Side with Joshua.
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Let's Play New Vegas - Old World Blues
- Thread starter grotsnik
- Start date
grotsnik
Arcane
- Joined
- Jul 11, 2010
- Messages
- 1,671
anus_pounder
Arcane
grotsnik
Arcane
- Joined
- Jul 11, 2010
- Messages
- 1,671
Should you tire of looking at pictures, you can find a fan-fiction rendering of this final section of the DLC here:
http://m.fanfiction.net/s/7365526/10/
It's actually better than the game, because it's got romance in it.
Fascinating stuff. Back to the game.
I think Joshua is right. We should fight the White Legs.
Sadly, this choice is kind of fucked up. If we'd chosen to flee Zion, we'd have got another three quests. But because we chose to fight, we get nothing. Typical left-wing libtard pacifist bias, etc, etc.
Also, Daniel gets pissed at us.
These big dramatic conversations lose a bit of their impact when one of the parties is chilling out on the floor and refusing to physically react or look at you.
What Joshua wants is more than an attack. He wants a slaughter. And he needs more than you and the Dead Horses to do it.
The Sorrows can't be pushed into this. You and Joshua don't have the right to force them into it. Please, consider what I'm saying.
Finally, we get a chance to call him out on his bullshit.
And you have the right to pull them off their land?
I've already explained to them that we're leaving! They've accepted it! What is Joshua going to tell them about being a warrior?
What are you going to tell them about how to live with themselves after they got lost in the moment, killed someone who didn't deserve to die?
Or does that not matter? Is that an acceptable consequence if it means holding onto this valley?
Everyone's got to grow up some time, pal.
Maybe there is no place in this world for mercy. But even if it tramples me into the dust, I will never accept it. And I will never condone it.
Joshua must be waiting for you. I'll stay here with the others as I told them I would.
Somehow in the middle of that conversation time has skipped forward past all the tactical planning and convincing the Sorrows to come along that we were meant to be doing, but we'll let that one slide.
You and I will lead a group of Dead Horses warriors and Sorrows hunters into Three Marys from this position.
Our objective is to find the White Legs' leader, Salt-Upon-Wounds, and prevent him from fleeing.
Show no quarter to the White Legs you come across. Make no mistake about why we are here. This is an extermination.
And we gain Joshua as a companion, while losing the ability to fast-travel. We now have to travel from the east side of the map to the west, gunning down White Legs as we go.
Joshua is, as has been stated, insanely powerful. A good portion of the next ten minutes will be spent watching him firing at and killing something we can't see.
He also occasionally yells things like, 'Yes! Yes! Die, all of you! Die!' to indicate how he's totally in control over his fragile sanity and sense of ethics.
Tum-ti-tum.
Before long, we arrive at the canyon where the White Legs make camp.
Our progress through the linear level irritates Joshua.
Bro, it's a canyon. What're you going to do, go underwater?
Despite what Joshua said, we won't ever lead the Dead Horses or Sorrows. Instead, we'll occasionally stumble across them butchering the White Legs to signify the tribals' loss of 'innocence'.
The horror, the horror.
Finally, we find Joshua again. He's busy shooting captured White Legs in the back of the head. Kneeling amongst them is Salt-Upon-Wounds.
You took advantage of us at New Canaan to drive us out, and like the dogs of Caesar you are, you followed us to Zion.
And now you stand on holy ground, a temple to God's glory on earth. But the only use for an animal in the temple is sacrifice!
Kale watcha nei conserva oh! You understand me, don't you? Don't you?
Josh Sawyer refused to tell a Formspring questioner exactly what Joshua's saying to the chief in pidgin. Whether that means it's something incredibly significant, Josh never bothered to think of something, or it's just the man being flippant, we may never know. Or care.
Sneering Imperialists always get the best lines. But we can't pass up on an opportunity for diplomacy boss-fights.
(Speech) Joshua, you've already won. Look around you. There's no need to kill him.
He has a debt to pay for what he's done and I've come to collect. And so he's chosen to cower in the water like a dumb animal.
(Speech) If what you believe is true, he'll pay for it later. The Sorrows don't need to see you do this.
I want to take from them what they took from me, from my family. In this life. I want them to suffer. I want all of them to die in fear and pain.
Sometimes I tell myself that these wild fires never stop burning. But I'm the one who starts them. Not God. Not them.
