Fallout 3: Operation Anchorage

Fallout 3Bethesda is the famous development house behind the infamously overpriced "horse armor" downloadable content for Oblivion. The good news is that with Fallout 3's first content pack for the PC and Xbox 360, you get a lot more than armor: You get an entire mission set in a simulated...

Bethesda is the famous development house behind the infamously overpriced "horse armor" downloadable content for Oblivion. The good news is that with Fallout 3's first content pack for the PC and Xbox 360, you get a lot more than armor: You get an entire mission set in a simulated Alaska that recreates events prior to the nuclear holocaust--the one that turned our beloved planet into a desecrated wasteland. Returning to an awesome game is never a bad thing, and Operation Anchorage possesses some likeable features, like icy, atmospheric environments and new weapons to play with. On the other hand, this new mission is a mild letdown. By focusing on squad combat, Operation Anchorage seems to fancy itself a shooter, going light on role-playing elements and sending you off on a linear, combat-heavy adventure. Not only does it not play to Fallout 3's strengths, but shines a bright spotlight on its weaknesses. At 800 points ($10), this lackluster, slightly buggy three-hour escapade feels a bit overpriced.

Once you install the add-on, a radio distress signal points you to a group of Brotherhood outcasts that ask you to enter a combat simulator. They need military secrets from the past, and your pip-boy is the key to retrieving it. In true Matrix style, should you die in the simulation, you kick the bucket in real life as well. What is this secret technology the outcasts need? What's up with the sudden, insane events that ensue once you return from the simulation? There are few real answers: it's all an excuse to get you out of apocalyptica and into the snowy environs of Communist-besieged Alaska.

Operation Anchorage's focus on gunplay is obvious right from the beginning, pitting you against Chinese soldiers and granting you use of a sniper rifle, an uninspiring silenced pistol, and the truly awesome gauss rifle, amongst others. The mission is tightly controlled in the manner of a linear shooter, eschewing the stimpacks and corpse looting of Fallout 3 in favor of ammo caches and health dispensers. After you make your way to an Army outpost, you choose from a few pre-determined weapons loadouts, and more interestingly, personalize a squad from a selection of different soldier types, including the ever-popular Mister Gutsy.

Fans of slow-motion V.A.T.S. combat will enjoy the trek, since there are plenty of opportunities to shed blood and shoot off limbs and heads, and some new enemies to take on, like the stealth-enabled Crimson Dragoons and a giant Chimera tank. Your squad can come in handy, but artificial intelligence is not Fallout 3's specialty, a drawback that Operation Anchorage brings into plain view. Squad members frequently stand around and do nothing while bullets rain down on you, or may refuse to follow you; enemies move about with no real purpose; and everything feels a bit slipshod. Thank God for that Gauss rifle, a fine and powerful addition to your loadout as long as you play your cards correctly, and one that you will get to add to your wasteland arsenal when you return to DC.

Ranged combat was never Fallout 3's greatest strength, but in the context of a huge nuclear RPG, the mechanics made good sense. In a downloadable mission that essentially turns the game into a squad-based shooter, they feel a bit more bothersome. Thankfully, you do get some weapons and armor to take back with you into the wasteland, a new perk (if you collect ten briefcases in the simulation), and some new achievement points. You also get some new bugs. We got stuck in the environment, forcing a reload; an inventory item from the wasteland managed to stay in our inventory within the simulation; and enemies simply popped into view as if teleporting in. There are other reported glitches, including one that lets you equip multiple weapon sets.

Any character can access Operation Anchorage at any time, and its difficulty is purely dependent on your current level. This downloadable content is good, but it isn't spectacular, and $10 seems a bit too much to ask for a short combat-focused addon that provides a bit of fun but doesn't espouse the traits that make Fallout 3 such a superb experience.

260 Comments

  • athenian29

    Posted Jul 20, 2009 7:05 am PT

    I forget which DLC it was that added post-conclusion play time, but THAT one was the best for that reason alone. Broken Steel, wasn't it?

