» Wed Sep 15, 2010 7:04 am I have always been a large fan of the NCR since I first came across them in Fallout 2. I think of them not only as a legacy that I personally left behind at the original Fallout, but also a symbol of hope to show us that even though humans are flawed, there is still good in all of us and that even after the Great War civilization will be able to recover one day.
So when I first heard that the Republic will be making an appearance, I was really excited about it and I couldn't way to help them expand their influence and pave the way to progress.
When I was watching one of the developer's videos, he mentioned that there won't be a 'good' or 'bad' faction in New Vegas. The player will have to intrepid which side fits their own world views the best and help them. For me this is a good thing since I always like it when a game force you to make difficult choices instead of having the classic 'Evil Empire vs. Freedom Fighters' story line.
However, he also mentioned that the reason the NCR will not be the goodie goodies is because although they are very democratic and bring progress to the wasteland, the effects of their actions will 'make you question if they are really the government that is right for the wasteland'.
But the more I think about it the more confused I am. How can anyone see the NCR as anything other then the good faction? Sure, like any large government body in real life they are selfish, corrupt, bound by countless red tape, and a semi police state that focus almost entirely on improving only the living conditions of settlements that joined them. Also, they can be exposed as double-dealing spies that funded a proxy war against Vault City for the sole reason of not wanting to be annexed. But I consider it to be justified as the VC is run by an oppressive government that is based on slavery.
But when compared to the other major powers in the Fallout universe, they are the nicest guys around! We have the Enclave (Genocidal Fascist), the Brotherhood of Steel (Except for the ones in Washington DC, the rest are isolationist jerks that doesn't care about anyone else), and the Unity (Not long active, only goal is to destroy everyone's free will). Just think about it, what exactly have these guys done for humanity? The Brotherhood has help defeat the Super Mutants after the end of Fallout 1, but that is about it. All the other major progress such as the rebuilding of infrastructure, the establishment of trade routes, the reorganization of the code of law, etc, are almost entirely done by the NCR alone. The only other nice factions I can think of are the Followers of the Apocalypse and the Church of Mormons. But the progress that they brought to humanity is still no where as near as what the NCR has managed to accomplished. Sure, we can all put harsh judgement of the NCR's less then moral actions, but it's hard to ignore the life saving angle part.
The only reason I can think of in which the NCR became the bad guys is because at some point between Fallout 2 and NV they transformed into a ultra-right wing dictatorship that is no better then the Enclave. But based on what I am seeing right now, that doesn't seem to be the case.
Also, I am having a hard time understanding how can anyone can have an alternate character interpretation for Caesar's Legion? I mean, these guys are merciless slavers that burn entire towns to the ground and enslave the entire population! Perhaps the Brotherhood, the Unity or even the Enclave can be viewed sympathetically since they are more or less well intentioned extremists. But the Legion? Do they have any redeeming features at all?
Anyway, I just want to hear about what you guys think about the New California Republic's role will be in the game. Look forward to read everyone's post.
