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.