  • Setsuka13

    Posted Jun 26, 2009 4:39 pm PT

    This looks fun. Nice to see a change of pace from the traditional desert wasteland.

  • jcenawwe

    Posted Feb 8, 2009 5:21 pm PT

    very god

  • DarthReven_123

    Posted Feb 8, 2009 12:45 pm PT

    The DLC was amazing I Liked It...It Made Me Add More Hours Into Fallout
    But Its Worth It

  • duran_gabriel

    Posted Feb 7, 2009 2:31 pm PT

    Fallout 3 (from my point of view) made me to stay in front of my tv more than other games, so it made me fell like a didn`t want to go to school and work )). When this update will be availible i must blow up my xbox ))))))

  • xKenshinHimura

    Posted Feb 7, 2009 1:02 pm PT

    DLC Gives you (in addition to fighting Chinese invaders in Anchorage) White T-51b Armor(with no part of it looking like it has algae on it) and the best thing about this armor is it always stays at 100% condition rating. You also get Chinese stealth armor ( which lets you turn transparent when you sneak, goodbye stealth boy, hello Chinese stealth armor) and it adds +15 stealth. Gauss energy sniper rifle (damage 96!) and a perk that raises Science, lockpick, and repair by +5

  • ecko1o1 posted Feb 7, 2009 4:37 am PT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    ecko1o1

    Posted Feb 7, 2009 4:37 am PT (hide)

    does anyone still play Fallout 3? After about 3 weeks of play I just find the world plain and boring and the combat repetitive. No amount of DLC could change that.

  • shani_boy101

    Posted Feb 6, 2009 1:22 am PT

    i'm up to the part in the main quest where i'm meant to go to Rivet for Doctor Li. should i do this DLC now?

  • kwloy

    Posted Feb 3, 2009 3:58 pm PT

    Hey godfather, no the game does not continue on the xbox. U have to do the quest before the end of the game since it is added in there.

  • solidsnake7882

    Posted Feb 3, 2009 3:29 pm PT

    @gbaturin
    Ummm what are you on? The game has never once crashed on me.

  • godfather1019

    Posted Feb 3, 2009 2:05 pm PT

    i have fallout 3 for ps3 and after your done with the main quest the game ends, i'm thinking about getting the xbox 360 version for the download, but i dont understand in the xbox 360 version does the game still end totally or can you still run around and do side quest and such, does the expansion change that?

  • StarlightHunter

    Posted Feb 3, 2009 9:56 am PT

    lol What, Sony didn't send you guys the review code of Killzone 2?

    im sorry but this is an opinion so dont get offended but i wasnt impressed with killzone on the ps2, in fact i thought it was s***. what makes you ps3 owners think the second one will be anybetter, halo killer ( far from it ).

  • Pyroninja42

    Posted Feb 2, 2009 4:57 pm PT

    Un4giving, all I want to say is that you have an awesome avatar. That album was amazing.

  • Un4givingAsault

    Posted Feb 2, 2009 4:29 pm PT

    Thought the DLC was fun, but was not really impressed. For Instance, the holotapes descirbe the Chinese invasion of Anchorage as unsupressable, do to the massive ammounts of troops they have. Yet the most you see at a time is about five. And when you kill the generally there are only a handful of troops on your side and the chinese side. It just didn't feel epic and didnt feel like it fight the story line at all.

  • Gamer_4_Fun

    Posted Feb 2, 2009 1:49 pm PT

    @jonsushi - u should be spending more time to get ur facts straight than eatng sushi. all the major review sites except Gamespot published their review. DUMB ***

  • Gamer_4_Fun

    Posted Feb 2, 2009 1:48 pm PT

    What, Sony didn't send you guys the review code of Killzone 2?

  • StarlightHunter

    Posted Feb 2, 2009 1:42 pm PT

    some people say the dlc wasnt worth it but think about what your getting, armor that cant degrade and some immense cannon like weapon. my only concern about F03 is the graphical problems where it looks like the screen has smashed, bethesda please sort these out.