I can always see it in my mind. The warmth and the heat. It will always be a part of me. But not today.
Go. Get out of here. Go back. Back to the Great Salt Lake.
The tribal scurries fearfully away.
That's it. It's finished. Thank you for...staying with me. I couldn't have done this on my own.
If we let Salt-Upon-Wounds die, the Sorrows become a warlike and brutal tribe. It's a bit of a heavy-handed consequence, really.
Obviously, if we let Joshua go through with killing the chief, he'd revert to his old, brutal lifestyle; if we'd killed Joshua at any point during the DLC, he'd have ended up being worshipped as a god by the tribals.
Looks like our friends have left us some going-away presents.
Joshua's powerful handgun is the real find here. Etched along the sides, in Greek, are the words 'And the light shined in darkness and the dark comprehended it not.'
Sadly, you can stroll into Caesar's tent in the vanilla game, dressed in his nemesis' immediately recognisable armour and waving around his immediately recognisable gun, and he won't notice. Hurray for voice-acting!
There are scriptures too...but we leave those behind. Mojave might not be ready for Christianity just yet.
Home again.
They say that many things can change the nature of a man; but the change may not be permanent.
Joshua tried to forget what he had been, what he was capable of becoming once again - hide it behind righteous deeds and holy words. But he couldn't hold back the fire within him forever.
We are houses built upon the ruins of houses that stood, and were destroyed, long ago. We live in their shadows and their memories, unable to break free. Can we ever truly change ourselves, rid ourselves of what we once were, shed old skin, and forget?
Can we let go - or will we always live in the fallout of the past?
Begins to understand. Sees New Vegas built on Old Vegas, a caricature of what was. Sees Fallout 3, built on the ruins of what came before, unable to break free. Sees the players of the original game who were horrified by a cartoon imitation, a capering fool, of the glorious past.
You again? Who...who are you? Why can I hear your voice?
They made Harold a tree; but we planted the seed. How big can a gameworld based upon jokes and absurdities grow? How big can it grow without collapsing under the weight of justifications and excuses, explanations of what was caused by FEV and what was not, silliness and warring factions and wanamingos?
How big and how tired and how diseased can we allow it to become...before we press reset? Before we wipe the slate clean, and begin again? And how, exactly, do we go about that task?
What are...what are you saying?
Yo, Affablown! You got us our sandwiches yet, bro? We're fuckin' starving in here, man!
Fuckin' starving!
I...(sigh)...I have to go. Dwell upon my words.
I will. But who-
I will see you again, Courier...in the dust and the shadows of the Divide.
END OF HONEST HEARTS
Thus concludes the first New Vegas DLC. Where shall we head next? Should we follow the yellow brick road into Old World Blues, or carry out the heist of a century in Dead Money? You decide.
http://m.fanfiction.net/s/7365526/10/
It's actually better than the game, because it's got romance in it.
Fascinating stuff. Back to the game.
Sadly, this choice is kind of fucked up. If we'd chosen to flee Zion, we'd have got another three quests. But because we chose to fight, we get nothing. Typical left-wing libtard pacifist bias, etc, etc.
Also, Daniel gets pissed at us.
These big dramatic conversations lose a bit of their impact when one of the parties is chilling out on the floor and refusing to physically react or look at you.
Finally, we get a chance to call him out on his bullshit.
Everyone's got to grow up some time, pal.
Somehow in the middle of that conversation time has skipped forward past all the tactical planning and convincing the Sorrows to come along that we were meant to be doing, but we'll let that one slide.
And we gain Joshua as a companion, while losing the ability to fast-travel. We now have to travel from the east side of the map to the west, gunning down White Legs as we go.
Joshua is, as has been stated, insanely powerful. A good portion of the next ten minutes will be spent watching him firing at and killing something we can't see.
He also occasionally yells things like, 'Yes! Yes! Die, all of you! Die!' to indicate how he's totally in control over his fragile sanity and sense of ethics.
Tum-ti-tum.
Before long, we arrive at the canyon where the White Legs make camp.
Our progress through the linear level irritates Joshua.
Bro, it's a canyon. What're you going to do, go underwater?
Despite what Joshua said, we won't ever lead the Dead Horses or Sorrows. Instead, we'll occasionally stumble across them butchering the White Legs to signify the tribals' loss of 'innocence'.
The horror, the horror.
