Fallout: New Vegas – Lonesome Road DLC Review

The End is nigh. The final downloadable content for Fallout: New Vegas is out and it is a fitting end for the Vegas themed game. Lonesome Road will finally answer the many questions regarding Ulysses and what plans he holds in store for both you, and the Mojave.

Does the final chapter of New Vegas soar higher than ever before or does it sink below the boiling oceans? Read on and you shall find the answer you’re looking for.

HOT

Story
The real draw of Lonesome Road is the story. You must trek to the treacherous “Divide” where you encounter the original Courier who was supposed to deliver the Platinum Chip but refused, insisting the player take the job. You find out many things about Ulysses including his origins, his allegiances, and even his connection to you. This is a satisfying reveal since they’ve been teasing Ulysses since before the DLC’s even came out. Along the way you are re-introduced to ED-E. Rather, a clone of him that has been through a lot since his early days with the Enclave. Despite ED-E being an eyebot only capable of bleeps and bloops he plays audio logs at different points in the story. This form of communication makes you feel sorry for everything the little robot has been through, and once you near the end are forced with a decision that is a really difficult one.

Depending on your alliances in the main quest you can make major changes to the Mojave and the outlying areas. Unlike previous DLC’s your dialogue choices have weight to them and what you think is the right thing to say is quite the opposite.

Weapons
Like previous DLC’s you can find new weapons in The Divide and they are quite fun. Ranging from a simple Laser Detonator to a powerful rocket launcher titled “Red Glare”. The new shoulder mounted minigun makes decimating your enemies short ranged or long extremely fun and easy.  The Plasma defender is a unique mix of “That Gun” and a plasma pistol and can make a real dent in foes if they aren’t careful. The “Arc Welder” works like a lightning variant of the Flamer and can come in handy when exploring the dangerous Divide. A couple uniques that are a welcome relief are the Flare Gun and Flashbang. Both of these are mainly meant to scare off the enemies you encounter and buy yourself some time to get your bearings.

New Baddies
The two new enemies being introduced in Lonesome Road are the Tunnelers and Marked Men. The tunnelers are described as vicious creatures who can tear about anything. In fact the first thing of them you see is one of them killing a deathclaw, considered to be one of if not the toughest mutant in the wasteland. Unlike other enemies they come from below hence the name “Tunneler”. It’s said that this new threat will soon emerge in the Mojave and tear a line of death along it. They look like Silurians (Doctor Who) but they maneuver and attack like the trogs from The Pitt. The Marked Men on the other hand, are completely different. They are humans who have been exposed to the dangerous environment of the Divide. You are told by Ulysses that the Divide has ripped nearly everything away from them including their own flesh. Surprisingly they look like Red Skull from Captain America and are pretty much held together by the vast radiation in the area. The Marked Men in general are a nod to the original designs for the ghouls of Fallout 1 when they were called “Bloodmen”.

With the Marked Men the true power of the Divide is shown as it’s turned NCR and Legion troops who are sworn enemies and turned them into allies to fight everything the Divide could throw at them. The Tunnelers however were “born when the bombs fell” and like I said earlier, are extremely tough.

NOT

Replayability
Like Operation Anchorage in Fallout 3, there really isn’t much to go back to once you complete the main quest. Even while doing the main quest there is barely anything to do except keep moving to your destination. Because of the way the story wraps up there is also a feeling of not needing or wanting to go back as well. It seems that the Divide may be the loneliest place in the Fallout universe since there is essentially no life to it.

Lacking Compared to OWB
Unfortunately, Lonesome Road feels like it wasn’t finished or stagnated for awhile. The extremely linear progression style makes you yearn for more of what you got in Old World Blues and even Honest Hearts. While I’m not saying the game is shallow it is however, empty. In OWB you had all of the Big Empty to explore and uncover. In Lonesome Road you are exploring makeshift homes and shattered buildings that have just as much as this add-on: not a lot. It seems that the only thing going for Lonesome Road is the payoff of Ulysses and the implementation of new weapons and enemies.

Verdict

Fallout New Vegas: Lonesome Road is a fitting end for the story of the courier but due to the lack of content/replayability it is a disappointment following the hugely successful Old World Blues. While the story and some of the characters will have you enjoying the experience the rest of the add-on will make that feeling of satisfaction and enjoyment will quickly fade. This is best for those who are heavy duty Fallout fans and those who can look past the problems in the downloadable content.

[Editor’s Note: Lonesome Road DLC was played on a Xbox 360 hardware. The DLC was provided to us by the publisher for review purposes.]