With the release of Fallout 3, the community was divided. Fans of the first two parts did not like Bethesda’s approach to the development of the series, while new players appreciated the departure from the isometric perspective toward a first- and third-person shooter. Devoted fans of the series were disappointed not so much with the gameplay as with the plot and imperfection of the role-playing system because Fallout was famous for the ability to play a variety of characters and was presented as a “role-playing game in the setting of the post-apocalypse”. Imagine their joy when Obsidian, partly made up of original game developers, announced that they were working with Bethesda on Fallout: New Vegas.
The new game combines elements from the canceled Fallout 3: Van Buren and the game engine from Bethesda. And although some players complained about the gameplay glitches and clumsy animation, the entertaining plot prompted them not to refuse further passage. Obsidian put a lot of effort into working out the role-playing component of the game, trying to make it quite interesting, but did not forget about Easter eggs with secrets. They knew that most players would just go through the main story and never come back, but there would be those who would look into every corner of the Mojave in search of something unusual, so it would be wrong not to encourage the curiosity of real fans.
Some believe that for so many years of the existence of the game, they found in Fallout: New Vegas everything that was hidden by the developers. But it is possible that in our today’s selection you will see something that you did not notice before. Note that some of the descriptions contain spoilers.
Pumping on Brahmins
In the wastelands of the Mojave there are small farms and ranches, the inhabitants of which keep the Brahmins as livestock. These mutated cows carry loads, work on farms and are used as food. A small funny moment is associated with them: if you approach the animal and press the action button, you can knock it to the ground. Brahmin will resentfully shut up, but do not worry – in the end, he will get back on his feet on his own.
There is a chance that at the same time the Brahmin will get angry and become hostile, but by overturning him, you get +1 in the account of the “Knockdown” test, where you need to knock down 100 opponents. Entertainment borders on cruelty to animals, but it was not invented by the developers – this is just a reference to real stories about turning cows, although it is impossible to do this alone.
Whisper in the dark
Cemeteries in Fallout are not uncommon. During the war, almost the entire population died from the bombing, and those who were lucky enough to survive continued to live, remembering those who were less fortunate. When it was their turn to leave this world, grieving relatives and friends buried the bodies, and burials grew near the settlements.
If you happen to pass by Goodsprings or Bitter Springs at night, you can hear the anxious whisper of those who will no longer see the white light. A whisper can be heard in any cemetery in the Mojave, and even in some locations, such as Vault 22 and the Sierra Madre Casino.
Helping a good dog
In each game of the Fallout series, you can take a dog as a partner. He is your single most loyal friend in the wastelands who will not condemn your actions, even if they are completely inhumane. In Fallout: New Vegas, the role of a devoted dog is played by Rex, a cyber dog who has a very serious problem: due to age, his brain began to fail.
If you are attached to your furry companion and want to help him, you can find a younger brain for him. There are only three suitable variants of the brain to replace, one of them is in the head of Violetta, the guard dog of the Devil’s group. Of course, her owner, Vailith, is categorically against such a donation, and to get to the dog, you will have to turn the whole camp around. Having received a new brain, the old man Rex will become much more agile in battle.
A Silly and Meaningless Ending
The Dead Money expansion has an ending that many players might not have found. Inside the Sierra Madre Casino is a vault, one of the latest locations of this add-on. Digging through the terminals, you will find Sinclair’s recordings, and if you try to access his accounts, you will see a message intended personally for Dean Domino.
After that, a hidden ending will start: the entrance to the storage will be closed, and it will be impossible to get out of there. Vera Keys’ voice explains that the Courier has fallen into a trap and will now remain there forever. The casino has created a hologram that will imitate his appearance and perform his duties, creating a full-fledged replacement for him, and he himself is no longer needed. In the final scene, you’ll see your character die alone, locked in the safest place of the casino. Immediately after that, the last saved game will be downloaded.
The refrigerator that became the grave
In adventure films, things often happen that attract the interest of viewers, but are insane from the point of view of common sense. The Indiana Jones film series is full of such unrealistic moments. The most memorable of them was in the film “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull”, where the famous adventurer manages to survive a nuclear explosion by hiding inside a refrigerator.
