{"id":1437,"date":"2013-05-19T14:34:17","date_gmt":"2013-05-19T14:34:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.payneful.co.uk\/blogsplosion\/?p=1437"},"modified":"2016-03-16T15:42:59","modified_gmt":"2016-03-16T15:42:59","slug":"retraction-i-managed-to-be-a-complete-bastard-in-fallout-new-vegas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.payneful.co.uk\/blogsplosion\/2013\/05\/19\/retraction-i-managed-to-be-a-complete-bastard-in-fallout-new-vegas\/","title":{"rendered":"Retraction: I Managed to Be a Complete Bastard in Fallout: New Vegas"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"MaxWarning: this blog post contains spoilers for not just the ending of Fallout: New Vegas<\/em>, but the expanded DLC (DownLoadable Content) missions too.<\/strong><\/p>\n

One of the first articles I placed on the Blogsplosion was a lengthy exploration of my character Max Valerion, within which I explained my disappointment at how in Fallout 3<\/em> I could be an utter bastard with benefits, but Fallout: New Vegas encouraged me to reform Max into a do-gooder, or at least a mercenary edging on the side of good. It was called “Why I can’t be a bastard in Fallout: New Vegas<\/a>“.<\/p>\n

After playing the game off and on for the last year or so, I’ve finally finished it1<\/a><\/sup> and I can safely say that, come the end, Max was officially the biggest dick in Vegas. In what the excellent TV series Hustle<\/em><\/a> would refer to as a “long con”, Max managed to lull everyone into a false sense of security and pull the rug out from under their feet at the last moment. Allow me to briefly recap how this satisfying turnaround came to be.<\/p>\n

The downloadable missions<\/a> have their own storyline2<\/a><\/sup>, one which is arguably better than the main game’s primary storyline. While following the DLC story, you keep hearing about the original Courier Six, the man who didn’t take the job that led to you getting shot in the brain-pan at the beginning of the main game. The conclusion to the storyline results in you visiting a literal hell-hole called “the Divide<\/a>“. At the end of this nuked crevasse of semi-zombies and deadly creatures, you confront the original Courier Six, a pretentious git calling himself “Ulysses<\/a>” (yes, after the mythical king<\/a>). He explains how the Divide was once a thriving community, one set up by Max himself3<\/a><\/sup>. Unfortunately, like all things Max touches, it resulted in a massive explosion and hundreds of deaths. Ulysses took particular offence to this as he was just set on leaving Caesar’s Legion and settling down in the Divide, only to find it blow up on him. In retaliation, he plans to launch nukes at the Vegas Strip, the place Max plans to make his new home.<\/p>\n

\"Max
In particular, this rather swank tower complex where Max just happens to keep all his stuff.<\/div><\/div>\n

Originally, Max and Ulysses engaged in a t\u00eate-a-tete of gunfire in the nuclear bunker, Ulysses armed to the teeth and Max only armed with his trusty 10mm pistol. After half an hour (within which I save-scummed<\/a> like hell and died about five times) Ulysses’ head burst like a balloon after one lucky shot from an anti-tank rifle Max was running out of ammo for. Unfortunately, the game still indicated that Ulysses had to be “dealt with” despite him being dead. Assuming it to be glitched4<\/a><\/sup>, I reloaded and just talked Ulysses out of being a complete douche. It wasn’t as epic as the gunfight, but it was a more Max-like manoeuvre (and besides, vast chunks of the “epic gunfight” were more like the shootout in the Naked Gun<\/em><\/a>). Having teamed up with Ulysses to dispatch the angry goons pouring into the bunker, Max was presented with some options regarding the missile Ulysses had activated:<\/p>\n