and The Big Empty - The Divide is actually one long road, winding through ruined cities, collapsed tunnels, across highways, and down into the giant fissure. You're still free to come and go and explore as you please (and there are still a ton of places to poke around), but since you're always moving forward through the landscape, you're never quite sure where you're going to end up next.

In this sense, Lonesome Road definitely has the most variety out of all the add-ons. Each of the locations in the Divide are unique from each other in some way. They're very competently-designed, and clearly show that Obsidian intended to go out with a bang, throwing as many eggs into that proverbial basket as they could. Buildings collapse into the fissure, earthquakes will knock things off of shelves, and debris constantly blocks your way. But wait! You can remove that debris by seeking out discarded warheads and setting them off with your trusty detonator. Time the explosions right, and you can take out some advancing enemies, too.

There are new armor sets, new items, new achievements, and new weapons, such as the "Red Pulse," which is pretty much an automatic rocket launcher. (It's as awesome as it sounds.) The only real downside is that since the Divide is an undesirable place to be, there isn't a surplus of NPCs to talk to. In fact, besides Ulysses, you'll only have your companion to talk to, but I'm not sure if I should spoil who that companion is. Not a big deal, but it was fun to discover who you'd be traveling with (and also figure out said companion's backstory.)

So what can you expect from the ending? Well, I can say that it was definitely a satisfying one, and will have vastly different outcomes depending on your decisions, a few of which were pretty tough for me to think through - and one of which can draw direct comparisons in terms of severity to the infamous Megaton decision from Fallout 3. So severe, in fact, that the Mojave Wasteland itself will be affected in some way: a first for FO DLCs.

And what of Ulysses? Again, I can't say much about him or his vendetta against the Courier. But rest assured, he has a very good reason to hate you, and it's not a reason that will sound completely out of the realm of possibility either. (Actually, I found myself thinking that I probably would've done the same thing in the Courier's shoes.) As Ulysses once said, "Couriers sometimes don't know the messages they bring."

Lonesome Road marks an end for the story of the Courier, a story that I've been following with much enthusiasm for the better part of a year. In that year, I've seen Obsidian create what I believe to be a masterpiece in the RPG genre: a game that not only aspired to have a great story, but great characters, locations, sidequests, world-building, and a level of immersion second to none. And then they decided to take things a step further, by creating a set of add-ons that could be collectively seen as a sequel in its own right.

Bethesda may have continued and updated the Fallout property, but Obsidian Entertainment refined it to the point of near-perfection, creating a product that trumps its predecessor in nearly every way. The franchise simply could not be in better hands, even if Bethesda decides to make the eventual sequel themselves. Obsidian know the lore, inside and out, they know what works, what doesn't, and how to tell stories within the universe that pack the hardest punch. I don't think I've played a game where a developer has had such a tight grip on such detailed lore and knew exactly how to wield it.

Fallout: New Vegas, along with all of its DLC - Dead Money, Honest Hearts, Old World Blues, and Lonesome Road - has been one of the best gaming experiences I've ever had. It will most definitely go down as one of the best games I've ever played, up there with Knights of the Old Republic and Dragon Age: Origins.

Obsidian (and Chris Avellone, especially) should be proud of themselves, and it's my hope that they're allowed another crack at the property. My dream would involve Obsidian, Fallout, and the Skyrim engine, but only time will tell.

This is an end for the Courier, but I hope it's not the end. Either way, all roads lead home, and for now, the Courier's right where he needs to be.

Book Review: Gateway by Frederik Pohl

When the used bookstore owner, who's read nearly every piece of classic and modern science fiction from Wells to Heinlein to Scalzi, told me that Fredrick Pohl's Gateway was the best sci-fi book that he has ever read...I took his word for it and picked it up right then and there.

The genre of science fiction is an odd beast; you're either Heinlein or you're not. There have been many entries into the canon before and after this man's time, but they're all overshadowed and nearly drowned out. Similarly to the more recent works of fantasy in regards to Tolkien's works, only much more dramatic. At that point, I had never heard of Frederik Pohl, or Gateway and The Heechee Saga for that matter, but after reading his book, I'm convinced that this really is one of the best. It probably won't be remembered for its writing or its pacing, but the fresh ideas and character development therein is some of the best I've ever read.

Even then, it still might not be everyone's cup of tea.

