Time and time again the Fallout series has proven that the Wasteland can be a wild and wacky place. The highly praised Fallout: New Vegas even has a trait players can give to their character that increases the likeliness of coming across weird events on their journey through the Mojave Wasteland. From being jumped by a gang of elderly grandmothers to a cheeky little Star Wars easter egg, players can find themselves in some truly bizarre places as they decide the fate of the Wasteland.
Fallout: New Vegas is a spin-off game to the Fallout series developed by Obsidian Entertainment. Set in the Mojave Wasteland, the game follows the player character on their way to reclaim an important package that was stolen from them by a man named Benny - who left the Courier to die after putting a bullet in their head. Healed from their wounds, the player character sets out to Fallout's bustling city of New Vegas looking to find Benny and obtain their package, a journey that takes them to the Mojave's oddest corners and ultimately has them decide the Wasteland's fate.
Recently, there have been rumors of a Fallout: New Vegas sequel being considered after Microsoft's buyout of Bethesda. Fans of the post-nuclear apocalypse video game have been asking for a sequel for ages, and with Obsidian Entertainment also owned by Microsoft, it could be a reality. Bethesda Game Studios' Fallout 5 is likely to release much later in the decade, with the developers putting the finishing touches on Starfield before moving on to The Elder Scrolls VI. With Fallout: New Vegas 2 an actual possibility, fans could be returning to the Mojave, where some of the series' weirdest encounters were brought about by the Wild Wasteland trait.
Fallout: New Vegas Has A Star Wars Easter Egg
Fans of Star Wars will recall Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru. They were important characters in the Skywalker Saga, being the caretakers of Luke Skywalker. Their characters have been expanded upon through various forms of Star Wars media, including the hit Disney+ series Obi-Wan Kenobi. Fans of Star Wars may also remember that Owen and Beru meet an unfortunate fate at the hands of the Empire and are burned alive in their home.
Fallout: New Vegas makes reference to these Star Wars characters, specifically their deaths. If the player approaches a ruined house in Nipton, they will see two skeletons in the front yard, likely killed by the New Vegas faction known as Caesar's Legion. One skeleton looks to be male and the other female, and they both seem to be charred. As the player approaches the two skeletons they can see they've been assigned the names Owen and Beru. This is a clear reference to the two characters from the sci-fi epic Star Wars and in a twisted, humorous way shows their bones to be charred and burned as they were in the movie.
A Gang Of Grannies Can Attack In Fallout: New Vegas
Fallout: New Vegas has some weird enemies, but nothing can be more bizarre than getting attacked by three old grannies in the post-nuclear apocalypse. This Easter egg can be found after the player exits Cerulean Robotics, an abandoned building located in the town of Freeside, northeast of Fallout: New Vegas' starter location, Goodsprings. Upon leaving the building, the player character can get attacked by these three old ladies wielding switchblades. This is an homage to a Monty Python skit titled "Hell's Grannies," in which a gang of elderly women are terrorizing a town.
There is not really any lore behind this encounter, aside from the grannies' names. Upon player inspection, their names are Irate Ida, Rancorous Ruth, and Malefic Maud. Drunks that can be found across from Mick & Ralph's in Freeside will occasionally make mention of them. Each granny has a small amount of caps the player can loot after defeating them.
A Dead Indiana Jones Can Be Found In Fallout: New Vegas
The Fallout series oddly has a couple situations involving refrigerators. Fallout 4 featured a kid in a fridge, and New Vegas had something a little similar, except this time the person in the fridge wasn't alive and kicking. Southeast of the town of Goodsprings, player characters with Wild Wasteland can find a small refrigerator with a skeleton curled up inside. Laying alongside the skeleton is a brown fedora called a Suave Gambler's Hat which has a striking resemblance to the hat worn by the iconic action hero, Indiana Jones.
The Suave Gambler's Hat gives the player character plus one Perception upon wearing the item and is the only thing that can be found in the fridge aside from the skeleton. This easy-to-miss Fallout Easter egg is a clear reference to a scene in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull in which Indy jumps into a lead-lined fridge in an attempt to survive a nuclear blast. Although it works in the movie, the Fallout: New Vegas variant of the character unfortunately did not share the same luck.
Fallout: New Vegas Has Multiple Monty Python References
Along with the "Hell's Grannies" reference, there are multiple Easter eggs giving a nod to Monty Python that can be found from the Wild Wasteland perk. One of these is a reference to Monty Python and the Holy Grail and can be found in the Camp Searchlight, a location owned by Fallout: New Vegas faction, the NCR. If the player heads to the Searchlight East Church and goes down to the basement they can find a box with three grenades. Next to the box, is another with the words "Holy Hand Grenades: pull pin and count to 3" with a crossed out "5" next to the "3." This is a reference to the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch, which was a sacred item in the Monty Python film, and King Arthur's inability to count, a running gag throughout the movie.
Another Monty Python reference can be found in the Caesar's Legion staging area of Cottonwood Cove, one of Fallout: New Vegas' real world locations. There can be graffiti found on one of the walls of the camp, that writes, "Romanes Eunt Domus." Being a camp for Caesar's Legion, it would make sense for some Latin graffiti to be found in the area, however this translates to "People called Romanes, they go, the house." This is a reference to a skit in Monty Python's Life of Brian, in which Brian tries writing "Romans go home" on the palace walls but writes the incorrect spelling and inflection of the words. He is then corrected by a Roman Centurion who forces him to write the proper words 100 times the next morning.
Fallout: New Vegas' NCR Radio Has An Iconic Aliens Line
In what is commonly considered the Fallout series' best game, New Vegas has another wild Easter egg that can be found using the Wild Wasteland perk. It is a reference to the hit 80s film, Aliens. In the sci-fi horror sequel film, a character named Private Hudson panics and screams, "That's it man! Game over, man! Game over!" The line quickly became an iconic quote from the movie and was used even in a scene in Fallout: New Vegas. During the Battle of the Hoover Dam, if the player listens to the NCR emergency radio, they may hear Private Hudson's iconic line, or a soldier yell, "They're coming out of the walls man! They're coming out of the damn walls!" This is also a quote directly taken from Aliens.
The Fallout series is loaded with tons of Easter eggs, references and bizarre encounters which give the games their own unique charm. Obsidian's fan-favorite Fallout: New Vegas is no different, and with the Wild Wasteland perk, players can increase the likelihood of these weird encounters. Hopefully, the rumored Fallout: New Vegas 2 will continue the tradition and double down on these cheeky references. Fans will just have to wait and keep playing - or keep modding - the original Fallout: New Vegas before any news on the highly anticipated, still unconfirmed sequel releases.