Finally, we find Joshua again. He's busy shooting captured White Legs in the back of the head. Kneeling amongst them is Salt-Upon-Wounds.
Josh Sawyer refused to tell a Formspring questioner exactly what Joshua's saying to the chief in pidgin. Whether that means it's something incredibly significant, Josh never bothered to think of something, or it's just the man being flippant, we may never know. Or care.
Sneering Imperialists always get the best lines. But we can't pass up on an opportunity for diplomacy boss-fights.
The tribal scurries fearfully away.
If we let Salt-Upon-Wounds die, the Sorrows become a warlike and brutal tribe. It's a bit of a heavy-handed consequence, really.
Obviously, if we let Joshua go through with killing the chief, he'd revert to his old, brutal lifestyle; if we'd killed Joshua at any point during the DLC, he'd have ended up being worshipped as a god by the tribals.
Looks like our friends have left us some going-away presents.
Joshua's powerful handgun is the real find here. Etched along the sides, in Greek, are the words 'And the light shined in darkness and the dark comprehended it not.'
Sadly, you can stroll into Caesar's tent in the vanilla game, dressed in his nemesis' immediately recognisable armour and waving around his immediately recognisable gun, and he won't notice. Hurray for voice-acting!
There are scriptures too...but we leave those behind. Mojave might not be ready for Christianity just yet.
END OF HONEST HEARTS
Thus concludes the first New Vegas DLC. Where shall we head next? Should we follow the yellow brick road into Old World Blues, or carry out the heist of a century in Dead Money? You decide.
anus_pounder
Arcane
Dead Money, plz. I genuinely think its very well written.
Yeah, Dead Money's cool, go for it!
grotsnik
Arcane
- Joined
- Jul 11, 2010
- Messages
- 1,671
DEAD MONEY
As our Courier wanders the wasteland, he picks up a mysterious series of radio signals. Inviting, yet troubling. Somehow...sinister.
All of the best casinos contain corpses and scrawled warnings on walls, we hear.
We're currently level 22. It's probably too high to present a huge challenge, and too low to let me show off all the hidden skill-based conversation options. So, in its own way, it's perfect.
We fade out into unconsciousness.
Er, shouldn't that be the other way around?
Yeah. Yeah, that line isn't great. 'Big' isn't an evocative adjective worthy of repetition, no. No, not even as understatement. Yes, we do expect better from Obsidian writing.
And we awake.
I think it's worth saying that if you don't like explicit themes, heavily underlined, you may not care for this DLC.
Elijah is actually probably the DLC character best connected with the main game, though references to him are less immediately obvious than those to Joshua and Ulysses. The bomb collars are an obvious clue to his identity, though we can discover the most about him by chatting with Veronica.
Anyway, our first job is to raid the fountain for the casino chips that have been left there. For the duration of the DLC, these will be our only available method of spending money, so we really ought to pick them up whenever we can.
And here we see perhaps the biggest flaw with Dead Money; the scenery of the first two sections, set in the model village surrounding the casino. It's appropriately grim, oppressive and atmospheric, for which I have only praise...but it is also very monotonous.
Meet the Ghost People. They're good for a scare.
The DLC' s only really uniform enemies are also the least of the adventure's threats. Their gimmick is that, should you down them, they'll lie unconscious for a few moments before rising back up again - unless you dismember them. Since you can quite easily just equip a melee weapon and hack at them on the ground until they lose a limb, this quickly becomes a non-issue - and if you equip the Police Pistol, which gives you a bonus crit chance, or get Dog to teach you his devouring trick, you'll find yourself taking off their heads pretty much every time.
Of more worry to us are the many floor-traps that occur later on, which blend in with the dull, gloomy surroundings (the Light Step perk's for pussies) and the Cloud, a toxic gas cloud which erodes your health once you enter it. Since Cloud areas are often mandatory, and exits in the model village are often hidden behind quadrangle pillars, (besides which the purple fog makes it harder to see where you're going) if you're a spaz like me, you may well find yourself entering the Cloud, then running round in a blind panic looking for the way out as your health depletes.
And then there are the radiowave signals, which can set off your bomb collar, giving you a limited time to either get out of the signal range or disable the transmitter. There are radios which can be turned off manually, transmitters which can only be destroyed with firepower, and transmitters which simply cannot be destroyed. Got all of that? Good.
