Fallout 3, Operation Anchorage Reviewed

Operation Anchorage is the recently released downloadable content for Fallout 3 on the Xbox 360. There is also more to come (Sorry Ito). Needless to say, it was highly anticipated on my part. The DLC adds a whole new look and feel to the game. Is it worth it? Review after the jump.

I downloaded this dlc the morning it was released, played for an hour before I left for school and waited anxiously throughout the day until I could get back home. Needless to say I finished it pretty quickly. Who needs sleep when you are med student, right? Other than the fact that I'm an idiot, it was fantastic. I'm an idiot because I thought that the level cap and the end game was going to be changed with this dlc. I was wrong, it's happening with the Broken Steel dlc that is due out in March.

Interestingly, Bethesda knows what there two main problems were for Fallout 3, and decided to fix the issues with Broken Steel. Executive producer Todd Howard, interviewed by MTV Multiplayer, said:

"Greatest Lesson? Don't let the game end, and don't have a level cap."

Lead produced Jeff Gardiner had this to say on the matter:

"Along with removing the game's 'ending' with Broken Steel, we figure raising the level cap would allow them to [enjoy the game for longer]. We plan on raising it to level 30 - but it will be a long, hard climb to get there!"

So there you have it. They realized that they had the right idea in Oblivion all along.

Pros:

1) The feel of the game completely changed in the dlc. I almost felt like I was Sam Fisher or was playing a sneaking level in Call of Duty. I am usually a run and gun type of player when it comes to Bethesda games, so it was a unexpectedly nice change of pace. From the get go they lean on you to be stealthy. I'm glad they did. Fun factor was very high, imho.

2) New stuff is always nice, but what happens when you can't have it. Anyone who has played Fallout knows that the first thing you do after clearing out some enemies is loot their corpse. Kind of morbid I know, but hey, it's the wasteland and a vault dweller has got to get by. The point is that since the most of the dlc takes place in a VR sim the baddies kind of phaze out after you take them out. The effect is great but what about my new stuff? If you remember a past post, I really wanted me some ninja suit. I was very disappointed, but alas Bethesda came through and gave me all the goodies after the VR sim. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Just to make the sting worse for Ito, let me elaborate on the goodies:

1) M72 Gauss Rifle. I really wish that I had some in game screen grabs to show you. It is essentially a one shot sniper rifle that packs quite punch. If it doesn't take 'em out it will push them down to the ground, giving you a chance to take them out quietly.



2) Hei Gui Chinese Stealth Armor. Not only does this thing look great, it's functional too. When crouched it enables a "stealth boy" type invisibility. Also fun, you can wear eye wear and hats with it. I rocked my stealth suit with Button's Wig.



3) Jingwei's Shock Sword. What ninja would be complete without his sword? This weapon essentially looks the same as other chinese swords in the game but with a sweet electric light show. Not too special, but cool nonetheless. (Pic I have is crappy and won't upload, sorry)

4) Other wearable armor. There is a new Winterized T-51b Power Armor, meh. It really doesn't have any great perks, BUT apparently it never degrades. It is possible that the code written for the Power Armor inside the sim may have been used for the real world armor. Is that really worth carrying around some heavy armor? I prefer Reilly's Rangers Armor. Then there is also a not so cool looking Neural Interface Suit. It is used to activate the sim and has no added perk. There is also one other item, but I don't want to say so I don't ruin the way they bring this quest about. There is a trench knife that is essentially a combat knife with brass knuckles, but who uses knives when you have electric swords.

3) It is a pretty decent size. I wish I could tell you more, but I don't want to spoil it for Ito. The dlc feels like a mission. It doesn't necessarily leave you wanting more. In trying to come up with more positive things about the length, I find myself writing negatives. So...

Cons:

1) Length. 10 bucks is a lot of money, especially seeing as how the other two dlc's are going to be ten bucks each as well. Of course I am totally going to get them anyways. Throughout the sim mission I kept thinking to myself, when is this going to end? Now?... Now? Maybe I was being too hard on it, expecting it to be too short. It doesn't take the 4 hours that Bethesda claims it does. Maybe if you are using a new character that you haven't leveled up yet. Which bring me to the next issue.

2) Difficulty. It's too easy. I never died once. I only came close once, and even then it was due to my stupid AI army buddy running in with guns blazing. What an idiot. They should have definitely done something to make it equalized for all levels of characters. Maybe even make the rank a set level just for the sim. I wouldn't have minded. Although I can see some annoying nerd types getting angry that their character that can take 50 direct shots to the head with an assault rifle is now a weakling.

3) You can't do the mission again. Yes, I saved before hand, duh. But I missed one of the intel cases that you need to recover to get the covert ops perk. I can't get it now. I was planning on being more thorough with my second character, oh well.

I feel that I have made this too long already. Hopefully I made Ito just jealous enough without spoiling too much.

See you in the wasteland, CHHIILLDDRRRENN!