  • metalgear-solid posted Feb 2, 2009 12:50 pm PT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    metalgear-solid

    Posted Feb 2, 2009 12:50 pm PT (hide)

    Pretty average stuff. Not that FO3 was ever special.

  • gbaturin

    Posted Feb 2, 2009 2:55 am PT

    here's my short review of the DLC.
    THE GOOD:
    New levels, textures, enemies, items, weapons.
    Multiple choices of approach.
    Squad-based warfare with up to 4 allies at your command.
    Cool new weapons & items to use in the Wasteland.

    THE BAD:
    The friendly AI is terrible, units often lag up or get stuck.
    The game STILL crashes every 10 minutes.
    The end battle isn't even a battle - disappointing.

    Overall, I give Anchorage a rating of 8 out of 10.

  • H_FIRE

    Posted Feb 2, 2009 1:41 am PT

    Thank you for the review. I just downloaded the dlc for free and i'll give it a try when i decide to give fallout 3 a try. Although it seems that for an rpg fanatic like me , fallout 3 and its dlc will be a sure buy after trying them out. On the other hand, no , i don't support expensive dlc. However , sometimes the initial cost of such a beautiful game (from what i've seen and read about so far) justifies additional fees simply because they did us a favor by setting a low base cost in order for their product to sell and us to be able to try it out. Wouldn't you agree that a fantastic game that gets such a review and such a high appraisal would deserve 100 bucks initially ? It's probably a lot better than 2-3 other games together and sometimes even cheaper at 100 bucks. Yet it needs to keep a low price to be competitive simply because people like things cheap. I bought all my Final Fantasy games and today i would pre-order any Final Fantasy game no matter what the cost is. No matter what, you hear? I would pay 400 euro for FFXIII even if i'm too cheap to buy an xbox at this point ! (that and the fact that the rrod is still not a distant memory). After playing Fallout 1 a few weeks back i was really disappointed ... i mean really really disappointed!?! what in the world was there to love about it , if you get past the ancient graphics? There was no interaction with a.i. No decisions affecting the outcome of the game. No beautiful story. No visual stunning art.. Definitely not a sleeping hit! I played ICO in one session in the weekend. The graphics were old but the game was AMAZING! ... So i went and bought it afterwards for only 10 bucks!
    I will try Fallout 3. But if it fails the test, i'll never pay for it. Nor a dlc that's as pricey as an amazing game but only a letdown on its own.
    I don't support the black market. I don't sell what i download for free and i buy whatever i think it's worth the money. I'm definitely not every company's gamer target. But i'm a loyal fan once you get me on your side. Bethesda i wish you good luck.

  • mendez1107

    Posted Feb 1, 2009 5:45 pm PT

    I´m not going to complain about the price, because most DLC is overpriced, basically it´s a 3 hour vacation from the wastelands, no exploration at all, a few achievements, a couple of nice weapons (Gauss Rifle is Pure Hardcore Heavy Metal!!), really useful if your character is new or almost new, hope next DLCs are a bit longer or more related to other existent quests.

  • LadyFreyja

    Posted Feb 1, 2009 4:55 pm PT

    It was nice to take a break from the wastelands and spend some time in Alaska, the ice and snow look great in Fallout's graphics engine. I thought the 2 squad based missions were interesting but shallow (there are essentially only 2 commands you can give your troops - run in and attack everything or wait here.). My only real complaint is how the expansion isn't really... expansive. I beat the new DLC in one sitting, only a few hours worth of gaming. And the area is very enclosed so exploration is non-existent. Once you've played through the handful of quests all that you come away with is a few more achievement points and a few new items. I wished for the price the DLC could have been a bit longer.

