Since the Fallout TV series is exploring New Vegas this season, I thought I would present my argument as to why Fallout: New Vegas is the best Fallout game. The game mechanics are great and innovative, some were even incorporated into Fallout 4, but that does make New Vegas a great game. The RPG system is expansive and yet flexible, and I personally think the system in New Vegas is better than most RPG games. That isn’t why the New Vegas game is the best in the Fallout game series. It is the best, because the writing in the game is in a class by itself. It is a “masterclass” if you will, in speculative science fiction writing.
The writing in New Vegas, like many science fiction novels, seemed to be able to predict the trends of society before they become apparent to the general public. The game was released 15 years ago and the trends were there, but most weren’t aware of them. New Vegas is set in the world of a post apocalyptic America, and it was able to encapsulate what we see in America and the world today. The three main factions in the game gave us a picture of what would become so apparent a scant 15 years after the game’s release.
Ceaser’s Legion and the Rise of Authoritarianism.
When the player meets Ceaser they can ask him about his political beliefs and he gives the player a very cogent defense of why he chose the Roman Empire and his model of government. In the dangerous world of post apocalyptic America, a strong force was needed to unite the various factions, often warring senselessly, and give a single purpose: survival and stability in this dangerous world. The individual’s only purpose was to serve the State. Individuality had brought about the destruction of the world, so to prevent a future of destruction, Caesar would erase that individuality and imbue the individual with a “higher” purpose and bring about the Pax Romana. Lasting peace and stability. These ideas are as old as the Roman Empire, but we see them once again being used to justify Authoritarianism in what once were staunch Democracies around the world today. The seeds were there in society 15 years ago but we are seeing them flower now, echoing the words of Ceaser we hear in the game.
Mr. House and the Rise of the Oligarchy.
Mr. House, the current Big Boss of New Vegas in the game, was a businessman from the old world. America in the pre-war world of Fallout was an oligarchy pretending to be a constitutional republic. The Communist Threat of the Old World, whether real or imagined, gave the military undue power over society and that power was fueled by the corporations of pre-war America. Mr. House was the most powerful of these oligarchs as he snatched up smaller corporations to garner military contracts in many different fields. He wasn’t only a genius business man, he was also a technical genius. He foresaw the coming crisis, because working with vault Tec, he helped create the crisis and bring about the Great War. His reasons were simple; the world was running out of resources and would collapse regardless of war or not, and he intended to be the Boss of the World when that time arrived. When it did arrive, with some help, he was ready and at the time of the game, he was rebuilding that old world one casino at a time.
Fifteen years ago no one would have guessed that the rise of so-called Artificial Intelligence, or AI, a common but incorrect term, would also bring about a technocratic society in an attempt to create a utopia, not for the masses, but for themselves. The technocrats of today, like Mr. House, want to create a world where, like the pre-war world of the Fallout game, they are in control and they have all the toys so to speak. Everyone else exists to serve them and to make sure their lifestyle remains intact even at the expense of the rest of society. So far they have been quite successful in creating an oligarchy that is funding and helping to shape a new technocratic society.
The New California Republic and the Constitutional Republic.
The New California Republic, or NCR as it is referred to in the game, is an attempt to recreate the constitutional republic of the Old World, and for a time it is successful. The NCR rapidly expand across what was once California and into old Nevada make it as far as Hoover Dam and then running into Ceaser’s Legion where, after a fierce battle over Hoover Dam, the NCR are able to control Hoover Dam and settle into an uneasy peace with the Legion and Mr. Hose. Their ideals are noble, at first glance, but the game does reveal the rot underneath. Corruption is starting to take hold of the NCR as politicians are paid off by the powerful Brahmin Barons to enact laws favorable to them. It sounds all too familiar in today’s world. This corruption will ultimately lead to the fall of the NCR, although in the game we don’t see that fall happen, but the seeds are already starting to grow.
While the game takes a subtle approach to the pitfalls of allowing corporations unlimited access to politicians, the parallels to our world are too obvious to ignore. You can’t have a government for the people, by the people when the corporations are writing the laws, either literally or through massive campaign contributions. The lesson is plain, from both history and the game: political corruption is the death of the Republic.
There are other factions in the game, but these three clearly illustrate how good the writing is in the game. The factions in the game have depth. They aren’t one dimensional, cookie-cutter villains or heroes. They have reasons and justifications for their different stances and actions. We may not agree or like a faction, but we have to acknowledge that the factions have their beliefs and reasons why they exist and do what they do in the game. It isn’t just to serve the player, but to advance their own idea on what post apocalyptic America should look like. The player character also has some deep motivations that create the many conflicts in the game. Fallout: New Vegas does what a good RPG should do; give us a good RPG system and a deep story to go along with it. A story that will stay with us long after we forget the mechanics of the game.
