Fallout 3: Operation Anchorage

Fallout 3 Downloadable Content
Developer(s)	Bethesda Game Studios
Publisher(s)	Bethesda Softworks
Designer(s)	Emil Pagliarulo (lead designer) Todd Howard (executive producer) Istvan Pely (lead artist)
Composer(s)	Inon Zur
Series	Fallout
Engine	Gamebryo
Platform(s)	PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Release	Operation: Ancorage January 27, 2009 (Xbox Live) October 1, 2009 (PS3) The Pitt March 25, 2009 (Xbox Live) October 1, 2009 (PS3) Broken Steel May 5, 2009 (Xbox Live) September 24, 2009 (PS3) Point Lookout June 23, 2009 (Xbox Live) October 1, 2009 (PS3) Point Lookout August 3, 2009 (Xbox Live) October 8, 2009 (PS3)

Bethesda's Todd Howard first confirmed during E3 2008 that downloadable content would be prepared for the Xbox 360 and Windows versions of Fallout 3. There are five DLCs: Operation: Anchorage, The Pitt, Broken Steel, Point Lookout, and Mothership Zeta, released in that order. Of the five, Broken Steel has the largest effect on the game, altering the ending and allowing the player to continue playing past the end of the main quest line.

Originally, there was no downloadable content planned for the PlayStation 3 version of the game. Although Bethesda had not offered an official explanation as to why the content was not released for PlayStation 3, Lazard Capital Markets analyst Colin Sebastian speculated that it may have been the result of a money deal with Bethesda by Sony's competitor, Microsoft. When asked if the PlayStation 3 version would receive an update that would enable gameplay beyond the main quest's completion, Todd Howard responded, "Not at this time, no." However, in May 2009, Bethesda announced that the existing DLC packs (Operation: Anchorage, The Pitt and Broken Steel) would be made available for the PlayStation 3; the later two (Point Lookout and Mothership Zeta) were released for all platforms.

The Game of The Year edition of Fallout 3 includes the full game and the complete set of all five DLCs. As of September 18, 2009, the Trophies for the additional content were on view if the user had played with Trophies enabled; those that had received a platinum trophy before they were enabled would now have only 53% of the available trophies.

Operation: Anchorage

Operation: Anchorage is the first Fallout 3 downloadable content pack, and takes place as a virtual reality "military simulation" in the main game where the player character is stripped of their equipment and is forced to use the replacements provided. The content focuses on a titular event in the Fallout timeline before the Great War took place, in which the United States Army liberated Anchorage, Alaska, from its Chinese Communist invaders. The pack contains several new quests, new items, and adds four new achievements. Operation: Anchorage was released in North America and Europe on January 27, 2009 on Xbox Live and Games for Windows Live.

Although the content was scheduled for release on the PlayStation 3 in June 2009, the final week of June's PlayStation Store updates did not include it. Bethesda released information suggesting that the delay was due to their desire to iron out all of the bugs before release as well as test compatibility between DLCs. Operation: Anchorage, along with The Pitt, was released on October 1, 2009, for PS3.

Reception

Both the PC and the Xbox 360 version of the Operation: Anchorage DLC have received mixed reviews from critics, averaging a 67 and a 69 respectively at Metacritic. IGN, Eurogamer, GameOver, GameSpy, and play.tm criticized the price of Operation: Anchorage at 800 Microsoft Points, which is about $10, as being too expensive for the content provided. Eurogamer, Cheat Code Central, play.tm, and GameSpy criticized the shift to a focus on action gameplay (combat) instead of the more varied gameplay that Fallout 3 had.

The Pitt

The Pitt is the second downloadable content pack, and allows the player to journey to the industrial raider town known as The Pitt, in the remains of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The pack features several new weapons, new armor and clothing items, four achievements and around four to five hours of gameplay. The Pitt was released on March 24, 2009 on Xbox Live and Games for Windows Live, but was quickly removed due to glitches in the gameplay which made the Xbox 360 version of the expansion unplayable. Further investigation was performed by Bethesda and Microsoft, and according to a Bethesda's official Twitter, as of 10:00am PST on March 25, 2009, the expansion was again being uploaded to Xbox Live, and was again made available that afternoon. For those who downloaded it on March 24 in the morning, glitches were still apparent. A new version was available on Xbox Live on April 2, fixing freezing issues many players had encountered with the previous version. A retail disk was released at the end of May 2009 containing this and the Operation: Anchorage expansion packs. It was released for Xbox 360 and Games for Windows. The expansion packs are copied to the hard drive and function as it would had it been downloaded. This pack was released for the Playstation 3 at the same time as Operation Anchorage on October 1, 2009.

Reception

The Pitt has had a generally positive reception, averaging a score of 77 for the PC version and 79 for the Xbox 360 version. When initially released, the Xbox 360 version had a corrupt file which caused problems and rendered the DLC unplayable. As of April 3, 2009, Bethesda Softworks reports that they have uploaded a new version of The Pitt which fixes these problems. The PC version of The Pitt had the same problem, leading modders to create a patch called "The Pitt Crash Fix" which fixes the problems present in the wasteland but not interiors of The Pitt.