In the abandoned police station, on the west side of town, we find our first companion. He sits, patiently, in a cage, muttering to himself, and does not appear to notice us. The cage key is nowhere to be found.
As we descend into the basement...we hear another voice. Growling, yet measured.
On the basement table lies an audio-recording. We pick it up and return to the cage. As it plays, the beast in the cave shifts, and stands. Its voice alters, taking on the tones we heard in the basement - and unless we're imagining things, it even grows in size.
Dog/God has a bear-trap attached to his wrist, you see, in the same place we have our Pip-Boy. It's one of the many digs the DLC makes at quest markers.
Students of ethics will note that this is not the intended purpose of a conscience.
One of the nice things about Dead Money is that skill-check conversation options aren't all necessarily insta-win (though, yes, the vast majority of them are). Some of them will piss off characters and at least one of them, if succeeded, will cause a companion to betray us later on.
Hey, that sounds like Helios One!
As you can probably tell, Dead Money has a lot of dialogue, much of it locked away. I'll try and get as much of it in as possible without it killing the pace, but it really should be seen for yourself.
MCA, if you're reading this, this is exactly the sort of unwelcoming RPG attitude that Mike Laidlaw's always complaining about. How can I be sure what the consequences of my playing the audio tape would be? It just isn't clear enough. May I suggest a big icon with a furious-looking Super Mutant ripping off my head on it? Or better yet, just remove the option to play it! Instead, God can turn into Dog at certain pre-scripted moments as he fights against the oppression of the Templars and works his way up to the epic, shocking climax when he destroys....hurrrugugh....derppprrr....
God gives us a bonus to stealth, and a perk that makes us less likely to set off traps; he's pretty weak in combat, though, compared to Dog who's a Ghost Person murdering-machine. Fascinatingly, despite them being the same person, God is slightly bigger than Dog in-game. Both of them have a habit of getting in your way in doorways.
NEXT TIME: We encounter some more suspiciously-familiar characters, learn how to use a vending machine, and use the Perception skill for completely the wrong purpose!
anus_pounder
Arcane
Passing skill check = betrayal had me raging the first time I played this DLC. I was going for a goody-goody perfect ending and realized my only save game before that point was a full 2 hours BEFORE I even started the DLC. Naturally I replayed the DLC anyway, because MCA.
Dead Money is and the best DLC out of the four. Honest Hearts just comes across as a cheap Native Americans and cowboys story.
Actually, wouldn't allowing the players to accurately pin point the effects of their actions, turn the game into too mechanical? I think when unintentional consequences and repercussions are done properly, they are very interesting. As long as such decision making, in this case playing the tape, doesn't fatally ends your character, I think it's perfectly fine.
and the best DLC out of the four. Honest Hearts just comes across as a cheap Native Americans and cowboys story.grotsnik said:
Actually, wouldn't allowing the players to accurately pin point the effects of their actions, turn the game into too mechanical? I think when unintentional consequences and repercussions are done properly, they are very interesting. As long as such decision making, in this case playing the tape, doesn't fatally ends your character, I think it's perfectly fine.
grotsnik
Arcane
- Joined
- Jul 11, 2010
- Messages
- 1,671
Peter said:
Well, arguably, no. The Ghost People always show up as hostile long before you get to them, so they can't even really provide a quick 'oh, shit, where did that come from?' jolt in the same way as, say, those Spore Carrier things turning up out of nowhere. Once you've picked up on the process of perm-killing them, they're not a huge threat.
The 'survival' aspect is there (ammo is scarce-ish, at least in comparison to the main game, resting is not allowed) - but it can be broken so long as you remember to pick up plenty of chips. First time around, I was fucking about and wasted a lot of ammo, resulting in a good panicky section when I got stuck using a melee weapon on my gunslinger without a great deal of health left and without a vending machine in sight, but by the end I still came back to the Mojave with a ton of stimpaks and pocketfuls of Magnum rounds.
Here's what MCA had to say about it:
Crazy Loon said:
Sorry, bro, that part was meant to be sarcastic. Clearly didn't come across too well.
grotsnik
Arcane
- Joined
- Jul 11, 2010
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- 1,671
Back out in the open, we have a word with the big lug for some good old-fashioned lore masturbation.
Interesting. Let's try bringing Dog out of the cage.
