Fallout: New Vegas Honest Hearts DLC Reviews

We have yet another batch of reviews for Fallout: New Vegas’ second volume of downloadable content Honest Hearts, which doesn’t seem to have won the hearts of the reviewers so far, with an underdeveloped story and bugs being the most often criticized elements.

Gamespy, 2/5

It’s a storyline with promise, but various issues prevent the this expansion from fulfilling its potential. In particular, the bugs of New Vegas are still present, only when you consider the core game was released nearly eight months ago, they’re unforgivable. You mean to tell me if I completed the “ED-E, My Love” side quest in the core game, I can’t play Honest Hearts? Yes, this bug actually exists (at least, in the PC version). WTF, Bethesda and Obsidian? And various new bugs have chewed their way into the game’s code and laid plenty of eggs, resulting in a frustrating, glitchy experience.

Gamepro, 3/5

It’s a fair package — more expansive than Dead Money but not quite as rich as Point Lookout, which is the current gold standard for Fallout DLC. And, of course, it’s a long way from the expansion packs of yore, where $30 could occasionally yield what amounted to an entirely new game. Ten dollars is a fair price for what Honest Hearts brings to the table, but its ultimate appeal is down to whether or not you’re still in the middle of a campaign. As it is, this four hour romp through Zion National Park isn’t quite worth dusting off your seven-month old copy of New Vegas.

Elder-geek, “Worth Buying”

Honest Hearts sits in the same boat as Dead Money. It is fun to play, but it has enough weaknesses to keep it from being a top priority. Exploring is fun in the event that you find something, and fighting is as rewarding as it was in the previous Fallout installments. While Zion is fun to look at, the story behind it fails to make it come alive. If you are a survivalist nut playing on hardcore, then Honest Hearts will give you some interesting challenges, but anyone else should get it when they don’t have much else to play, or wait for the inevitable Game of the Year Edition.

GamingLives goes scoreless

Compared to Dead Money I found this DLC infinitely more fun and much more on par with some of the previous Fallout 3 DLC. Whilst lacking in depth and difficulty, you can’t ignore that it has brought back one of the main elements to a Fallout game: exploration. 800 Microsoft points seems a worthy trade for an average playtime of five hours and although, other than the background environment, there isn’t anything new on offer in terms of gameplay, the extra perks, new weapons and additional story relating to the Burned Man are not to be sniffed at – especially for a second playthrough or someone still mid-adventure in the Mojave. I found my playthrough a leisurely one; almost a break from the punishing Mojave environment, but more importantly an enjoyable one. A definite step in the right direction and hope has been restored for the two already announced future DLC content packs.

And so does Duck and Cover in their own review

Ultimately, while it has a weaker story and writing, Honest Hearts just brings more raw content to the table. New weapons and armors, new perks, and a plethora of new crafting recipes, this is definately better. Unfortunately, it still feels like it falls short of the ten dollar asking price. It’s not any longer then Dead Money, and it just feels unsatisfying to complete. It’s not bad by any stretch, but if you don’t already own it, I’d wait until it inevitably goes on sale.