Past Fallout games always contained some sharp criticism against America, and to a larger scale, the occidental world. The most obvious exemple was the Enclave, an extremist right-winged faction. The pre-war american world was depicted in the same way : patriotic, greedy and unscrupulous. In other worrds, a charicature of the actual US during the cold war.

In my opinion, Fallout 3 cruelly lacked of these elements. The main plot was rather flat and consisted in some sort of a scenaristic patchwork from the previous games. (Vault experimentations were from Fallout 2, Eden as a computer was from Tactics). With New Vegas, I was pleased with the chosen factions. Let me explain.

The New California Republic embodies the values of the American Constituation : it values freedom and democracy. On the other hand, it is crippled with a slow and complex bureaucracy. And what I remember from Fallout 2's NCR was a city in which there were cops at each street corner...

The Caesar Legion is a slave-based society... And so was America in its first centuries : some historian even talked of "slaveocracy". Indeed, slavery was at the very basis of the economy, much more than in Europe.

Mr House is interesting as well. From what I understand from the previews, The Strip is depicted as "entertainment dictature". As long as people play and spend their money, people do not use their brains. I do believe that is Mr House's goal.

I see these three main factions as a criticism of the US. Sure, these are charicatures, but they make sense. What do you people think ? Am I over anolysing the thing ? I know it's just a video game, but think about it !

Maybe they just created factions and it's just a coincidence that they resemble certain real life parts.
(Although, some factions are most certainly created from real life events and history)

/reads too much into it
Caesar's Legion is based off of the Roman Empire, they don't have tons of plantations.

Kinda looks that way to me.

I find it interesting how the NCR is based in California, its rival Caesar's Legion is based in Arizona, and they're both fighting over Vegas.

After the Compromise of 1850, California was admitted to the union as a free state while the Arizona territory was pro-slave. Also, although Nevada was admitted as a free state, Las Vegas lies south of the Missouri compromise line and is straddled between a free California to its West and a pro-slave Arizona to its East. War never changes indeed.

I think you are reading too much into it, or perhaps, not reaching far-enough to imagine how things will be 200+ years after nuclear war. It makes sense that things would be exxaggerated to a large degree. In a video game where the theme is already dark, I would not expect to see any Other portrayal of America in those circumstances. It wouldn't make Sense if the factions were complimentary to someone's vision of American utopia, but makes alot of sense that the factions which remain spring forth from the darker sides of human nature.

I suspect that if someone did a Real anolysis on how factions will be long after a nuclear war, you will likely get a much different view from the one portrayed in FNV.

Nope.

First off the enclave isnt right wing its not left wing either its just your standard government evil shadow army of the apocalypse...

The ncr is nothing about freedom or democracy its about control and domination law and order at any cost.

And we have no idea what the legion actualy is other then it deals in slavery. Its basicaly romanish in ways likely as the name suggests it but exactly how so we dont know.

On the us in fallout being greedy and unscrupulous... remenber it was far into the resource wars everyone was fighting for energy and life... Thats not greed thats just staying alive.

fallout 3 good game but nothing really with the original fallouts it just doesnt go together doesnt have the ''fallout feel''

While I do think there's always been some social commentary in the Fallout series (just think about the iconic war never changes line), it seems to me that the OP wanted to read it as a criticism to the US society as opposed to coming to that conclusion after having examined the factions.

closes think to criticism I seen would be the NCR and it′s police state nature and how USA slowly slipping in to that

oh and the BoS representing USA behaviour of going "we are the most powerful, high tech nation in the world, that means we are superior and should police the world"

but still going with slavers anyway so CL

Don't be jealous. ^.^

Besides, this game is made by Americans.

Each of the major factions intentionally exhibits both characteristic strengths and weaknesses of their type of organization. The NCR is most like the current American government, but none of the factions are intended to be an indictment of the United States' politics/government.

inherently, there will be some similarities to current U.S. political systems and/or characteristics both past and present, but overtly so? i dont think so.

Hmm, I would say that it's not necessarily a U.S.gov. critique, maybe just a guess at how things may pan out in that type of circumstance. i.e. the weak get owned, the ones with the biggest weapons rule the roost, moral choices are difficult, and people may wish to reconstruct an age which is steeped in nostalgia without considering that it was that past age which resulted in the current catastrophe. It probably is over-anolysing, but I enjoy it I did a module on Science Fiction for my Lit degree and when looking at SF from that era Fallout came up a lot seeing as there was so much written about nuclear holocaust, mutation, rebuilding society etc. I'd much rather read posts like these than those silly articles you get that pronounce all videogames as inherently dumb :facepalm:

I don't like how people insult Fallout 3 as terrible, I thought it was a great game to be honest, New Vegas is already showing to outshine Fallout 3, but I think all the games are great in my opinion.

Ontopic- I think you're reading into way to many tinfoil hat conspiracys. F:NV just have different factions, so they have vastly different personalities. It's not like The Devs pull a saints row 2 and say 'They got a different color shirt on, go kill him', they just want the factions to be beautiful not just at the core, but also to its tiniest hair on their exterior. Detail in personality makes for a myriad of fun IMO

aah... no.

Point being?

The point? This thread will get locked soon. I hope it does. I've gone off at this type of behavior before. I would prefer not to have my warning raised again.
We're all humans, people. We just live on different chunks of rock.

I've never seen the Fallout factions as a criticism America, but as possible post-apocalyptic scenarios. The enclave to me is a scenario where the U.S. never tried to alleviate cold War tension but instead adopted a policy of fighting communism at any cost, even if that meant disregarding what they claimed to be protecting. The N.C.R. is the fledgling republic open to corruption and internal unrest, trying to bring some semblance of peace and order to the world around it but society is so devolved many people don't recognize any type of governance but force. Then there's Ceaser, who (this is conjecture based off of Van Buren) recognizes that the quickest way to re-civilize the world is to conquer and enslave it as the the roman empire did.

A few posts have gone away. If you are able to discuss this without any real life politics or political comparisons being brought in we can let it continue.

Erm, did I say something wrong? *confused*

Not you, the little fight that was going on. Anyway, let's drop it.

Bethesda said the same thing about Oblivion, despite the fact that there was a very nasty group of mercenaries in the marshes called "Blackwood Company" and lots of other little reference to the current state of things. I enjoy it when games are critical of our culture, as long as it isn't overly didactic or obvious (I'm looking at you, Metal Gear series)

It wasn't really meant to be looked at as an easter egg, but more of a "It-is-this-way-because-that's-how-it-would-be-in-a-real-post-apaucolyptic-wasteland"

Although, Caesars legion is unique, and not very probable. Also, House (Don't judge me as a conspiracy freak, I just hear about conspiracies all the time due to my personal life...) is more of an Illuminati reference. While we keep doing their thing, "they" will grab power while they are ignorant to our very rule.