As God indicated, Dog is fearful and a little hateful towards him, for forcing him to disobey; his self-mutilations are part of a crude attempt to force 'the other voice' out of him. If our Intelligence is low enough, we'll be able to communicate more effectively with him, chatting about his days in the Cathedral with the Master. Let's see how he fares in combat.
When Dog takes down a Ghost Person, he 'devours' them.
I'm usually happy with the NV Intelligence choices, but this one annoyed me. It has that Fallout 3 vibe of (Intelligence) 'I'll repeat what you just said using slightly longer words!'
Yeah, don't worry, Dog. The Courier's just being a dick.
Thanks to Dog's expertise, we're now more likely to explode Ghost People and take them out permanently. We'll be heading to the Residential district next, to pick up our next companion, but first let's stock up on goods.
The most useful items require a recipe, located somewhere in the DLC, for us to craft them via the vending machine; dross items, like Junk Food, are there automatically.
As we enter the Residential district, Elijah barks out a warning:
As you can probably tell, this first 'gather your crew' section is also used to showcase the adventure's main threats without it being too blatant a 'tutorial'.
As we enter the Residential district, we catch sight of a curious figure, perched high above...
Dean actually monologues to himself as you try and get to him, commenting on your progress and speculating on your motives, but he's rather quiet and the subtitles don't seem to pick up on it until we finally reach him.
Well, this guy's definitely on our side.
As we approach, the stylishly-attired ghoul suggests we take a seat.
Dean has one of those nasal, laconic, over-pronounced British accents that are rarely to be found anywhere in Britain or outside of fiction; his voice actor's turned up in all manner of things, though Codexers may know him best as Loghaire from Arcanum.
He also says 'ass' instead of 'arse', which is immensely disconcerting. America, why u no bother doing basic research?
I think it's fair to say, Elijah, that if two out of the four stooges you've gathered together for a heist have already come up with a trap to kill you before the team's even assembled, it doesn't bode well for your future.
Our Barter skill's not high enough to challenge this, so we'll co-operate. But here's what would have happened if we had 50 points in it:
And so Dean feels like he's been made a fool of, as if we're smarter than he is to have figured it out, and, perhaps most importantly, we've ruined his little 'I'm in charge here' monologue - which means he'll see us as a competitor for the treasure and try to kill us at the end. I like that.
Anyway, we can't choose that, so we play ball instead.
Side with the guy who wants to blow our head off or the guy who wants to blow our arse off? Ah, the agony of choice.
If Dean's in our party, then we gain some resistance against the Cloud's damage. We send him on to the fountain and make for the Clinic, where our final companion awaits.
Elijah warns us about the loudspeakers in this area.
God/Dog probably has the most annoying on-loop catchphrases. I don't even understand this one. Is he threatening me? Why?
These corpses appear to have been mutilated relatively recently. Curious.
This corridor contains a long line of Auto-Docs, which can repair any injured limbs. Unfortunately, the end of the corridor is blocked off by an unbreakable loudspeaker, so to get through, we'll have to switch off the power via the basement.
If we didn't have a high enough Lockpick skill, we'd have to head up onto the second floor and tangle with the holograms up there to get the basement key. We'll encounter holograms soon enough, so I'm not too fussed about seeing them now, though they are pretty neat; if they see you, they'll point an accusing finger at you and make a shrill noise, Invasion of the Body Snatchers-style, before attacking.
We can also (usually) deal with them by either disabling their emitters, which requires a Repair check, a Science check or, er, hitting them with things, or by resetting them via a terminal to patrol on a different floor.
Disabling the Clinic's power, we return to the corridor, where we discover a mysteriously malfunctioning Auto-Doc...
GET OUT OF THE WAY, GOD!
I do like Christine; first as a character concept, and second as an ingenious way of saving on voice-acting costs. Anyway, let's head back to the Fountain-
Whenever Christine's with us, we have more time to find a speaker before it triggers our bomb collars - so all of the companions have their own advantages against one of the DLC's main four threats.
It's also worth saying that the way skill checks are used in Christine's dialogues are pretty cool. The 'failed' dialogue options indicate that the player sort-of knows what she's getting at with her sign language, but doesn't have the specific knowledge needed to properly communicate with her.
On the other hand, a few of them require Perception, which is a total cheat - Perception's meant to be about spotting things, not about insight.