We arrive at Earth's glorious future (only it isn't so glorious) and meet our wonderful protagonist, Robinette "Rob" Broadhead (only he isn't so wonderful; he's kind of a dick). Our planet has become overpopulated and her resources are running dangerously low, to the point where one of our prime food sources has to be mined out of the ground. People are living in the tunnels of Venus and on the harsh surface of Mars, and no one is all that happy. Rob especially, being one of those unfortunate food miners himself.

But one day, his life begins to turn around when he wins the lottery. With that money, he buys himself a ticket to Gateway, an alien relic left behind by an ancient race - referred to as the Heechee - that seems to have all but disappeared from the Solar System. (Sound familiar, Mass Effect fans?!) On Gateway, there are thousands of docked alien spaceships of various sizes; some work, some don't; some can fit five people, some can only fit one. Amazing, to be sure, but there's one glaring problem: No one has every figured out how to work the damn things.

Each of Gateway's ships are preprogrammed to a set destination somewhere in the galaxy. Their course cannot be altered or even predicted, so you might end up spending a month or two at light speed only to pop out in the middle of a black hole or on a collision course with a sun. Needless to say, the mortality rate for those who volunteer to ride one of these ship's to their preset destinations is very high; crewers often come back starved to death, emaciated, dehydrated, or in pieces. But the possible rewards make it nearly impossible to refuse playing this game of intergalactic Russian Roulette.

Should a batch of crewers drop out of light speed and discover ancient Heechee relics or a habitable planet to colonize, it's the equivalent of winning the lottery a thousand times over. You'll be set for life, and then some.

But Rob's story of living on Gateway is only half of the novel, the other half shows him paying visits to an AI psychologist, years after he apparently got rich on Gateway. We don't know how he made his millions on the alien spacestation, nor do we know precisely why he's visiting a psychologist in the first place. Gateway is really a story about personal discovery at the edge of life, death, and insignificance.

When I started reading the book, it was very difficult for me to keep going. A few pages in, and you'll see that Rob Broadhead is a very unlikable character. He's a nymphomaniac and an opportunist, willing to throw other people under the bus for his own gain, monetarily and sexually. By page 100, I was almost ready to put the book down, high sci-fi concepts be damned. But I kept going, little by little, and found myself in awe.

Rob's personality is dissected over the course of the book, through his sessions with the psychologist. Everything he does, the way he acts has an explanation and a painful history behind it. By the end of the book, I still couldn't say that I liked Rob Broadhead, but I really could sympathize with him. And that really is the purpose of the book. There are some really great concepts in Gateway, but you might be disappointed that they aren't given more attention. Knowing this his Rob's story, and his alone, will help you greatly if you give this a try.

And be warned, this is a novel that was written in the 70s. Yeah, those 70s - so expect a lot of sex, drugs, drinking, and trippy imagery.

I would definitely recommend this to any fan of science fiction (and psychology), with the caveat that the prose isn't exactly thrilling and you might find yourself wondering what exactly you've got yourself in to. This is one of those books that you really won't appreciate until you've read its heartbreaking ending. It's all or nothing science fiction at its best, and one hell of a great ride.

My Worries About Dragon Age 2.

BioWare recently opened up an official thread on their forums asking fans to tell them what exactly has them so flustered about Dragon Age II. Of the many worries that I read, the majority of them seemed to be in line with what I was thinking (though many were simply worried about the logistics of the PC version, which does not affect me). But I thought I'd take a moment to get my own thoughts in order since I'm riding this DA:O high and articulate why I'm worried about DA2. Hopefully this post doesn't reach rambling-length, but this is a topic I'm passionate about, so...yeah.

1) Human Hawke

When I found out that BioWare was forcing you to play a human named Hawke, who would also be voiced (ala Mass Effect) I could hear my heart breaking inside my chest. It's that same terrified and helpless feeling that you'd get hearing your TV fall over in the other room. I remember feeling betrayed, bewildered, and finally...sad. Let me recount what my favorite games of all time are at the moment:

1) Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

2) World of Warcraft

3) Dragon Age: Origins

I loved DA:O because BioWare let you own the story. Your Warden looked how you wanted him to look, had a unique backstory (unique enough), and acted the way you wanted him to act. There were several times while playing the game that the immersion factor was ramped up so high it felt like I was there with the characters, as corny as it sounds. The reason for this was because BioWare left an empty hole in the game called "the Warden" and asked you to fill it with as much of your being as you could.

