One of the more recent mods released for Fallout: New Vegas is entitled “Race to the Bottom,” which introduces a new questline that focuses on roleplaying and dialogue choices. There are already a few playthroughs available on YouTube, but fans of Fallout: New Vegas and Obsidian’s quest design philosophy should definitely try the mod for themselves.
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The Race to the Bottom Mod of Fallout: New Vegas
“Race to the Bottom” was uploaded by user cgy95 onto Nexus Mods earlier this month. Though some players might scratch their heads at the idea of a new mod for a game as old as Fallout: New Vegas, cgy95 explains that the unofficial DLC is “a love letter” to the game. The mod is fully voiced and is predicted to take up to two hours of playtime. That said, there are multiple ways to go about each quest, increasing the mod’s replayability.
The quest starts in Freeside of Fallout: New Vegas. The player must head to the Freeside Coop and talk to the shopkeeper, a woman named Ella Hawthorne. Ella explains that she was recently robbed and needs someone to help get her caps back. Accepting then triggers the questline, and what starts as a simple mercenary gig becomes a far more complex ordeal involving ethics and politics.
Without giving away too much, the mod actually raises problems about the New California Republic (NCR) of Fallout: New Vegas and how it operates. While the NCR isn’t necessarily a benevolent faction in the base game, it could certainly be seen as the more ethical choice, especially when compared to Caesar’s Legion. The mod, however, turns the tables and points out the flaws in the society NCR has created.
Of course, the player can choose to shun these issues and side with the NCR in their playthrough. Though they can also opt to go against the longstanding faction, siding with a new organization known as The Vultures. Led by a man named Hosea, The Vultures stand against the NCR and its policies, believing that these are unjust to wastelanders at the bottom of the proverbial barrel. The player’s ultimate decision centers around whether the status quo in post-apocalyptic Vegas should be upheld or dismantled. As such, the Fallout: New Vegas mod’s questline has multiple endings.
Aside from the compelling narrative, the mod offers a new dungeon to explore as well as plenty of other NPCs to interact with. All in all, it’s an excellent mod that emphasizes player choice, making for a fun and rewarding experience. According to user cgy95, the mod’s difficulty is balanced for players between the levels 10 and 15. For late-game players, however, it’s worth checking out the creator’s other Fallout: New Vegas mod “The Deterrent.” Though much older, the quest mod features an engaging story involving the Brotherhood of Steel and remnants of the Master’s army from Fallout 1 – one of the most memorable villains in the Fallout franchise.
It’s refreshing to see so many new mods for the Fallout franchise, even for older titles like Fallout: New Vegas. They show just how passionate the modding community is for the series, providing free, top-quality content for such iconic games. And since Fallout 5 is probably still a decade away, players will at least have these mods to pass the time.
Fallout: New Vegas is available now for PC, PS3, and Xbox 360.
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Source: Nexus Mods
