Falloutseries is best known for its setting, the post-apocalyptic wasteland filled with remnants of a strange old and a barbaric new world. So many pieces have grown to be iconic, such as the vaults, old robot factories, and of course, the several faction bases. And out of these wastelands,New Vegas’sMojave Wasteland is considered the best.
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The Mojave Wasteland is one of the most diverse maps the modern series has seen. It has several memorable landmarks, such as the massive headquarters of industry, the natural wonders of the desert untouched by the bombs, and the headquarters of the many, many factions in the game. So, the question remains, what places players must visit during their playthrough? Well, here are some of the best you should definitely explore.
Perhaps one of the most iconic locations in the game, Novac is a town you’ll come upon quite early in your journey, and it’s quite the comforting sight after Nipton. The sight of a nice little gated motel makes everything feel homey, while the massive dinosaur sniper’s rest gives it that classic Fallout wackiness.
Despite it being one of the smallest towns, Novac is jam-packed with side quests and interesting things to witness. The town has a crazed conspiracy theorist, a doctor who has no right to be a doctor, a strange nightkin murdering Brahmin with a minigun, an old NCR Ranger still worried about his men, and of course, the character of Boone with their own investigation to take part in. Novac seems unassuming at first but is far from just a little town.
9Nellis Air Force Base
There are plenty of locations in New Vegas that are actively dangerous to visit, but none are as direct in trying to kill you as Nellis Air Force Base. Nellis is a location you visit much later in the game, however, note that as soon as you come close to it, an artillery cannon will begin to rain explosives down on you. There are plenty of ways to enter the town, such as using the nearby lake, sneaking your way along, or the good old mad dash strategy.
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The main attractions of Nellis are the Boomers, a strange group formed from Vault 34. Growing up in a vault with an overstocked armory has made these folk rather trigger-happy and greedy to get their hands on anything that explodes. They may be prickly to outsiders, but they have big dreams to one day fly like the pilots of old. With how ridiculous these guys are, it’s hard not to find them somewhat enjoyable or interesting… Even if they do try to blow you up.
8Goodsprings
As the first location in the game, Goodsprings sets the scene for the entirety of the wasteland, and it does a fine job of offering a taste of the Nevada’s vastness. Goodsprings acts as the tutorial town where you wake up and get your bearings before hitting the road.
While Goodsprings may be small, it offers so much to do and witness. You get introduced to new mechanics through small tutorial quests and characters that test each of the players' skills and knowledge. The town even makes you face moral dilemma in which you have to choose between different sides. Goodsprings isn’t just a standard starting town, it has life put into it, and it’s memorable for that reason.
While Vegas may be the game’s central hub with so many quests, Freeside runs a very close second. Acting as Vegas’ cheaper and more rundown half, Freeside has a much different appeal. The city is massive, but instead of a luxurious view, you’ll find scrap buildings and people doing the best to get by with what they have, trying to emulate Vegas' fancy neon in the best way.
Freeside is one of the largest areas in the game and home to plenty of interesting sights and quests. In this place, you handle the NCR conflict in the area and learn about the gang of Elvis' impersonators, The Kings. Freeside truly is a bustling place that may be dirty and scummy but feels like home.
6Ultra Luxe
Out of New Vegas’ many casinos, the Ultra Luxe easily stands out as the most fascinating both in the story and aesthetic. While the other casinos may have more bearing on the actual plot, nothing is quite like the ominous feeling of the Ultra Luxe. The Luxe tows the line between breathtaking luxury and the ominous atmosphere, as it is by far the largest casino with amenities like gourmet steak and a pool, all while the masked and far too polite White Gloves watch your every move.
The uneasiness isn’t there for no reason, as the White Gloves have a dark secret in their past: Cannibalism. And it’s one that threatens to return. The Ultra Luxe is home toone of the most beloved quests in gaming, Beyond the Beef, a masterclass in player choice and dynamic branches.
Nature is hard to come by in Fallout’s world, most of the time only representing something unnatural and evil, but Zion Canyon is an exception. As the hub world for the Honest Hearts DLC, Zion is a sacred and special place to the tribes of the canyon. It is one of the most beautiful and scenic locations in the entire game.
Beyond extraordinary visuals, the canyon has a rich history of the survivalist and the tribes (who now inhabit the canyon) to discover. Zion offers a lot to explore and see in terms of locations and quests, letting the player search for treasure, deal with the wildlife, and solve the dilemma of how to help the Sorrows. It’s a location that embodies an almost mythical quality.
Remember how Zion was the exception to nature in Fallout? Well, here’s the rule. Vault 22 is one of the few places in New Vegas where you may find green plant life, and it serves as a twisted garden of Eden. In the hopes of creating a stable food supply post-war, Vault 22 was filled with the brightest scientists in agriculture who continued their experiments, eventually creating the horror that would claim the vault.
Vault 22 is taken over by an experimental fungus that has made the vault into an ecological parasite. The scientists are taken over by the fungus and made into horrifying monsters. Vault 22 is the perfect mix of horror and beauty with this perfect garden, a sign of hope, twisted into a nightmare, which none can escape. Even if you survive the vault, you may bring back something you don’t want to.
3Sierra Madre
While Fallout has many horrifying and disturbing locations, none can quite hit the level of dread that the Sierra Madre has. The setting of the Dead Money DLC is a run-down casino paradise. It is filled with traps and holograms of old-world ghosts, all covered by a toxic blood-red fog. It claims to be a treasure trove for the brave, but in truth, it’s only a trap ready to claim anyone who dares to wander inside.
The Sierra Madre is very different from other areas, even down to the gameplay. The Sierra Madre is not somewhere you can be a hero because of the ghosts wandering around and almost impossible to kill. You’ll have to sneak around the nightmarish location, desperately trying to carry your loot where greed itself will weigh you down.
2Jacobstown
Fallout’s world is a harsh place. Almost everywhere you go has something horrible going on beneath the surface or some threat ready to wipe it out. Locations rarely feel comforting, and that’s what makes Jacobstown so unique in the base game. This little ski resort is an odd place amongst the Mojave, a nice little alcove away from the conflicts of the region. And what’s more, it’s filled to the brim with Super Mutants.
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But unlike other titles, these guys are all very friendly, with some of the most pleasant characters like Marcus, Doctor Henry, and Lily. This area is all about trying to find ways to move forward and heal with Marcus’s conflict or Lily’s plotline, and while these can be heavy, they all offer grains of hope that things can perhaps get better. And in a place on the brink of war like the Mojave, you need that.
1The Big MT
Fallout wears its love for campy old sci-fi on its sleeve with its world design and strange technology. Sadly, it’s rarely gotten to delve full-on into the wackiness due to the grounded stories, but occasionally they dive towards that side like with Old World Blues’ Big MT. The Big MT is a playground of science built into a crater, a large collection of experimental labs run by robotic and insane doctors.
The Big MT may have lore implications for New Vegas, but none of that matters in terms of just how funny it is. Every single character and plot here is an absolute riot with some of the most out-there concepts, such as the doctors, talking to your own brain, and a toaster who wants to end the world. The Big MT is the pinnacle of cheesiness, and it’s one of the most enjoyable locations for that simple reason.