  • Col-Neil

    Posted Feb 1, 2009 2:54 pm PT

    You find a lot of the DLC these days are way over priced

  • Zain-Midori

    Posted Feb 1, 2009 12:39 pm PT

    pretty ;D

  • pycho22solid

    Posted Feb 1, 2009 10:06 am PT

    It was overpriced, but I thought the armor and weapons you get are really cool, and it's pretty fun mission

  • metalgear-solid posted Feb 1, 2009 6:07 am PT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    metalgear-solid

    Posted Feb 1, 2009 6:07 am PT (hide)

    FO is such an overrated game anyway. It's nothing special.

  • hairybeanbag posted Feb 1, 2009 4:45 am PT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    hairybeanbag

    Posted Feb 1, 2009 4:45 am PT (hide)

    Bah..who cares?I can get it on my PC for free anyway

  • NavIGOtoR25

    Posted Feb 1, 2009 2:08 am PT

    I like Fallout 3 and all that with him is bound.

  • somethincoolest

    Posted Jan 31, 2009 8:59 pm PT

    played it at my friends house i liked it, it was more straight forward then regular fallout 3 because it just had main quests not side quests which is what i liked what i didnt was how easily you got health, supplies, guns, and ammo way to easy WAY TO EASY after ever fight there would be some supplies and stuff waiting for you

  • CwlHeddwyn posted Jan 31, 2009 5:04 pm PT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    CwlHeddwyn

    Posted Jan 31, 2009 5:04 pm PT (hide)

    LOL @ the Americans who didnt alter their country settings.

    there are like 200 countries in the world- not just the United States.

  • StarlightHunter

    Posted Jan 31, 2009 4:27 pm PT

    xKenshinHimura is right. the winterized t-51b nearly indestructable. the gauss rifle is just epic and kills yao guais in one. and then you get the stealth armor and that is totaly amazing and allows you to steal near enough anything and the shocksword can vapurorize enemies upon a critical. covert ops raises science, lock pick and small guns by 5 each i think. all worth it in in my opinion. it was 6 quid. i earn 4 times that in an hour.

  • xKenshinHimura

    Posted Jan 31, 2009 12:16 pm PT

    What all you people who say "Anchorage DLC sucks Or I dont care anyway" you need to look past Op Anchorage. What you get for completeing Anchorage is where the real value of the DLC is. You get T-51b armor that doesn't look like parts of it are covered with algae and the best part about this armor is that it NEVER DEGRADES IN CONDITION. Think about it, armor that is always at 100% condition rating. You also get a chinese shocksword with good power and a chance to disintegrate the target(which can be repaired with other chinese officer swords), awesome black chinese stealth armor( +15 to stealth), the powerful Gauss energy sniper rifle(96 damage), and the Covert Ops perk(if you find all 10 intel cases) which raises Science, Lockpick, and maybe some others( I wasn't paying much attention).

  • ratavaquera posted Jan 31, 2009 9:08 am PT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    ratavaquera

    Posted Jan 31, 2009 9:08 am PT (hide)

    bah, it isnt free and it isnt available for PS3...

    i dont care anyway

  • StarlightHunter

    Posted Jan 31, 2009 8:23 am PT

    To mrzshahrukh. have you tried the disc in your PAL console because some of them are region free compatable. i have a NTSC-J and it works on my PAL console.

  • jmpenguin

    Posted Jan 31, 2009 5:43 am PT

    The reason why defaulting to the United Kingdom is a problem when signing up for a Windows Live account is because a US user will glance at this box that is placed off to the side, assume it says United States and continue. It should default to "Please select country/region" like a normal, intelligently constructed website developed by a highly profitable corporation. Ironically, the guy I spoke to at Microsoft support told me that he also picked the wrong country, and he also had to make a new account. So apparently I am not the only one. I have no idea why Microsoft cannot change the country established with an account, but apparently it is an unbreakable law of computer coding.

  • Darkreaper_1 posted Jan 31, 2009 5:36 am PT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    Darkreaper_1

    Posted Jan 31, 2009 5:36 am PT (hide)

    I was going to download this for my PC but when i found out you have to buy "points" to download it i stopped. What's wrong with normal money? And as jmpenguin pointed out it costs 800 points but you can only buy 500 or a 1,000 so you have to buy more than you need!