As we return to the Fountain, our companions can talk to each other. Here's God showing off his charming way with the ladies.
Elijah's pleased to see us, at least...
NEXT TIME: Epic, visceral, majestic, cinematic sign-language sequences!
Yeah, Dead Money really is great.
Awesome LP, grotley-sama!
Awesome LP, grotley-sama!
Eh, you silly Brits and your unwholesome rain addiction...
Some great and funny writing in this LP - almost makes me think you should try your hand at one of those LP text-only circlejerk thingies; just think of the glory and prestige that could be yours!
laclongquan
Arcane
:thumbup:
grotsnik
Arcane
- Joined
- Jul 11, 2010
- Messages
- 1,671
When we left off, Elijah was busy explaining the grand plan to us.
The owner of the Sierra Madre...for whatever reason...keyed the Grand Opening to the Gala Event itself.
So, get your team into the positions indicated on your Pip-Boy, then trigger it properly.
You're so close now - don't let me down. Or I'll have to rely on the next team.
Gee, it's really easy to take your assertion seriously that you'll let us go once we've broken into the casino when you start talking like that.
What was that?
What is the Gala Event?
A display of lights, fireworks, music in the streets - a Pre-War festival to mark the casino's opening. The bombs struck first.
How am I supposed to get to the markers on my map?
I've unlocked the West and East gates to Puesta del Sol and Salida del Sol. Now that you've survived the Villa, I need to get to my position - you don't need me holding your hand any more.
Oh, ho ho.
Like Elijah says, the two 'outer' areas of the model village open up, exposing us to more traps, more smog and more Ghost People. There's also a bit more exploration - much of the danger can be avoided by working your way up onto the rooftops, for instance.
Sometimes the graffiti is actually quite cute.
As we reach the switching station with God, our big blue pal starts getting uppity.
These switches won't move themselves, after all...there must be some trick to it. Now that I'm here, what do you expect me to do?
I'm not sure if it actually blocks any of our options off, but if we'd got God/Dog out of the cage in the police station by waking up Dog, we'd get some more dialogue here from God telling us how he doesn't trust us.
If you want me to remain, then I'll need to stay aware - enough to operate the switches properly.
I...we just need to make sure that Dog doesn't surface before that happens. To do that...he'll need to be fed. That makes him stay in the Cage.
Find some of the inhabitants...it'll take some hunting on your part. Kill them, take some of the remains inside them, bring it back here.
Each of the companions has a little mini-quest at this point to convince them to stay at their post (alternatively, you can cajole or force them into doing it, though for obvious reasons this will piss them off). Despite what God says, they're all very quick and simple - in this instance, two Ghost People Harvesters spawn just past the other end of the courtyard.
Here you go, pal.
You're good at fetching...this should keep him where he belongs. For now. I'll wait...send the signal, I'll be ready.
One down, two to go.
Dean's post is up on the rooftops overlooking the casino.
What's that there...wiring? Looks...looks like it's tied to the sound system in the Villa, except for that snipped section there.
So what...I stand here, hold the two ends in my hands, and tap them together like cymbals?
Yes. Yes, one of the 'essential' roles in the heist that couldn't possibly be performed by a robot could be easily solved with a pair of rubber boots or some electrical tape.
That's the plan. Are you going to be able to do it safely?
Well...'safely'? Around here, that word doesn't come cheap.
Look...I strike up the speaker system, there's going to be ghosts all over the place. Any change in the sounds around here...
There are two terminals that activate the hologram systems; as we open one of them, we find something extremely intriguing:
Sounds like Sinclair, the mastermind behind the casino, didn't get along too well with Dean. Vera, the drugged-up lady mentioned in the journal entry, is the singer whose hologram can be seen at the entrance; Sinclair was, it seems, immensely devoted to her.
We activate the holograms and go back to tell Dean.
I think the speech check pisses him off, but I can't be sure. So instead we convince him with good old Repair, and head back to the fountain to find Christine.
(Christine is looking at the Fountain, her eyes narrowed. She then scans the courtyard perimeter, gauging the distance.)
(She glances at your wrist, then back at the Fountain.)
(Science) You think he's using the Pip-Boy? To establish the projector connection?
(She nods, and raises her hands, palms facing each other, then rotates in an 180 degree arc and back again.)
He's broadcasting from the casino.
Hmm.
