Plautus
Angry Preacher
I remember talking to a Fallout 3 fan right after Dead Money came out. He warned me, "Don't get Dead Money, it's stupid and it crashes, and you don't even get to keep the reward at the end!" Two months later, I boguht Dead Money and loved every second of it. That said, so much of the criticism of Dead Money seems to be centered around the "lack of rewards" and seems to come from the lowest common denominator of Fallout 3 fans, entitled brats who can't appreciate anything. I would like to begin by addressing the "lack of rewards" claim and explaining how incredibly false that claim is.
First off, the gold at the end of Dead Money isn't the real reward of the content pack. In reality there are three rewards, two material and one immaterial. The first material reward is, obviously, the Sierra Madre Vending Machine located in Father Elijah's Bunker. This machine, provided the player searched the Villa and Casino thoroughly, will provide NEARLY EVERYTHING THE PLAYER NEEDS TO SURVIVE. When one considers that 1,100 chips are awarded to the player twice a week in-game, and that the player should already have a few thousand chips from gambling at the Sierra Madre Casino, that means he or she will have a never ending supply of Stimpacks, super Stimpacks, rad-x, rad-away, food, alcohol, weapon repair kits, and even .357/.308 rounds at their disposal. This reward is far more valuable than caps, considering that it all but eliminates much of the survival aspect of New Vegas: by the time I left the Sierra Madre, I had 450 Stimpacks, 25 Super Stimpacks, 25 Weapon Repair Kits, 25 Rad Away and 25 Rad-X. Additionally, the armor and weapons found in the Sierra Madre are incredibly powerful. The Assassin Suit provides a +10 Bonus to sneak, and the Sierra Madre Armor, Reinforced is easily the best light armor in the game, and is on par with regular Combat Armor, except about eight pounds lighter! Of course, we need also mention that the Police Pistol is the strongest concealable weapon in the game, and the Holo-Rifle, if maintained properly, is a doomsday device of incredible proportions. To this effect, I have no idea why people were complaining about the equipment in Dead Money. Sure, it's no unbreakable Power Armor and electrocution sword, but it's still some of the best equipment New Vegas has to offer when used as a complement to vanilla equipment.
Of course, there is another reward attached to Dead Money: the experience itself. Dead Money brings a whole new environment and gameplay mechanic to Fallout: New Vegas. The Sierra Madre Villa and Casino together have just as many, if not more, new resources as/than any given Fallout 3 DLC, and there is a clear level of love and care put into the production of this content wholly lacking from any content pack in Fallout 3. From the design to the ambiance to the writing, it is clear that Dead Money was made because the developers wanted to make it, and weren't going to dumb it down for anybody. There is the key to Dead Money, and indeed all of New Vegas. The developers were passionate about the source material, and demonstrated a deep interest and understanding of the material with which they work. While the purpose of any DLC is to make money, it is obvious that the developers cared more about making a complete and thought-provoking experience than about turning out a half-baked product to make a quick buck. Dead Money had a great atmosphere and a clever, multilateral story that tied the history of the Sierra Madre Casino to its present. The premise and plot were far, far deeper than "kill Chinese Communists to get some weapons", and for that reason, the experience of Dead Money is just as valuable as rewards taken from it.
First off, the gold at the end of Dead Money isn't the real reward of the content pack. In reality there are three rewards, two material and one immaterial. The first material reward is, obviously, the Sierra Madre Vending Machine located in Father Elijah's Bunker. This machine, provided the player searched the Villa and Casino thoroughly, will provide NEARLY EVERYTHING THE PLAYER NEEDS TO SURVIVE. When one considers that 1,100 chips are awarded to the player twice a week in-game, and that the player should already have a few thousand chips from gambling at the Sierra Madre Casino, that means he or she will have a never ending supply of Stimpacks, super Stimpacks, rad-x, rad-away, food, alcohol, weapon repair kits, and even .357/.308 rounds at their disposal. This reward is far more valuable than caps, considering that it all but eliminates much of the survival aspect of New Vegas: by the time I left the Sierra Madre, I had 450 Stimpacks, 25 Super Stimpacks, 25 Weapon Repair Kits, 25 Rad Away and 25 Rad-X. Additionally, the armor and weapons found in the Sierra Madre are incredibly powerful. The Assassin Suit provides a +10 Bonus to sneak, and the Sierra Madre Armor, Reinforced is easily the best light armor in the game, and is on par with regular Combat Armor, except about eight pounds lighter! Of course, we need also mention that the Police Pistol is the strongest concealable weapon in the game, and the Holo-Rifle, if maintained properly, is a doomsday device of incredible proportions. To this effect, I have no idea why people were complaining about the equipment in Dead Money. Sure, it's no unbreakable Power Armor and electrocution sword, but it's still some of the best equipment New Vegas has to offer when used as a complement to vanilla equipment.
Of course, there is another reward attached to Dead Money: the experience itself. Dead Money brings a whole new environment and gameplay mechanic to Fallout: New Vegas. The Sierra Madre Villa and Casino together have just as many, if not more, new resources as/than any given Fallout 3 DLC, and there is a clear level of love and care put into the production of this content wholly lacking from any content pack in Fallout 3. From the design to the ambiance to the writing, it is clear that Dead Money was made because the developers wanted to make it, and weren't going to dumb it down for anybody. There is the key to Dead Money, and indeed all of New Vegas. The developers were passionate about the source material, and demonstrated a deep interest and understanding of the material with which they work. While the purpose of any DLC is to make money, it is obvious that the developers cared more about making a complete and thought-provoking experience than about turning out a half-baked product to make a quick buck. Dead Money had a great atmosphere and a clever, multilateral story that tied the history of the Sierra Madre Casino to its present. The premise and plot were far, far deeper than "kill Chinese Communists to get some weapons", and for that reason, the experience of Dead Money is just as valuable as rewards taken from it.
); you can be a stealth sniper or use the AMR, wich don't require stealth snipping; or you can be a total jerk the whole game or a total saint.
