The Lonesome Road marks the final downloadable content pack for Obsidian Entertainment’s story-driven, post-apocalyptic sandbox game, Fallout: New Vegas.
It’s also where the elusive Courier Six, known as Ulysses (who turned down the job for the Platinum Chip, whose footsteps we continued to shadow in the previous three DLCs), makes his exciting appearance in a shattered part of the Mojave Wasteland known as The Divide.
What’s new?
As with the previous downloadable content, The Lonesome Road increases the level cap by five, effectively giving players fifty levels to strive for when combined with the other add-ons, as well as a heap of new perks to boot.
New weapons include The Divide’s signature weapon, the Red Glare – an impressive fully-automatic rocket launcher. There are a couple of attractive new outfits such as the Riot Gear, which is closely modelled after Fallout: New Vegas’ signature NCR Ranger armour, but gratefully is without the dreaded faction association.
The Divide introduces players to two new enemies: the marked men – once-human remnants of battles fought between the NCR and Caesar’s Legion, now unified as ghoulish abominations roaming The Divide after its atomic warheads were detonated; and the tunnellers – black, partially-luminescent creatures that burrow through the ground in large numbers, capable of overwhelming their prey with ease.
Along with these two new enemies (the word “new” is used quite loosely considering that it doesn’t take long for players to realise that they are little more than re-textured ghouls and Vault 22’s memorable spore carriers), Deathclaws make an appearance; and boy are they as tenacious and hostile as ever.
Five new achievements have also been introduced with Lonesome Road, all of which are quite easy to get and a grand incentive to dig a little deeper and explore the bits of The Divide you might have overlooked.
Notable NPCs
Fortunately, players are not alone on their trek through The Divide and face off against foes together with lovable eyebot, ED-E (or at least The Divide’s identical copy of ED-E) whose upgrades will be carried over to main-game ED-E.
It’s all very Schrödinger’s cat.
ED-E gradually remembers his original mission and the course of events leading up to Primm, where players first discover him. ED-E’s background story is heartfelt and emotive, often giving the player that curious push to play a little longer, to hear the next bit of ED-E’s tale.
The elusive Ulysses finally makes a full appearance. Once a Frumentarii of Caesar’s, he remains a fascinating character with a colourful past, who after building a life in the Divide, blames the player for the devastation that sundered his home.
Environment
The Divide is an atmospheric landscape, with toppled buildings, shattered mountains and overhead irradiated hurricanes as a constant reminder that it is a dangerous place and not for the faint-hearted.
It is a stark contrast to what in comparison is the homely New Vegas, where friends, companions and admirers await the player’s return.
The landscape is filled with undetonated warheads blocking paths and hidden loot that give a remarkably gratifying sensation upon detonation, especially when Deathclaws or marked men are caught in the explosion.
Conclusion
While The Lonesome Road is an interesting and occasionally emotional affair, it unfortunately falls flat and feels uninspired.
The experience is mostly linear, with a tunnel-like design to the landscape. Ulysses’ verbosity is marked by a lack of meaningful dialogue.
While some might disagree, The Lonesome Road seems to depart from Obsidian’s normally engaging narrative and settles for “good enough.”
There’s no real compulsion to hang around in The Divide longer than absolutely necessary and when it’s all over, it’s difficult not to feel disappointed and let down by it.
Whether you love it or hate it, however, The Lonesome Road is the final piece of the puzzle and a must-have addition to the world of Fallout: New Vegas.
The increased level cap, new perks, extra weapons and armour as well as ED-E’s story make it a worthwhile purchase and frankly, any excuse for a fan of the series to get back to New Vegas is a damn good excuse.
Fallout: New Vegas – The Lonesome Road DLC review << Comments and views
Loading ...
