Fallout 3 Operation: Anchorage DLC Reviews

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Written by BuckGB on February 3rd, 2009

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Because that's what Operation Anchorage is. It's a linear shooter in which you follow a pre-set path, shooting Chinese in the process. Combat wasn't the best part of Fallout 3, with overpowered VATS and AI that makes politicians look like MENSA members, but there it was at least balanced with exploration and some character interaction. In the grim past of the Fallout world, there's only war.

And you're fighting alone again, to make it worse - the touted "strike force customization" feature is a failure, as you have no control over their behaviour and their AI is pretty much nonexistent. So, in the end, you still have to shoot everything yourself, since your squad either ends up dead, stuck or watching the wall.

What further degrades the gameplay is how sparsely populated the battlefield is. One would expect the final confrontation between American and Chinese forces in Anchorage to include massive amounts of soldiers and ordnance with, but no, the operation feels more like a small skirmish on the sideline of the actual battle. Tense trench warfare in Anchorage is a yawn-inducing walk through narrow corridors, blasting the occassional mandarin-speaking grunt to pieces in overpowered VATS. A large vehicle depot supporting many tanks is a small yard with ten grunts to kill. The final "push" adds injury to insult, as it consists of six T-51b Power Armour soldiers running through an ice field to blow up a door.

The change in rules and level structure -- even the reliance on reaching health/ammo drops -- creates an experience that is more tense than almost anything in Fallout 3's main game. Although it's probably going to feel a lot less so for those who already have high-level characters. That's because all of your perks, skills, and stats carry over. If you're a dead-aim in the Wasteland, the VR enemies will be much easier to head shot. On the other hand, if you play the campaign early on in your Fallout 3 experience, it's going to prove very tough.

Operation: Anchorage is a blast to play and the weapons earned after completing it are certainly useful in the Capital Wastelands, but it's not without some serious flaws. The VR missions are very short, taking only 2-3 hours to complete and can't be replayed once beaten. This DLC also doesn't let gamers extended level progression past 20 or continue the game past its original ending. You'll have to wait for the Broken Steel DLC for that.

Despite its shortcomings, Operation: Anchorage is a must own for Fallout 3 owners. It may be short and sweet, but anything that can add life to a title this good deserves needs to be played.

There is not really much more to say about the gameplay, as from here on in it is simply a case of clearing enemy camps and destroying your objectives. So how does it all hang together?

I found the episode really very easy - the combination of frequent health pickups and ammo replenishers made it almost impossible to die. The enemies also seemed a lot more fragile than in the "real" world. In fact, I only died once - and that was because I was standing too close to an artillery gun when I blew it up. This may also be due to the fact that I was playing with my buffed-out level 20 character.

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