Right off the bat, DA2 will not have that. You are Hawke. You are Human. Someone else will be speaking for you. That, more than anything, really bugs the hell out of me. Giving players the option to switch off Hawke's voice-over would put me at ease x1000. But I do not think that will happen.

2) Replay Value

Let's face it, most decisions in BioWare games ultimately amount to doing things the hard way or the easy way. Good cop/Bad Cop. It's not for lack of ingenuity; BioWare's platform is to focus on a strict, well-written storyline. If you give your players tons of ways to complete each task, then you'll still have a great game (Oblivion) but the story takes a hit because of it (Oblivion). That, and you have to deal with party members and other NPCs in the world reacting to each decision you make, which is pretty damn daunting.

The reason DA:O worked so well in this regard is because the Origins essentially modified the storyline to grant the player a new experience when replaying the game. Think if DA:O had limited you to only playing through as a Human Noble, it would still be a fun game, but the wanting to replay it would not be very intense. Because the role-playing factor was so involving, playing through another race and another Origin was almost like playing another game.

I'm worried that DA2 will not have that replay factor, or that my next replay will boil down to choosing all of the "Bad Cop" options. I played Mass Effect twice: once Paragon, once Renegade. I played Mass Effect 2 twice: once Paragon, and once to show everyone I could keep my crew alive. KotOR is my favorite game, but I've only played through it twice, as well: once Light Side, once Dark Side. Same with KotOR II (though that was Obsidian, same concept). Whereas right now, I have like...four different characters going in DA:O, and I've put quite a bit of time into each of them.

I'm worried that DA2 will give me one or two playthroughs. One or two sub-par playthroughs, since the role-playing factor is taking a hit since its predecessor.

3) Continuing Adventures

There's a reason why I'm so fond of the DA:O DLC. Since BioWare didn't have to bring in the highly-paid voice actor in to voice your character in the DLC, it made it a more cohesive experience. In Mass Effect 2, the "Firewalker" add-on had you doing an hour long mission, but no one freaking talked. Not Shepard, not anyone. This might not be the case with later add-ons, but if there's even a chance that BioWare might have to offer a DA2 add-on with everyone staying quiet since Hawke's voice actor was too busy to contribute...it makes me worried.

4) Continuing Adventures

That BioWare's Search for More Money might impact the immersion factor of DA2. Remember how there was that guy in your camp in DA:O who wanted you to pay him with Microsoft Points? Remember how BioWare sold you King Cailan's funeral, the ending to the Morrigan romance, and a battle you had already fought before (The Darkspawn Chronicles)?

Certainly Mass Effect fans will remember the subplot of the mysterious Shadow Broker that began in ME1, was built upon, continued and had a significant impact on the story in ME2, and was then concluded in a piece of DLC.

I'm worried that BioWare will (as silly as this sounds) create great, involving subplots that will absolutely floor me...and then turn around later and sell me the ending to it.

5) The Death of cRPGs

DA:O was a throwback to classic RPGs, the kind that BioWare got into the business making (Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights) and was even a semi-throwback to KotOR. Guess what? It was a complete success! It outsold Mass Effect! And the natural reaction to this was to...destroy that formula and work off on a little more modern?

I don't understand that. Maybe it's just business. Maybe it sold well, but didn't live up to EA's standards. I don't know, but I will say this: Proper RPGs are becoming a thing of the past. In my mind, Bethesda and Obsidian are the only two companies making TRUE RPGs.

In one generation, we've gone from fine-tuning stats to just equipping a better sword. From hunting down that one piece of armor that will give you that +1 to Constitution that you oh so need, to customizing your character with interchangeable costumes. Mass Effect 1 & 2 are fantastic games in every sense, but they aren't RPGs. So for ME-type elements to start ending up in DA2...if seems like the inspiration is flowing the wrong way.

That's all I'll say on that. I have the game preordered. I'm getting the "OMG Signature Edition" and I will be playing this game all the way through, when I'll be making all the proper judgments. BioWare's asking us to trust them, that this will be a great game. I have no doubt of that, but my greatest worry of all is that they're now saying this to a base that, in their eyes, I'm no longer a part of.