Fallout: New Vegas is Gaming’s Lawrence of Arabia

Bitmob has a brief editorial/write-up on the similarities between classic movie Lawrence of Arabia and Obsidian Entertainment’s Fallout: New Vegas, thematic and setting-wise. Here’s a snip:

When it comes to plot, the game and film also walk similar paths. An outsider comes into the picture, uniting the various and disparate tribes in order to drive a common enemy (or enemies) from the lands. In Lawrence of Arabia, we find T.E. Lawrence uniting the various Arab tribes to drive out the Turks while in New Vegas the main character must choose to get rid of Caesar’s Legion, the New California Republic, or both.

Lawrence had to choose as well, deciding whether or not he wanted to help his British superiors or the native Arabs. In the end, he chose to help the Arabs form their own state, believing they had the right to be free. The player has the same power in New Vegas, deciding what is best for the people or even what is best for himself. Will the NCR be the best fit, or is the player the one who should be ruling?

The epics heavily deal in the morality of their respective protagonists. Lawrence learns what it means to kill and the human cost of what he is doing in his guerrilla war. He finds that he enjoys killing, and it disturbs him. He finds things out about himself that he wishes he never knew.