Broken Steel

Broken Steel is the third and most significant downloadable content pack, altering the original ending of Fallout 3 and allowing the player to continue playing past the end of the main quest line. If the player personally activated Project Purity, the player's subsequent death is retconned and they instead fall into a coma. Two weeks later, the player joins the ranks of the Brotherhood of Steel and helps rid the Capital Wasteland of the Enclave once and for all. The pack also raises the game's level cap from 20 to 30. It includes 3 main quests and 3 side-quests. Three Dog has new dialogue in this expansion, but no new songs are added. The new weapons in Broken Steel, including the Tesla Cannon, are some of the most powerful weapons in Fallout 3.

Broken Steel was released on May 5, 2009 on Xbox Live and Games for Windows - Live (GFWL). It was quickly removed from GFWL due to bugs which made the PC version of the expansion unplayable. Bethesda has stated that the problem lay with GFWL and that Microsoft was fixing the issue. Broken Steel was re-released on May 7 on Games For Windows live. Some Xbox 360 users have reported a bug that prevents them from activating Project Purity, resulting in the plot elements added by the DLC being inaccessible. PC users report that changes caused by Broken Steel and the 1.5 patch adversely affect mods to the game.

This pack was the first released for the PS3 version of the game due to it being the most requested DLC for the game. This is primarily due to the continuation of the story past the game's original ending, and for the raise in the level cap from level 20 to 30, as many complained that the cap could be reached far too quickly in playing the game's main campaign. Bethesda announced on their official website that "The first DLC for PlayStation 3, Broken Steel, [was] made available on September 24 in English territories and will be followed by the release of Operation: Anchorage and The Pitt on October 1, and Point Lookout and Mothership Zeta on October 8."

Reception

Broken Steel has had a generally positive reception, averaging an 81 for the PC and an 82 for the Xbox 360. The Sacramento Bee wrote "The previous two downloadable expansions are good, but this one's pretty much essential for a Fallout 3 fan". IGN mirrored this view by stating "Lifting the level cap breathes new life into a great game, but shouldn't totally overshadow a new series of quests that is a lot of fun." Edge on the other hand, while commenting that "it's the most you're going to get out of Fallout's current batch of DLC", it felt "it lacks the scope or density of Oblivion's The Shivering Isles." The A.V. Club commented that "After deflating the finality of the original ending, Broken Steel is unsure what to do next, beyond sending you on a few entertaining but hollow missions to snuff out the remnants of the para-military Enclave. Thankfully, the expansion’s B-story is more thoughtful, as it plunges into the chaos and profiteering that result when a limited supply of clean water starts flowing into the Wasteland."

Point Lookout

Point Lookout is the fourth downloadable content pack, and takes place in Point Lookout State Park in Maryland. Unlike other areas in Fallout, no bombs were dropped on Point Lookout, but has nonetheless degenerated into a place just as unforgiving as the Capital Wasteland. Humanity has left it behind and it is now described as a large swamp wasteland. This pack has new enemies called swampfolk, who are inbred hillbillies that openly attack with weapons such as axes, shovels and double-barreled shotguns. Other enemies include the Tribals cult. Unlike the previous content packs, which simply added additional landmarks to the main map (Broken Steel also added two very limited maps), Point Lookout has a fully explorable wasteland. Point Lookout was released on June 23, 2009 for the Xbox 360 and the PC and on October 8, 2009 for the PlayStation 3

Reception

Point Lookout has had a generally positive reception, averaging a 79 for the PC and an 83 for the Xbox 360. Eurogamer stated "Like a compacted version of its parent game, this is the first DLC that has felt like a genuine expansion, as opposed to a just a few inconsequential missions thrown together." IGN noted that "[t]he stories and characters here are filled with that trademark Fallout dark humor, elevating these quests to a level that rivals the main game" and that "[t]he major draw to Point Lookout... is its emphasis on exploration." Edge calls it "the best expansion so far and the game at its worst," stating "if you want a microcosm of Fallout 3, equal parts adventuring, grinding, questing and scavenging, you might just think it the best expansion so far." Edge goes on to criticize Point Lookout for using "a lot of what you might call ‘economy content’ in Point Lookout: recycled enemies, text journals, variant weapons, and bogus forks in the storyline."

Mothership Zeta

Mothership Zeta is the fifth and final downloadable content pack, and follows the main character after being abducted by aliens when going to explore a mysterious radio transmission from the Alien Crash Site. It takes place entirely on an alien spacecraft, is a similar size to Operation: Anchorage, and has a similar emphasis on combat as that DLC had. It was released on August 3, 2009 for the Xbox and PC and October 8th, 2009 for the Playstation 3 with Point Lookout

Reception

Mothership Zeta has received mixed reactions from critics, averaging a 70 for the PC and a 65 for the XBox 360. Edge comments that "Mothership Zeta’s greatest asset is its looks" and that "[w]hoever designed such beauty should be pretty peeved at the game around it." Edge also noted that they "encountered a script bug so catastrophic that we couldn’t finish the game - we actually had to clip through a doorway and use console commands to bring everything back on track" and criticize the DLC for locking off most of the ship after completion. Eurogamer states that "the most disappointing factor about Mothership Zeta is how little subtlety is afforded to the details" and sums up the DLC as "repetitive, largely uninspired corridor combat, and boring, linear and samey mission design." Gamedaily praises Zeta for "keep[ing] Fallout's trademark humor intact," its improved graphics, and the new enemies and weapons introduced.

External links

• Fallout 3 Official Website
• Fallout 3 at The Vault wiki
• Fallout 3 at IMDb