Fallout: New Vegas DLC Packs – Are They Worth it?
I’ve spent a lot of time in New Vegas. Looking at my Steam library, next to Fallout: New Vegas, shows over 60 hrs worth of play time. I haven’t spent that long in a game in…well, a long time. This of course is due to the fact that it’s a pretty big title (DLC add-ons included). It’s safe to assume that I know my way around the Mojave and its inhabitants. One of my reasons for coming back to this title (aside from reviewing the add-ons) was because of all the loot one can find while exploring. There are so many different items, modifications, and collectable scattered all over the wastelands that it can take (literally) days in game just to see most of it. After all my time spent fighting off bandits, I’m still finding useful items. Some of which were given to me thanks to the newest DLC packs released by Bethesda.
Before Fallout: New Vegas was out, gamers could pre-order the title and depending on where you purchased the game, you could have received bonus DLC for free. Bethesda has bundled them up together into two packs: The Courier’s Stash and Gun Runners’ Arsenal. The Courier’s Stash features different weapons and apparel that can be found in the game. This pack feels better suited for newer players as it gives you some of the basic weapons and clothing items found in New Vegas. With that being said, I still found the weapons to be useful; some being even stronger than the weapons I was currently using. The clothing, while cool looking, didn’t really help me stat wise (remember I have been playing for sometime).
The Gun Runners’ Arsenal gives you a lot for your money. Not only do you get cool new weapons and ammo types but new weapon modifications as well. This pack was more useful to me because of the strong weapon enhancements. The weapon tweaks go from extending a pistol’s rang and adding an explosive tagger to a Ballistic Fist, to adding a combat shield to a Fat Man (think rocket launcher) and changing the blade type of a Katana. It was difficult to get some of the better weapons though as a lot of them cost way more caps than any item I’ve seen in the game so far. Once you have these weapons and mods though, bad guys beware!
Truthfully, both DLC packs are worth getting. The Courier’s Stash even if you don’t use all of the items, you do get some decent weapons for $1.99 (160 MS points). Heck, you even get a pair of binoculars. The Gun Runners’ Arsenal has a lot to offer but you’ll have to pay a hefty price to get the best weapons as well as the items to make the mods. It runs about $3.99 (320 MS points). Even though I feel that these packs better suit lower leveled players, they’re still worth the price. Who knows? Maybe a difficult enemy would be easier to deal with if you had a new chainsaw or a Fist of the North Star like Ballistic weapon!