A reference to this scene can be found southwest of Goodsprings Cave. In a lonely refrigerator rests a skeleton, and next to it is the item “Exquisite Player Hat”, very reminiscent of the headdress of harrison Ford’s hero. Yes, to this Indiana luck turned clearly the wrong place, and to persuade him to go together for new adventures, alas, will not work. Although perhaps it’s all about the model of the refrigerator – after all, the boy-ghoul Billy from Fallout 4 somehow managed to live two centuries, hiding in the same shelter.
Love stretching for miles
The first scene you see in Fallout 3 is the birth of the Lone Traveler, your character. Soon, the child’s mother, Catherine, dies before your eyes, and his father, James, is engaged in his further upbringing. These people were scientists and worked together on the Project “Purity”. James did not want his child to forget about his mother, and he always remembered Catherine. Among his belongings was a photograph showing the couple together.
In Fallout: New Vegas, exactly the same photo can be found in Vault 21, next to Sarah’s bed. I would like to believe that the love story of James and Catherine gained fame in the western part of the United States, but the most likely explanation is that the developers simply reused the resources of the game, without putting any meaning into it. Anyway, the familiar photo is a kind of piece of central wasteland in the Mojave Desert.
It’s not tears, it’s just rain.
Fry from Futurama may have an interesting time in the future, but his unsuspecting family missed him very much. They had to come to terms with the idea that he would never return. The episode “Jurassic Lai” shows the fate of Fry’s dog, Seymour, who never waited for the return of the owner. In the last scene, it is revealed that he waited twelve years for Fry where he left him, and eventually died of old age.
In the Lonesome Road expansion, there is a reference to this heartbreaking moment. To the right of the entrance to the Cave of Awaddon, you can find a petrified dog, the dog stands on an overturned file cabinet and looks towards the cave. Perhaps he was told to wait outside, and the wait stretched for decades. The dog froze in time, remaining to wait for the owner, who was not destined to return.
Tragic return to the family farm
The Fallout series has always had references to popular culture. After all, developers have their own interests beyond work, and their desire to immortalize something beloved in the game is understandable. Among other Easter eggs, there is at least one related to Star Wars, a universe with which many people, according to them, began to fascinate with fictional worlds.
If your character has the Wild Wasteland perk activated, you can see a familiar pattern in the settlement of Nipton. Near the dilapidated house lie the charred skeletons of a certain Beru and Owen. This is a reference to Episode 4 of Star Wars, where young Luke Skywalker returns to his home farm and sees that his aunt and uncle, Beru and Owen Lars, have suffered the same sad fate.
Medicine for a aching heart
Craig Boone once fought in the Army of the New California Republic and was an excellent sniper. After serving his time, he married a woman named Carla, and together they settled in Novak. Everything would be fine, but Carla really did not like this city, and she did not hesitate to talk about it, which in the end offended one of the local residents. Out of revenge, she organized the abduction of the woman by the soldiers of the Legion, who decided to sell her into slavery.
Craig had no choice but to shoot his beloved with his own hands in order to save her from the terrible fate of becoming a slave. No wonder he fell into a deep depression after that. Having met Boone, you will not immediately be able to earn his trust. It’s not easy to get into a room where he rests in his spare time, but if you succeed, then among other things you will find medications, including Buffout. It can be assumed that trying to muffle the pain of losing a loved one, the sniper got hooked on potent substances.
Beware, evil… dog?
Fallout: New Vegas has enough content for every taste, and with additions it becomes even more. This includes the new Easter eggs, which are a must-see. In the Old World Blues expansion, there is a small creature that you definitely do not want to meet after dark. In the village of Higgs, behind the house 103 in the yard there is a doghouse, previously owned by the cyberps Gabe. Now a dwarf claw of death named Striper lives in it – a reference to the movie “Gremlins”, where one of the little monsters was called the same.
The minke whale may look completely homemade, but you should not try to feed or stroke it. This is an aggressive and deadly beast, comparable in health to the Legendary Claw of Death. Fortunately, he does not run too far from his booth, and if he wishes, he can be shot from a safe distance.
