Fallout: New Vegas - Three DLCs Detailed

[Dhruin]

Bethsoft has announced three DLC packs for Fallout: New Vegas, with the first due May 17th and the others in June and July:

BETHESDA SOFTWORKS REVEALS DOWNLOADABLE CONTENT PLANS FOR FALLOUT®: NEW VEGAS™ ​

Three Additional Add-on Packs Releasing in Coming Months
for Xbox 360, PlayStation®3 system and Windows PCs​

May 3, 2011 (Rockville, MD) – Bethesda Softworks®, a ZeniMax® Media company, today announced three downloadable content packs will be released in the coming months for Fallout®: New Vegas™. The three packs will be released simultaneously for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, and Windows-based PCs.
Honest Hearts™, Old World Blues™ and Lonesome Road™ will further expand upon Fallout: New Vegas. Fallout: New Vegas takes all the action, humor and post-apocalyptic grime and grit of this legendary series, and raises the stakes.
Available on May 17, Honest Hearts takes you on an expedition to the unspoiled wilderness of Utah’s Zion National Park. Things go horribly wrong when your caravan is ambushed by a tribal raiding band. As you try to find a way back to the Mojave, you become embroiled in a war between tribes and a conflict between a New Canaanite missionary and the mysterious Burned Man. The decisions you make will determine the fate of Zion.
In Old World Blues, releasing in June, you will discover how some of the Mojave’s mutated monsters came to be when you unwittingly become a lab rat in a science experiment gone awry. You’ll need to scour the Pre-War research centers of the Big Empty in search of technology to turn the tables on your kidnappers or join forces with them against an even greater threat.
Lonesome Road, available in July, brings the courier’s story full circle when you are contacted by the original Courier Six, a man by the name of Ulysses who refused to deliver the Platinum Chip at the start of New Vegas. In his transmission, Ulysses promises the answer as to why, but only if you take one last job –a job that leads you into the depths of the hurricane-swept canyons of the Divide, a landscape torn apart by earthquakes and violent storms. The road to the Divide is a long and treacherous one, and of the few to ever walk the road, none have ever returned.
Reviews of Fallout: New Vegas have called the game as “an utterly essential purchase” (MSN UK) and as “addictively, rambunctiously fun” (Entertainment Weekly). The Associated Press awarded it a 4 out of 4 stars and said “Bottom Line: It’s a Blast”, while GameSpy gave it 4.5 out of 5 stars and called Fallout: New Vegas “one of the best games of the year.”
All downloadable content for Fallout: New Vegas will be available for download on Xbox LIVE® for 800 Microsoft Points, the PlayStation®Network for $9.99, and both Steam and Direct2Drive for $9.99.
Published by Bethesda Softworks and developed at Obsidian Entertainment, Dead Money, Honest Hearts, Old World Blues, Lonesome Road, and Fallout: New Vegas have been rated M for Mature by the ESRB. For more information on Fallout: New Vegas, including the game’s downloadable content, please visit http://fallout.bethsoft.com.

More information.

 

[jhwisner]

I like that, unlike Fallout 3 addons, these do seem to be fleshing out elements already touched on in the main game. The places and characters involved (the big empty, the great divide, Ulysees/original courier six, etc.) all play important roles in the back-story of characters and the plot of the original game or were at least interesting hooks already present. The only thing that will really bother me is that I doubt they will have the original characters react sufficiently to the plot developments and interactions involved in the DLC.

Spoiler: spoiler

For example, it was nice that Veronica reacted to you meeting and contending with Elijah but her response felt somewhat insufficient given how important he was to her - and the apparent fact that the scribe you work with in that DLC was her former lover makes the scope of her reaction feel all the more underwhelming. It would have been far more interesting and satisfying if she could have come with you. Even a reaction from her or other companions to your absence and what happened in the bunker would have been nice at least.

Basically BECAUSE these addons feel far less tacked on and inserted and revolve around places and people mentioned in the original story, they seem to demand more of a response and reaction from the original characters. In some cases it seems as though certain ones would have demanded to come with you.

 

[DoctorNarrative]

May 17th? Jesus, do they pay no attention to what else is releasing on these dates? Witcher 2, Fable 3 PC and now New Vegas DLC all on the same day.

 

[curious]

pretty lame...probably Bethesdas fault or even Playstations/Sony

 

[curious]

oh well might wait until June or July then anyhow

 

[Thrasher]

It's all about catching the kiddies before summer vacation, I presume...

 

[Zloth]

OOoooo Zion National Park is pretty! It might provide some good Matrix jokes, too. I may be tempted.

 

[KapitanUnterhosen]

-Level cap raised to 50 by the end of the dlcs
-New hardcore trait: "2) Old World Blues will offer a new trait (and respec your traits if you've already chosen them) that will allow you to cap your level at 30 (or current level if you’re already over 30). "
-The end of the main quest remains an end, can't keep playing.

 

[Maylander]

May 17th is the national day of Norway. As if we didn't have enough to celebrate already.

 

[DoctorNarrative]

-Level cap raised to 50 by the end of the dlcs
-New hardcore trait that you can apply to even an old character which caps your level progression at 30(and brings you down to lv30 if you were above it)
-The end of the main quest remains an end, can't keep playing.

All good news.

 

[DArtagnan]

I'm pretty sure the release date is irrelevant in terms of revenue, when dealing with DLC like this.

