NMA Fallout: New Vegas Dead Money Review

Brother None

This ghoul has seen it all
Orderite
We're all anxiously awaiting word of the next New Vegas DLC. It's been a while since Dead Money, and we certainly took our time reviewing it, but if you've been holding off on purchasing and your curiosity is up with the next one around the corner, read on.<blockquote>Dead Money introduces two new enemy types that will stand in the player's path and progress during the Dead Money campaign;
The mysterious Ghost People, strange beings trapped in hazardous environment suits, that may be the descendants of some of the Pre War workers who were employed at the Sierra Madre during the time the bombs fell, and the Sierra Madre's own security system; holographic guards.

The first several times the player engages the Ghost People they can not be killed in the conventional way, just because the player has drained their health and thrown them on the ground does not mean that the Ghost People are dead. Given time they will regenerate and get back up to continue their assault. The only way to permanently kill them is to decapitate them or cut/shoot heir head, arm or leg off. After the player has met Dog/God he can teach the player how to kill Ghost People without having to decapitate them.

While most of the Sierra Madre's Villa structures and technologies have decayed over time, the security system is still functions well, built to last much longer than its surroundings. As the Sierra Madre is still on lock down some of the systems identify the player or anyone else it encounters as intruders that need to be dealt with.

Unlike the Ghost People, the holograms can not be destroyed by a direct attack (there are no pulse grenades), being made up of light after all, while they can cause severe damage once they have detected the player. The player needs to change their patrol paths through computer controls or find their emitter and shut it down to permanently disable the hologram.

Outside of these active threats the Sierra Madre Villa and casino also has a large number of other dangers the player needs to be careful for. Various traps that have been set up by the Ghost People or earlier visitors to the Sierra Madre who wanted to take out their competitors but which sometimes also ended up killing the people who placed them. The damaged intercom and communication grid as well as partly working radios are also a threat to the player and his/her companions, these systems in general have ceased working properly but still transmit waste noise on frequencies that interfere with the bomb collars the player and the companions have been forced to wear by Elder Elijah. Getting too close to a working speaker or radio can trigger the bomb prematurely and the player only has a small window of time in order to find the speaker or radio and shut it off or destroy it before the bomb detonates.</blockquote>
 
Any future review will be faster, I promise.
Was busy with a school project that took more time than I anticipated.
 
Thanks but some of the praise should also go to BN who helped me edit this and Leon who gave me suggestions here and there.

Apparently I did miss the few tracks that were new, I was so busy playing the game that I never took the time to listen.
 
Great review TDG. You really hit the nail on the head with this one, I think this is the first Dead Money review I've seen that hasn't criticized it for being "too hard".
 
Quite good, glad to see it posted at last. Decent screenshots, too. I'm lookin' forward to your next review. :P
 
But is it worth $10 USD or is it better just to wait for all the DLC to be bundled together? Your review appeared to be favorable to the expansion but is it something I should play right now? (Yeah, I know it's been out for a while but I was waiting for this review.)

Edit: Also, what level should my character be at before attempting to go to the Sierra Madre? A range is fine.
 
Courier,

It honestly wasn't that hard, its a lot of trial and error with the occasional timed run to get to a point fast, but that is what games are about.

Same for the Ghost People and the Holograms, once you have figured them out you adapt your approach to them.


VRaptor117,

Well it depends on if you want more story stuff and exploration.
IMO you should go for it as I found it worth $10, especially if I compare to other DLCs I have been trying in the last couple of months.
At least I got 7/8 hours of entertainment of this the first time I played it.

What level?
Well the DLC recommends at least level 20.
On top of that I recommend a high lock picking skill, repair skill, computer skill, and you would not do bad investing into survival and melee weapons either.
 
That's what I thought too, that's why I thought it was odd so many reviewers were complaining that it was too hard. There must be too much thinking involved for the console crowd to enjoy it.
 
Back
Top