The Return of the Friendly Mutant
Obsidian knew that devoted fans of the series missed the characters from the previous parts. The fate of one of them in Fallout 3, namely Harold, even caused a storm of indignation. The developers decided to bring back the old favorite character from Fallout 2 – the super mutant Marcus, who helped the Chosen one save Arroyo. At the end of the journey, the paths of friends diverged: the Chosen One founded New Arroyo and assumed the duties of its ruler, and Marcus remained to live in the Broken Hills, where he stayed until the hunt for a change of places woke up in it.
The Adventure Road eventually led him to the Mojave Wastelands, where he found Mount Charleston and set up a haven there for mutants and other creatures rejected by society. Marcus named his new home Jacobstown, in memory of his deceased friend, a Paladin of the Brotherhood of Steel named Jacob. If the Courier meets Marcus, marcus will treat him with respect and even warn him about the camp of hostile mutants on Mount Black.
The fate of a friend is in your hands
Courier’s life nearly ended in a grave in the backyard of Goodsprings, where he was left to die. Only thanks to the kindness of strangers, the hero managed to avoid this fate and continue his journey. After that, the Courier himself can begin to help all those in need, trying to make the ruthless world of the wasteland at least a little fairer, and can choose a different path. It all depends on your preferences.
During your adventures, you will meet a medical researcher named Arkaid Gennon. By convincing him to join you, you will get a companion who is both a shooter and a doctor. As you progress through the game, it turns out that Caesar, the leader of the Legion, has formed a tumor in his brain that slowly kills him. If you have become an ally of the Legion and are interested in Caesar’s survival, there are several ways to save him. One of them is to resort to the help of Arkade. Arcade hates the Legion and will never agree to help of his own free will, but if you raise your hand to sell him into slavery, he will become the ruler’s personal doctor.
From courier to fight organizer
The main story quest of Fallout: New Vegas is not that long. The beauty of the game is revealed in the process of fighting for power over the Mojave and in side quests, of which you will meet a great many. Near the southern entrance to the Westside there is an underground settlement called Thorne. This is not another Vault, but a inhabited collector, where a character named Red Lucy lives – the mistress of the arena, where death fights take place with the participation of animals, mutants and people.
The organization of fights is her main occupation and main interest. If you wish, you can take part in this and pit the raiders against the monsters of the wasteland, also earning money on bets. But you don’t have to just watch others fight – you can enter the arena as a fighter. The reward will depend on which opponent you choose. Also for Lucy, you can get the eggs of creatures so that she can grow fighters from them, and as a reward for the efforts, the hostess of the arena will generously reward you.
The Girl and Her Soldier
Slave owners treat everyone equally. For the sake of easy earnings, they are ready to kidnap anyone, even old or young. Melody, which can be found on the territory of the Fort is one of these unfortunate slaves. Caesar’s legion has been holding her captive since childhood, forcing her to do dirty work without any pity.
From a conversation with the girl, it turns out that the dog breeder Anthony took away her only toy – the teddy bear Sgt. Teddy, and gave it to his dogs. The sergeant can be obtained either by stealing from the corral with the Brahmins, or by contacting Anthony. Depending on your skills and reputation in the Legion, he can either give it away for nothing or invite you to fight his dogs in the arena. For an experienced fighter, the last option will not be difficult.
Having taken the toy, give it to the girl – she will be very grateful, and you will get experience points. If your character is a scoundrel, you can tear the bear cub right in front of her, in which case your reputation in the Legion will improve, and karma will deteriorate.
Gang of Old Ladies
Children and the elderly in the world after the apocalypse had a particularly difficult time. In Fallout 3, the children, left to fend for themselves, organized the settlement of Little Lamplight in order to somehow survive through joint efforts. Having built their society, they ceased to be helpless, and once even helped the Lonely Traveler.