They have a similar lifetime to the game itself, and given the "low" price - people won't be counting pennies when they get the urge to replay.

It's not like a new game, where it's the "thing" to get - and rather just an extension of an already established hit.

That said, I'll be waiting for feedback before shelling out - mostly because I despise DLC as a concept and will only support "must-haves". It's not about money, it's about the longterm effects of being supportive of DLC.

 

[Couchpotato]

I'm pretty sure the release date is irrelevant in terms of revenue, when dealing with DLC like this.

They have a similar lifetime to the game itself, and given the "low" price - people won't be counting pennies when they get the urge to replay.

It's not like a new game, where it's the "thing" to get - and rather just an extension of an already established hit.

That said, I'll be waiting for feedback before shelling out - mostly because I despise DLC as a concept and will only support "must-haves". It's not about money, it's about the longterm effects of being supportive of DLC.

Amen brother Couldn't agree more with dlc but you know it will sell millions on day one. Dlc always does on the consoles. Always.

 

[DoctorNarrative]

I'm not sure what the beef is honestly. Since Knights of the Nine Bethesda has been doing very good DLC that is more like expansions packs than anything else. Point Lookout, The Pitt and Broken Steel were all excellent for Fallout 3.

 

[Couchpotato]

I'm not sure what the beef is honestly. Since Knights of the Nine Bethesda has been doing very good DLC that is more like expansions packs than anything else. Point Lookout, The Pitt and Broken Steel were all excellent for Fallout 3.

Really only the last dlc is an continuation to the main story. It was the same with fallout 3. Dead money was a dud to me and leaves me wondering why they made something like that. I guess I shouldn't moan as major expansions are now sold piece by piece as dlc.

 

[JDR13]

Point Lookout, The Pitt and Broken Steel were all excellent for Fallout 3.

Yeah, but Mothership Zeta was mediocre, and Operation Anchorage was downright awful, imo.

The DLC for New Vegas all sound promising, but I won't be buying any of them individually. Since they'll all be released by the time I get around to playing NV, I'll wait for some type of bundle.

 

[DArtagnan]

I'm not sure what the beef is honestly. Since Knights of the Nine Bethesda has been doing very good DLC that is more like expansions packs than anything else. Point Lookout, The Pitt and Broken Steel were all excellent for Fallout 3.

So, because Bethesda did DLC that you personally like, you can't understand why others might be sceptical about DLC that weren't made by Bethesda?

In any case, this is less about these specific DLC offers - and more about what DLC is doing to my hobby.

 

[DoctorNarrative]

So, because Bethesda did DLC that you personally like, you can't understand why others might be sceptical about DLC that weren't made by Bethesda?

DLC is like anything else, some is good and some is bad. I don't get the hate for it in general, as if it is all universally terrible. Some of my favorite gaming moments of the past few years have been with DLC, like Mass Effect 2's Shadowbroker DLC.

In any case, this is less about these specific DLC offers - and more about what DLC is doing to my hobby.

And what's that? I don't want to hear about "breaking up the main game to sell as DLC" because a) that is usually not the case if you know about development schedules (content creators are done months before the game ships) and b) that's bad DLC, it doesn't condemn the entire idea.

 

[DoctorNarrative]

Yeah, but Mothership Zeta was mediocre, and Operation Anchorage was downright awful, imo.

Yeah, DLC quality varies, just like the games themselves and expansions did. I thought Morrowind's Tribunal expansion was pretty meh but that didn't turn me off expansions in general, and Bloodmoon was awesome.

The DLC for New Vegas all sound promising, but I won't be buying any of them individually. Since they'll all be released by the time I get around to playing NV, I'll wait for some type of bundle.

Your choice, of course. Given the great strides Obsidian made in getting New Vegas to play more like a hardcore RPG and more like a classic Fallout game though I'm happy to have supported them with full price purchases.

 

[Ovenall]

I still have a shrink-wrapped, unopened copy of New Vegas in a drawer. I bought it several months ago, got distracted by something else and never bothered to play it. I think that's the first time I've ever done that with a game.

Maybe some day.

 

[Pessimeister]

I'm not sure what the beef is honestly. Since Knights of the Nine Bethesda has been doing very good DLC that is more like expansions packs than anything else. Point Lookout, The Pitt and Broken Steel were all excellent for Fallout 3.

It's the ol' chestnut. Some gamers would actually prefer meaty expansions, than bite sized chunks. We also disagree on the quality of Bethesda's DLC.

I would rate the Pitt and Broken Steel as their best efforts (in that order) with Point Lookout quite a way behind these two by failing on many levels (lack of cohesion to the overall setting, implausibility of new HP stacked enemies compared to power armoured enclave troops) etc and I won't bother to give a critique for mediocre-zap Zeta or Anchorage, since they were that disappointingly poor.

Can't believe what you said about Tribunal to be honest - that's actually a respectable sized expansion and contains some fascinating spots of political intrigue, solid exploration and some nice dungeons (especially toward the end)
It stands poles apart from the DLC stuff, in my opinion.

That all said, I'm thoroughly looking forward to experiencing what Obsidian has in store for us in all of the New Vegas DLC. If I hold off long enough from starting a new character, maybe I can aspire to playing them all at the same time? *jaw dropping moment of nerd awe* It's an exciting prospect, for sure.