Player choice is at the heart of every Fallout game, which is part of why the series is so beloved. Obsidian Entertainment's Fallout: New Vegas kept that trend alive, with its apocalyptic tale giving players plenty of options for how to tackle the Mojave Wasteland. When it comes to deciding the fate of those in the game, one choice stands out above the rest as the quintessential New Vegas experience: siding with the Vegas Strip's notorious Mr. House.
Throughout their journey from the dusty trader town of Goodsprings to the glitzy Vegas Strip, players will encounter four important factions vying for the fate of New Vegas: the New California Republic, Caesar's Legion, Mr. House and Yes Man. For Fallout: New Vegas' central questline, the player must choose who to side with for the game's climactic final battle. It is no light decision, as the fate of the Mojave Wasteland and all the inhabitants therein lay in the player's hands. For the best outcome possible, with an ending that is fitting of the world created by Obsidian, Mr. House coming out on top is by far the best choice.
It's worth considering the history of New Vegas leading up to the beginning of the game. Mr. House had been a celebrity of sorts before The Great War of 2077 and successfully predicted the nuclear apocalypse, having taken steps to preserve his body in preparation for the conflict. As the owner of the Lucky 38 casino, House set up a number of defenses to protect the city from incoming warheads and managed to save Vegas from complete obliteration. However, the strain of the Great War forced House into a coma for over 60 years, awaking to find Vegas infested with tribes and gangs. House lived in the shadows, biding his time until the NCR appeared in the Mojave. Their presence was the impetus to act, with House mobilizing his securitrons to take charge of New Vegas. Claiming Vegas as his own, House struck a deal with the NCR, sharing the power of the Hoover Dam and allowing NCR troops to visit The Strip to spend their earnings.
Siding with Mr. House becomes an even stronger choice compared to the other factions vying for power. The NCR is a democratic institution, and while their intentions are for the good and betterment of humankind's remnants, the application of their ideology is lackluster. The more time players spend around the NCR, the more apparent it is they are woefully under-equipped to protect the Mojave. NCR outposts will always complain about a lack of supplies and dialogue with certain members reveals how NCR supply lines are under immense strain. The Mojave is one of many frontiers the NCR is struggling to maintain, so supporting them would only result in further troubles for an organization already spread too thin.
It's largely the same story with the Legion. In fact, the player can pass a speech check with the Legion's final boss and convince him as much. Caesar had conquered a region east of the Colorado River and his mission to the west has also become stuck in the quagmire. It would be the same outcome. Should Caesar take control, he would be yet another leader trying to uphold an empire too big for his means. A Legion-controlled Vegas would also eventually crumble.
The conflict between the NCR and Caesar's Legion threatens to tear the region apart and destroy everything rebuilt in the Mojave Wasteland. For Mr. House, Vegas is a beacon of the old world; having worked so hard to preserve it when the Great War sparked, he continues to work in an effort to save the city. In Fallout, reverence and preservation of the past have always been an ever-present theme. Whether it is the Brotherhood of Steel working to save valuable technology or the conservation of American history in Fallout 3, the wonders of the old world are something that Fallout's survivors strive to reclaim. Across the entire series, the city of New Vegas is perhaps the closest thing players will encounter to a wastelander's utopia.
Mr. House exemplifies Fallout's vision of greed. Developers of the Fallout series have always been critical of the elite and super-wealthy, seen with Fallout 3's Tenpenny Tower. But, at the same time, Fallout also takes a nihilistic view of these figures. "War never changes" is the most famous line in the franchise, but it doesn't just speak to humanity's tendency towards conflict. It speaks to all of human nature and that in regards to Mr. House, man will always strive for power over others. If the player chooses to follow Yes Man and create an independent Vegas, it would only be a matter of time before someone else rises up. Either way, the house always wins.