Review: Dead Money

Full Review:

Fallout: New Vegas - Dead Money

Developed by Obsidian Entertainment

Published by Bethesda Softworks

for the Xbox 360, Playstation 3, PC

Released December 21, 2010 for the Xbox 360, February 22, 2011 for the Playstation 3 & PC

"Should we even 'begin' at all?"

Dead Money is the first of five DLC add-ons coming to New Vegas which will broaden the adventures of the Courier and expand on the lore of both the Mojave Wasteland and the Fallout universe. Dead Money offers the player a couple more hours of gameplay, an increased level cap, and an intriguing back story but falls short in actual gameplay.

A few seconds after downloading the add-on, a mysterious radio signal is picked and a provocative female voice describes a luxurious casino where people can "Begin Again". The player will head to an abandoned Brotherhood of Steel bunker where you will be wisped away to the Sierra Madre. You will then be forced to perform a heist of the century as you team up with three other unfortunate souls as you attempt to open the doors of the Sierre Madre casino or else die in the process.

The first thing you will notice about Dead Money is that the hue filter has been switched from the New Vegas orange to a blood red haze. At first it's a cool effect but soon the red cloud will impair your vision making it harder to see traps and enemies even when you aren't in the middle of the health deteriorating red fog. The graphics and animations retain the same mediocre look as they did back in the Mojave.

The sound on the other hand works perfectly in Dead Money. The music is appropriately eerie and sad which gave me chills when venturing through the equally eerie Villa. The song "Begin Again" performed by in-game character Vera Keyes is incredibly heart felt and leaves the player with a mournful disposition considering her fate within the Sierre Madre.

The voice acting is top notch especially from the performances of the greedy and prideful Dean Domino and the self-embattled Dog. The sound effects of the holograms' hostility turn is dreadful and will send you running off for cover.

Compared to New Vegas, Dead Money is very linear and doesn't offer or even encourage any exploration whatsoever. The missions consist of b-lines to one area then back then to another area then back and repeat. There aren't even much items to discover or scavenge throughout your journey. The lack of exploration is a shame seeing as how the Villa and Sierra Madre are such fantastic and story driven areas and once the add-on is over returning is an impossibility.

Dead Money consists of traps, traps, and even more traps. It's not likely you'll spend much time fighting but rather crouching on the ground disengaging bear traps or trying to eliminate a deadly signal that could trigger your premature death. It is fun for awhile but the lack of gameplay variety and the great amount of time you'll be spending looking out for traps just becomes much too tedious to remain fun.

If it weren't for the multiple endings, Dead Money would have absolutely no replay value. The endings still pale in comparison to New Vegas as the endings depend on how well you cooperated with your allies. However, with one strategically placed save file, one could see both endings if they don't want to start their New Vegas game all over again.

Dead Money doesn't offer any new gameplay that can't already be experienced in New Vegas. The backstory, however, is incredibly deep and the unearthly atmosphere is a must experience for any Fallout fan. It's also important to note that the entire add-on embraces a stealthy and diplomatic approach to completing the missions as you'll spend the entire time sifting the ground for any traps and running away from seemingly immortal enemies. If you're looking forward to an impressive story and a lot of stealth then Dead Money is for you but I predict even diehard fans of New Vegas will find themselves limited with this premiere add-on.

Details -

Genre: First Person Shooter, RPG, Third Person Shooter

ESRB Rating: M for Mature (Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Use of Drugs)

Player Options: 1 -Player

Difficulty: Hard

Learning Curve: Harsh

Stats -

Graphics: 2/5

Sound: 5/5

Playability: 4/5

Lasting Appeal: 1/5

Fun: 3/5

22 Hit-Combo

Decent

Review Descriptions

Video: 3DS Unboxing

I was lucky enough to get my hands on a Nintendo 3DS earlier today and I was rather impressed with its sleek design, 3D and gyroscopic gameplay, 3D photos, and so much more. Be warned though that it does have a few drawbacks; the 3D only works if the the player is looking at the screen dead on, with the highest lighting and 3D on the battery drains pretty quickly, and the Mii Maker automatic photo design makes you look like a grotesque monster.

Anyway, take a look at the unpackaging of the 3DS and all of the goodies that it holds inside.

Critical Hit: Capcom Doesn't Give a S**t

I'm writing this blog post to discuss my month long odyssey in dealing with purchasing Marvel vs Capcom 3 online and making sure I got everything I paid for and on time.

It all started when I went to Gamestop to pre-order the Special Edition of Marvel vs. Capcom 3, which contains an awesome steel case, an artbook, one month of Marvel comics online, and two dlc characters. Unfortunately for me, Gamestop and Play 'N Trades stopped all pre-orders for the special edition. So, I forgot about the S.E. and just decided to pre-order a regular copy from Gamestop.

But then I heard about that not only was the Capcom store still selling Marvel vs. Capcom 3 Special Edition but they would also give you a free Shuma-Gorath shirt! I thought to myself, why not give my money straight to the geniuses at Capcom. So I ordered the game on January 29th, half a month before its release on February 15th.

I didn't think much about the game until a couple of days before release. People had mentioned that their order had shipped and was to arrive on their doorstep right on release day. Excited, I checked my order status and saw that the order wasn't even processed. A little worried, I shrugged it off. It wasn't until the day before release that I knew that I wasn't going to get my copy on time.

The order hadn't processed and shipped until the 16th of February and I received it 9 business days later, two days longer than I was told by Capcom. I got it a week and a half after release and I was told I would receive on release especially based on the fact that they hadn't stopped pre-orders for 10 days after I ordered my copy.

I pissed me off was the fact that Gamestop had plenty of copies of the S.E. the day after launch and that people who ordered much later than I had received their copy on time. I don't know why their copy was more of a priority than mine was.

I saw a thread on Capcom unity that claimed that those affected by the late shipments would be reimbursed somehow and that they knew who was affected. Apparently not me as I wasn't given anything not even an email regarding the matter.

Lets fast forward about a month a one undersized Shuma shirt later, time for my free DLC!!!!

Nope.

I go marvelvscapcom3/redeem/ to receive my Xbox Live code but when I entered it in it stated that it was an invalid code. WHAT!!!?!?!?!

I tried many more times with no luck.

I was forced to sign up for their forum, unlike the PS3 players, and not much more than a couple threads have even touched the matter.

I WANT WHAT I PAID FOR CAPCOM!

What kind of company doesn't respond to their customers concerns. I've sent then numerous emails and have received 0 responses. What kind of company makes you sign up for their forum and pm "some dude" just to get your order right.

It's all ridiculous and a customer service nightmare that I hope will end soon.

I for one will be making sure to buy all of my Capcom games used from now on and no longer will I support them by using their store, forum, or downloadable content. The company that's so good at making quality games needs to learn to think of the customer.