If we chat to Christine thoroughly, we can dig up all kinds of information - the ability to counterfeit casino chips on a workbench, for one. We also learn that she, too, wants Elijah dead, and implies that he cut her off from a female lover (who is, lore fans will be delighted to know, none other than Felicia 'Tallis' Day's Veronica).
Christine's position appears to be in some kind of old power station.
As we near the elevator where she's meant to take her place, she too gets cold feet, though her problem is at least more reasonable than Dean's cowardice; she's suffering from claustrophobia from her time locked in the Auto-Doc.
If we're feeling sadistic, we can essentially shove Christine into the elevator and force her to do our bidding. Seeing as the alternative is passing a Science check on a terminal that's literally two feet away, we take the safe route, hack the terminal, and set it up so that Christine can operate it remotely from up here.
I've found a way to do the bypass from up here. You should be able to just use the terminal over there.
(Christine nods gratefully. She glances in the direction of the terminal, looks at you, smiles, gives a thumbs up.)
(She nods, then gestures at your hand, offers hers.)
(Take her hand.)
(She holds it, meeting your eyes intently for a few moments. She gives your hand a gentle squeeze, then releases it and smiles slightly.)
We'll get through this.
(She narrows her eyes, determined, and gives a last nod.)
Everyone's in place...apart from me. I need to get to the belltower and trigger the Gala Event.
It should be noted at this point, for the benefit of people asking if this DLC really was survival horror, that I currently have over 200 pistol bullets alone, and 40 stimpaks, without ever using Christine's chip-constructing perk. Everything does get harder from here on out, but still.
Reaching the bell-tower, we climb to the top. The village looks deserted from up here. Silent...peaceful.
(You hear a tapping from the speaker...a series of sharp taps, then a slow, two taps.)
Christine? We're almost ready here.
(A single tap comes from the speaker, then silence.)
Ready. The both of us. I'll keep Dog locked in his cage...you just open the Sierra Madre.
What are you waiting for? Strike up the band already.
Careful when you do...you think the Villa's bad now, you haven't seen anything.
I'm ready - everyone, trigger the event.
The sky lights up with fireworks; celebratory music blares through the streets. And it appears that...uh-oh.
Ghost People swarm through the streets, heading in the direction of the hypnotic sound.
Oh, shit...there's...too many of them!
Oh, God, oh God, if there's someone out there, then don't let me die here...please, don't let me die here...
...please?
Suddenly, on the rooftops overlooking the town, a dramatic silhouette appears.
Did someone call for a hero?
Tim Cain? You're...you're back?
Oh, I'm back, baby. And I'm all levelled up.
You Ghost People don't stand a *ghost* of a chance against me!
(Aiiiee! Tim Cain! Run for your life!)
Oh-ho? So you think you can run from the wrath of Cain?
In vain, the masked phantoms attempt to flee; but Tim just has too many action points.
(Aiiee!) (Dies.)
Tim, that was...incredible. What're you doing here?
I come bearing a message for you, Courier - from Chris Avellone. He's been trying to contact you.
Then my visions were...oh, I see! What does he want from me?
He wants your help, Courier. You've seen what Fallout's turned into, the great bloated franchise it's become; and Chris feels he's partly to blame. The lulzy elements of Fallout 2 that upset the delicate tone of the original? They planted the seed that became the uncohesive, random 'hilarity' of Fallout 3. They let impurities crept into Van Buren - real-time with pause, 3D isometric - and slowly it slipped away from them. And now, the ignominy of creating a new Fallout game...like this. In fucking Gamebryo, the shadow of Bethesda's foul and monstrous creation.
So that's what he meant...about wiping the slate clean. He wants to nuke the setting?
He thinks he can try. But it won't work; it'll require narrative justification for having a very large quantity of nuclear bombs turn up out of nowhere, unexploded and ready to fire, which is just stupid. And no matter what he does, it'll only be a choice at the end of an expansion's DLC. He won't be able to make it canon, or blow up as much as he'd like. Bethesda, Interplay - they'd never let him destroy Fallout for good. It's a lunatic's plan, Courier.
And what do you think, Tim? Would you see your creation wiped out to start all over again? Could you let go of Fallout?
Could you, child? In truth...my game slipped away from me long ago. When Bethesda beat Troika to the rights, when the big-shots began to tear Fallout 2 from our grasp...when I turned my back upon the world and my past glories and vanished into exile at Carbine Studios.
