Fallout 3 Operation: Anchorage DLC Reviews

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Written by BuckGB on February 2nd, 2009

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The problem I have though with the missions in the DLC is that the game tries to be an action FPS when Fallout 3 clearly is not one and doesn't feel like one in the first place. I know Bethesda is trying something different with Operation Anchorage but the gameplay just doesn't feel right. I shouldn't be running around and gunning like I was in Quake or Unreal Tournament. Yes, you can try to sneak around and take enemies out quietly but there's little or lack of any role playing other than that. You can't repair anything, you don't have to worry about picking up health or ammo, and you don't have to use much strategy other than going in guns blazing to finish the act. It took me roughly 2.75 hours to get through the entire thing as the progress is pretty linear so it's also short. In retrospect, it falls short when trying to be an action game.

Gameplay-wise the mechanics stay the same - I still haven't tired of seeing someone's head explode in a mess of gore and eyeballs and there are quite a few enemies to deal with in Operation Anchorage. Unfortunately, the range of enemies is not particularly diverse. There are your standard goggle wearing Chinese grunts, the rather nifty looking Predator-camouflaged Crimson Dragoon elite troops and a tank, with the latter being the most disappointing. I was expecting a large-scale brawl with the tanks but after a damp squib of a set piece they were never to be seen again. Bah!

The problem seems to be that after you download and install the game, and even after the Games For Windows client has told you that it's been installed, the DLC doesn't seem to go into effect in-game. Technically, you should be able to wander to a certain spot in the Wasteland, whereupon you'll pick up a mysterious radio signal that will lead to the new content. For a number of players, however, that radio signal never shows up.

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