So, the first of three Fallout 3 DLC arrived, and I've already finished it. Yeah, already. I knew it was going to be short, but I'm pretty sure I beat the new content in just under three hours. Besides that, I found it quite enjoyable. Not much to say story wise, but the new items are definitely pretty handy. Although, the presentation of Anchorage is less than stellar. Here's the breakdown:Good
New Items: There are definitely some great things to be looted in Operation: Anchorage. The Gauss Rifle in particular is pretty sweet (although, you can't repair it once it breaks down *sigh*). Finally, something besides the Sniper Rifle and Scoped .44 Magnum to work with when sniping Super Mutants. Also, the two armors available are quite good as well. One is just a repeat of another (possible to get in You Gotta Shoot 'em in the Head, I believe), but the ninja-like Chinese armor is great if your character relies on stealth. It doesn't hurt that it looks awesome too!
Action!: Now, I love the pacing of Fallout 3, but sometimes I just want to mow people down. The new levels deliver just that. From semi-squad based action to trench warfare, Operation: Anchorage brings something a little different to the table. Is it the best FPS I've ever played? Not even close. But I'm glad the pacing shifted a little bit if only for a few hours. Besides, killing tons of Chinese communists is just plain fun!
Bad
That's it?: I wasn't expecting the grand 16 square miles or the crazy fetch quests the main game supplies but three hours? What more is there to say? You download it. Play for a little while. It's over. Disappointing on that front. More so, there is very little reason to replay it.
Anchorage looks like... not this: So, I'm from Anchorage. Born and raised. I'm a little pissed off that Anchorage didn't look anything like it's real-life counterpart. I'm talking nothing looked like it should. Perhaps, I'm the only one who cares because that's my hometown, but I was pretty excited to explore even just a little bit of where I come from. I guess, I won't get to. I'll give Bethesda Studios some credit for having some name drops (Fire Island, Chugach, etc.), but it would seem that's all the effort they were going to put in.
Overall
For what it's worth, Operation: Anchorage is a pretty fun distraction from the beast that is Fallout 3. If you got an extra $10, I say go for it. If you didn't really care for Fallout 3 the first time through, don't bother at all. Oh, and if you're from Anchorage, just be prepared to see your "hometown" represented poorly.
Did the Outcast guys turn against you after the simulation when you were getting your stuff from the vault? I swear I didn't provoke them, yet about 30 seconds after I started picking loot out of the vault I heard that chick yell some sort of battle cry and then all the other dudes turned on her and shredded her with their gattling lasers. I have no idea why this happened given that there is basically zero context for the Outcasts and they didn't tell me jack when I tried to question them before the simulation. I'm guessing that woman was there against her will to aid in the opening (being an engineer or something) and that the Outcasts never entended to allow me full access to the loot. The game never told me any of this, though. There was never even a hint in any of the dialog. That's the problem I have with this DLC, a little more time could have gone into fleshing it out.
ReplyDeleteI know exactly what you're talking about, and I actually have an answer for you because I wondered the same thing. I replayed just the last scene to figure it out, and here's what I got:
ReplyDeleteThe black Outcast talks to the lead guy and says (basically), "I don't trust outsiders, and you're going to give away all the loot we worked so hard to secure."
The lead guy says, "Then I guess we have a problem soldier. What are you going to do about it?"
They keep bantering like that for a bit, and then all the Outcasts except the lead guy and the girl you mentioned begin attacking you. It's really bizarre for sure.
Did you run into problems with the Power Armor guys in the last mission (to kill the Chinese general) attacking you? They killed me three times for no fucking reason! What gives?
One other thing: have you gone to Fort Independence? You probably have, but if not, check it out because it gives a lot more background on who exactly are the Outcasts.
ReplyDeleteOh, well all right. I guess they expected you to hang around and eavesdrop.
ReplyDeleteMy first attempt with the final boss ended apparently because everyone, including friendlies, started shooting me. I assumed it was because I hit one of them by mistake but I don't know for sure. I guess I was more careful the next time because I killed him.