Fallout: New Vegas - Old World Blues

Moby ID: 53029
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$1.99 new on Steam

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Fallout: New Vegas - Old World Blues is the third DLC (direct download content) for Fallout: New Vegas. This time the protagonist visits an old research crater named Big MT in which the greatest minds of the USA were supposed to research in a perfect environment. As expected this doesn't go well for long and so the most new content deals with the subject "mad science".

Besides the story missions the DLC adds new enemies, new perks, new equipment to tinker with and an increased level cap by five. The new area has to be completed before coming back to the main game.

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Reviews

Critics

Average score: 82% (based on 29 ratings)

Players

Average score: 3.5 out of 5 (based on 16 ratings with 2 reviews)

For science!

The Good
Old World Blues involves a trip to a long-forgotten research base, where Real Scientists do Real Science - though the scientists in question are little more than bickering brains in jars. And speaking of brains in jars: your brain, spine and lungs all appear to have gone walkabouts, so you'll have to do a few quests for the scientists to get them back...

OWB is easily the most entertaining area in New Vegas; there's a very strong 50s pulp sci-fi theme running through the entire DLC, and for all that there's some fairly grim backstories and set-pieces to uncover, the characters (including a set of AI personalities inhabiting the appliances in your apartment) all manage to walk the line between being cliched and comedic, thanks in no small part to some excellent voicework. It also manages to be more visually varied than the other DLCs, both in terms of landscape and building layouts.

It's not a particularly easy area though, with a number of unique and tough enemies to deal with, from zombies in spacesuits to lobotomised, crazy workers and heavily armoured robo-scorpions. Thankfully, there's a wealth of new toys to be found, including some of the most powerful weapons in the game, and a new stealth suit which comes with some interesting new features, including a slightly neurotic AI personality!

Overall, of the four DLC packs, this is the one I'd wholeheartedly recommend to people.



The Bad
Alas, the Fallout 3 curse strikes again, as there's two fairly glaring bugs in this DLC.

The first lies in the "merchant" AI in your apartment; if you spend too much money on repairs with him, the game gets confused and won't give you any money back when you sell things back to him. There's a workaround of sorts (wait 3 days outside the apartment, then return; he'll then have 14,000 caps available), but it's cumbersome and only partially addresses the issue as you'll have to keep returning and draining his caps until he's back under his 14,000 cap limit.

The second lies in the conversation that you can have once you catch up with your brain; one of the main conversation trees is bugged and goes into an infinite loop. Thankfully, it's possible to achieve the desired result without going down that branch, but it's a fairly glaring bug!

Still, neither of these are show-stoppers, and the excellent writing and voice work more than compensates...

The Bottom Line
Easily the best DLC for New Vegas!

Xbox 360 · by Jamie Mann (17) · 2015

More Linear than the Root Game but Fun.

The Good
In the beginning, You are introduced to group of scientists who have shed their bodies and now float in mobile brain capsules. Their quarrels are humorous and set the story. They need you to stop a nemesis who strongly resembles a verbose bad guy from an old movie. You've been recruited, despite your hideous human body.

While set in the style of New Vegas, You'll not be conversing with anyone bipedal in this adventure. Thats part of the fun. The humor is ratcheted up a bit as you see scientists in the Think Tank try to communicate with you.

When you start this game, they recommend that you are at least 15. This is because its a bit tougher than the Mojave desert. This is a good thing because the bad guys are smarter and tougher. You'll find yourself running and gunning a great deal more.

If you have been playing a diplomatic character, you're going to have a much harder time exploring the Big Mountain.

The shining point of the game is the various personalities you eventually encounter. My favorite is Muggy, with a very loud preoccupation.

Once you complete the primary mission, you can revisit Big Mountain any time you want to get weapons and to be treated for injuries for free.

The Bad
Since I loved New Vegas, I really enjoyed this game, but I wish I had more warning that it was a tougher shootout than the base game.

I also wish it was less linear and had more choices, like the root game. The graphics were not marginally improved for the game area.

The Bottom Line
I genuinely liked it. It was definitely in the spirit of Black Isles with its zany approach to missions and quests. The weapons were unique too.

Xbox 360 · by Scott Monster (986) · 2012

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Game added by Patrick Bregger.

Game added October 6, 2011. Last modified March 17, 2024.