Mr. House is supposed to be the calculating mastermind of Fallout: New Vegas, but his way of dealing with one faction flies in the face of that image. Over the course of the game, players will have plenty of time to get acquainted with Mr. House and his plans for the Mojave wasteland. Even though he doesn't lead a proper faction, he comes off as the most powerful person in the game, and for good reason. That makes the decisions that he makes regarding one of the game's factions especially confusing to the point of contradicting his characterization.
Even before the player leaves Goodsprings in Fallout: New Vegas, Mr. House will have been keeping tabs on them, though they can't properly meet him before arriving in New Vegas itself. The richest man in the world before the bombs fell, Mr. House once again became a powerful figure as the architect of New Vegas in the wasteland. Bringing together tribes to make a recreation of Las Vegas, including its glitz, casinos, and seedy elements. However, he seeks to control the whole of the Mojave, with New Vegas as its hub. He seeks the Courier's help in his ambitions, and the player can accept his offer.
Mr House's Plans For The Kings Leaves Something to be Desired
Freeside, the area outside New Vegas, is home to Fallout: New Vegas' Kings faction, a gang of Elvis impersonators who are one of the nicer groups in the game. However, Mr. House doesn't seem to have a very high opinion of them. If the player sides with Mr. House, then the ending mentions that he sent his Securitrons into Freeside and wiped out the Kings. However, if the Courier never eased tensions between the Kings and the NCR, they end up launching several attacks on the NCR in the epilogue, and House leaves them alone, seeing this as loyalty to New Vegas.
The way that Mr. House is so aggressive against the Kings makes little sense. With so many raider gangs surrounding New Vegas, having a generally well-meaning and capable group willing to protect the area around New Vegas makes sense. Instead, he turns his Securitron army on them for seemingly little reason. One possible explanation for this could be a show of House's controlling nature. The Kings are a very independent group, so it's possible that House could see that as a threat to his power. However, that isn't articulated, so it looks like an impulsive murder spree from the usually tactical House.
An even bigger condemnation of this act is how the situation where House doesn't kill the Kings also contradicts his usual behavior. While the NCR's history in the Fallout universe shows them to be far from perfect, House doesn't actually see them as his enemies, stating that the NCR made up some of his best customers. Considering House's focus on his and New Vegas' wealth and power, the scenario where the Kings aggressively attack NCR citizens would logically be the only time he would send the Securitrons after them. Instead, that's the only situation where he leaves them alone, making his motivations completely nonsensical.
Mr. House's treatment of the Kings puts a dent in his reputation as Fallout: New Vegas' biggest mastermind. While there's no question that Mr. House's ultimate goal is to make Fallout: New Vegas' titular city shine, his approach is far from flawless. His inexplicable plan to wipe out the Kings unless they specifically start impeding his goals makes no sense at all, and damages the idea of him being a genius strategist who plans for everything. Mr. House may be the kingpin of Fallout: New Vegas, but his reaction to the Kings is one of his worst moves.
Fallout: New Vegas is available now for PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360.