In all I see, there is greed, and the weight of history. In the words of Jeffrey Katzenberg - like lemmings, we are all racing faster and faster into the sea, each of us trying to outrun and outspend and out-earn the other in a mad sprint towards the mirage of making the next blockbuster. No matter how many games Obsidian make from now on, the first Internet comment beneath the announcement will read, 'LOL buggy shite!'. No matter how long Bioware stumbles on for, every one of their games will have to contain romances from now on. We cannot escape this relentless progress, this expansion and this dilution...unless we destroy it all, and for good. Wipe out the past, wipe out the memories of the past and the ruins of the past, destroy it all, leave no trace of what once was.
Nuke the entire CRPG genre, and begin again, perhaps a little wiser.
But how would you even go about-
I have to go, I'm afraid. Good luck, Courier. Your prestigious magazine, 'RPG Codex' is the last hope for the genre, I've always thought. Actually, I've got a browser tab open - if you've got a sec, I can show you what I mean-
NO, TIM! DON'T LOOK!
I...er. A Skyrim thread. Oh, and look, there's another. And...another. And another. And another. And...
...
...well, uh, anyway, like I said, good luck.
NEXT TIME: We enter the Sierra Madre!
Oh, ho ho.
Like Elijah says, the two 'outer' areas of the model village open up, exposing us to more traps, more smog and more Ghost People. There's also a bit more exploration - much of the danger can be avoided by working your way up onto the rooftops, for instance.
Sometimes the graffiti is actually quite cute.
As we reach the switching station with God, our big blue pal starts getting uppity.
I'm not sure if it actually blocks any of our options off, but if we'd got God/Dog out of the cage in the police station by waking up Dog, we'd get some more dialogue here from God telling us how he doesn't trust us.
Each of the companions has a little mini-quest at this point to convince them to stay at their post (alternatively, you can cajole or force them into doing it, though for obvious reasons this will piss them off). Despite what God says, they're all very quick and simple - in this instance, two Ghost People Harvesters spawn just past the other end of the courtyard.
Here you go, pal.
One down, two to go.
Dean's post is up on the rooftops overlooking the casino.
Yes. Yes, one of the 'essential' roles in the heist that couldn't possibly be performed by a robot could be easily solved with a pair of rubber boots or some electrical tape.
There are two terminals that activate the hologram systems; as we open one of them, we find something extremely intriguing:
Sounds like Sinclair, the mastermind behind the casino, didn't get along too well with Dean. Vera, the drugged-up lady mentioned in the journal entry, is the singer whose hologram can be seen at the entrance; Sinclair was, it seems, immensely devoted to her.
We activate the holograms and go back to tell Dean.
I think the speech check pisses him off, but I can't be sure. So instead we convince him with good old Repair, and head back to the fountain to find Christine.
Hmm.
If we chat to Christine thoroughly, we can dig up all kinds of information - the ability to counterfeit casino chips on a workbench, for one. We also learn that she, too, wants Elijah dead, and implies that he cut her off from a female lover (who is, lore fans will be delighted to know, none other than Felicia 'Tallis' Day's Veronica).
Christine's position appears to be in some kind of old power station.
As we near the elevator where she's meant to take her place, she too gets cold feet, though her problem is at least more reasonable than Dean's cowardice; she's suffering from claustrophobia from her time locked in the Auto-Doc.
If we're feeling sadistic, we can essentially shove Christine into the elevator and force her to do our bidding. Seeing as the alternative is passing a Science check on a terminal that's literally two feet away, we take the safe route, hack the terminal, and set it up so that Christine can operate it remotely from up here.
It should be noted at this point, for the benefit of people asking if this DLC really was survival horror, that I currently have over 200 pistol bullets alone, and 40 stimpaks, without ever using Christine's chip-constructing perk. Everything does get harder from here on out, but still.
Reaching the bell-tower, we climb to the top. The village looks deserted from up here. Silent...peaceful.
The sky lights up with fireworks; celebratory music blares through the streets. And it appears that...uh-oh.
Ghost People swarm through the streets, heading in the direction of the hypnotic sound.
Suddenly, on the rooftops overlooking the town, a dramatic silhouette appears.
In vain, the masked phantoms attempt to flee; but Tim just has too many action points.
NEXT TIME: We enter the Sierra Madre!
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