The 411 on Fallout 3 DLC

You guys get a special treat today...sort of. For some reason, my column wasn't uploaded to the Western Herald website. You can, however, read my preview of Video Games Live here.

So, here's this week's column in its entirety. Enjoy!

The video game industry’s downloadable content market is a lot like the Capital Wasteland in Fallout 3. For every valuable piece of loot and friendly trader you find, there’s a bloodthirsty band of Raiders or a Deathclaw lurking around the next rock.

The analogy is perfect for Fallout 3, a game that continues to offer new content months after its release. The original Fallout 3 is, by itself, a massive game that can be played a million different ways. That depth is compounded by the recent addition of episodic downloadable content.

The first of three planned episodes for Fallout 3 debuted in January. Operation: Anchorage puts players in a military computer simulation that chronicles a key event in the past of the Fallout mythos. Your player character takes part in the Battle of Anchorage, which was fought between the U.S. Army and Chinese Communists in Anchorage, Alaska.

The simulation itself gives players new weapons like the devastating Gauss Rifle, which comes in handy when taking out the ninja-like Chinese Spec Ops soldiers. Speaking of ninjas, the new stealth suit, looking like something out of Metal Gear Solid 4, is unlocked by beating the simulation. Among the rest of the quest’s loot is a special set of Power Armor that never degrades and keeps your insides nice and intact.

While the loot is well worth the computer-simulated Alaskan deathtrap, the journey isn’t as sweet. I’m not sure if this problem exists on the PC version, but little items like ammo and health are frustrating to pick up with control sticks on consoles. A player could spend a whole minute wrangling his thumbs just to grab some ammo.

The biggest problem with Operation: Anchorage is the emphasis on straight-up combat. Stalking through snow-covered trenches ain’t no Call of Duty. Fallout 3’s strength is its blend of exploration, combat, RPG elements and loot. The first person shooting aspect is a weak leg to stand on, and OA puts most of its weight on it. Whether you choose stealth or run-and-gun, your primary focus is killing Chinese soldiers. There’s no meaningful character interaction, moral choices, or equipment customization, all the hallmarks of Fallout 3 gameplay.

I’m not saying that I regret purchasing Operation: Anchorage. I was just a little disappointed with it’s execution. At $20, it’s still a pretty good deal, considering that it’s a little game in and of itself. I would lump OA in with Grand Theft Auto: The Lost and the Damned as the best DLC of the new year thus far. As important as it is for DLC to be good, it must also be appropriately priced. It’s good to see that Bethesda and Rockstar (Fallout 3 and GTA developers, respectively) aren’t going to nickel and dime us for extra content.

Fortunately, Bethesda has a chance to improve their DLC. Two more chances, as a matter of fact. The next expansion is The Pitt, available March 24. This episode takes players out of their familiar Washington DC stomping grounds and into Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, home of a massive slaving operation.

It seems players will be afforded more choices this time around. Will you side with the slaves in overthrowing their Raider overlords? Will you help a desperate character save his cure for mutations? Or just kill everyone with the new Auto Axe, the new multi-bladed instrument of gory death? If Bethesda plays its cards right, we’ll partake of all three several times over.

I’m saving my most fervent anticipation for the third expansion pack, Broken Steel, release date to-be-announced. This episode is important, because it completely rewrites the ending of the game and lifts the level cap that prevents players from gaining skills past Level 20.

Apparently, our buddy from the Vault sides with the Brotherhood of Steel in eradicating the Super Mutant Menace once and for all. This seems to be a bit rosy of an ending for my tastes, but it beats the original ending. I’ll try not to spoil things too much, but the original game ending involves your character’s death. So be sure you have a save game before completing the main quest in case you want to keep exploring the Wasteland. That is, until you buy Broken Steel.

It may seem unfair that all this good stuff is limited only to players who are willing to pay for the game twice over (three downloads at $20 each). Heck, if/when Fallout 3 depreciates in value in a year or so, the DLC will be worth more than the original game.

However, Fallout 3 is a complete and enjoyable game in its own right and can stand alone without additional content. These new episodes are a way to keep veteran players looking for new challenges engaged.

Things could have turned out much worse; Bethesda could have just whipped up some new outfits for your character, a new companion or two and charged gamers out the bunghole for it. But instead, we get three completely new experiences in the wonderful, post-apocalyptic world of Fallout 3.

My secret hope is that they release a content pack for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 that allows players to customize and name equipment. Imagine pimping out your combat shotgun to fire poison pellets! I could finally make a incendiary ammo-spitting Chinese Assault rifle called Chinese Democracy, or a .32 revolver named Mr. Blasty. It’s not much, but it would make my Fallout experience that much more personal.

Brian Diefenbach, a copy editor and columnist for the Western Herald, is a junior majoring in imaging. He can be reached via e-mail at brian.a.diefenbach@wmich.edu. For more Game Brain, check out http://www.gamebrainonline.blogspot.com.

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