In Fallout: New Vegas, there is a gang of older women who are also stronger than they seem at first glance. But unlike the inhabitants of Little Lamplight, you should not expect help from them. The robbers of Maud – the name of a gang of warlike grandmothers in pink dresses – terrorize the Mojave, attacking random passers-by without warning. If you have the Wild Wasteland perk, you’ll be among those passers-by as soon as you get to Fryside. These old ladies definitely do not need anyone’s help, rather, on the contrary, it is the rest that they should be afraid of.
House of Wind-Brahmins
On the northwest edge of the map is the Tumbleweed Field Ranch, where the super mutant shadow lives. Most players don’t get that far, and as a result, miss a meeting with him. The shadow does not behave quite adequately and persistently offers to buy from him a “wind-brahmin”, which is an ordinary tumbleweed field. The mutant takes his proposal very seriously, and if you start arguing with him, he will become aggressive.
You can buy a miracle animal “only” for all the lids that you have with you. If you refuse this incredibly profitable deal, the rancher will move from the language of words to the language of violence, and he will only have to be killed. It is noteworthy that in the corral behind the house there are several tumbleweeds that return to their place if they are rolled out of there, and in the files of the game there really are (but are not used anywhere) creatures called “wind-brahmin”: a baby and an adult.
Dress in exchange for a new skill
In Fallout: New Vegas, it’s hard to make friends with your companions. They prefer to treat the Courier as a boss rather than a friend. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try.
One of your companions may be a member of the Brotherhood of Steel Veronica Santangelo. The girl wears a robe and a hoodie with a hood, but she dreams of a beautiful dress, and it is in your power to fulfill this dream. To do this, you need to get the Solemn Clothes, either receiving it as a reward on the quest, or killing the previous owner. Also suitable outfit of the society “White Glove”, but it is not available in a peaceful way. Give Veronica a gift, and she will be so happy that she will teach you a new ability for hand-to-hand combat “Scribe Technique”, with which you can conduct a counterattack immediately after successfully blocking an enemy strike.
A reason to see the sights
The game artists who worked on New Vegas put a lot of effort into creating the environment. The desert landscape has come out so convincing that you can really think that you are wandering through the sands. Thanks to their efforts, many interesting places have appeared in the game, and there is even a separate quest that specifically encourages you to look at some of them.
In the southern part of The Strip, Michael Angelo lives and works in his studio – a clear reference to the famous creator of the Renaissance. He is afraid of open spaces and the dangers that the outside world is full of, but he really wants to look at it, so he can give the quest “Source of Inspiration”. Your task will be to photograph five different sights of the Mojave with the Codac R9000 camera, which the master will give you along with the film for 24 frames. By delivering the pictures to him, you will get covers, experience and a sense of satisfaction from bringing a little joy to the gloomy world of Michael.
From scratch
In the Dead Money expansion, the Courier meets Father Elijah, a former scribe of the Brotherhood of Steel, whose views turned out to be too radical by the standards of the faction. After leaving his former associates, he went to implement his own plans and eventually stumbled upon the Sierra Madre, where he tricked many travelers, including the Courier, into slavery. Elijah’s goal is to build a new world, having previously destroyed the old one, and he is ready to make any sacrifices, if only to achieve this.
Most players do not agree with the cruel methods of the old man and decide to put an end to his deeds. However, there is another option. If you have a bad reputation in the NKR, you can take Elijah’s side and join him in “cleansing” the Mojave with weapons left over from the old world – Oblak, holograms and REPCONN missiles. After that, the ending is activated, in which you together wait for the successful completion of your plan, remaining the only survivors in the Sierra Madra.
A piece of Cyrodile in Friside
Having received the rights to the Fallout series, Bethesda began to add references to its other famous franchise – The Elder Scrolls. In Fallout 4, players found aboard Pridven (the flying fortress of the Brotherhood of Steel) a plant that can only be found in Skyrim, and began to develop the theory that these two universes are related, and perhaps one even precedes the other chronologically.
The first references to the world of the Ancient Scrolls appeared in Fallout 3, but New Vegas also did not stand aside. In Freeside, on many pillars, you can find a small plaque with the inscription “TES-04”, which is a reference to The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. Since poles aren’t the most interesting item in the game to look at, the Easter Egg is easy to miss, especially if you’re not a fan of this universe.
Source: thegamer.com