    Also not happy that PS3 owners are getting screwed over but from reading the blog above i don't think they or myself will be missing much.

    If it ever comes out via the normal expansion pack means i'll probably get it, same with the upcoming expansions but i'm not supporting the Microsoft points system. I just hope the next two expansion pacts aren't going to be delivered via the crappy Microsoft points system.

  • mrzshahrukh

    Posted Jan 31, 2009 3:47 am PT

    Man,I Have This Game But it is NTSC My xbox360 console is pal so i cannot play this game when this game will come for pal consoles.

  • roaljalm

    Posted Jan 30, 2009 10:10 pm PT

    Havent decided if ill spend the points yet. if its free ill just get my son to download it for pc. Hey BlueZo6 Why dont you just pay someone to fix the weapon. If you put money into the Trader caravans it really upgrades their Repair skill. I do that with my unique weapons. And did it all the time with my Cyborg Plasma rifle before i started getting them from the Enclave dudes. Hope im not misunderstanding your comment but i hope this tip gets your Gauss rifle back out of the storage bin. Good hunting wastelanders!!

  • tkdhotshot

    Posted Jan 30, 2009 10:08 pm PT

    UK win (even tho im australian ) i didnt really like Fallout 3 lacked in many areas but im still interested in testing this new mission lol

  • rrclarkcdr

    Posted Jan 30, 2009 8:43 pm PT

    @jmpenguin
    Why is it such a big deal that it defalts to the UK. Gamers do live there...

  • tobkinator

    Posted Jan 30, 2009 7:54 pm PT

    I was really tempted to buy Fallout but after I borrowed it from a friend I just got turned off from the game for some reason. Glad you guys seem to like it, to each his own I guess. @Jonsushi, nice.......

  • jmpenguin

    Posted Jan 30, 2009 5:06 pm PT

    If you are a PC user, then you will have to sign up with Windows Live to get this expansion (the Xbox 360 internet service). You should know that signing up is a horrendous nightmare that will take you a week to recover from. When setting up your account, off to the side is a box that says country/region that you will probably not even glance at. This box DEFAULTS to the UNITED KINGDOM. If you neglect to change this (and you will if you are a normal human being), then you will not be able to change it later. This means that you will not be able to input your address when giving credit card information. Don't bother calling support and waiting on hold. You will have to use a new e-mail address and gametag and start from scratch.

    If you get past this hurdle, you will find out that you can purchase either 500 points or 1000 points. The game costs 800 points so apparently you have to spend $12.50 for this expansion. I stopped at this point (and you will too if you are a normal human being).

    I have never had to work harder to give somebody $10 in my life.

  • dailychristian

    Posted Jan 30, 2009 5:06 pm PT

    To Pyroninja42. Probably because of the massive influx of gamer commentary on the wishes to know the details about what they are buying. Good customer service in general. I am glad they are reviewing them. It will help gamers avoid wasting thier money on gameplay experiences that don't suit them. it should also curb the support for poorly designed expansions.

  • Charismakid27

    Posted Jan 30, 2009 4:21 pm PT

    How do you get it for PC

    anyway looks Awesome

  • Pyroninja42

    Posted Jan 30, 2009 4:10 pm PT

    ChocoKat, what I meant by cut us a break is to not charge so much. I got Operation Anchorage, and I love it, but it's a wee bit too expensive. Though I am curious... Why is GS reviewing operation anchorage, again? It's not an expansion; it's an add-on.

  • dailychristian

    Posted Jan 30, 2009 3:28 pm PT

    ChocoKat, you speak like a true customer service representative. So in that spirit I will remind you that WE are the almighty consumer and they are providing a product/service to us. It is our job to deliver, as should it be thier desire to hear, our honest and heartfelt opinion of the product/service they provide. This DLC implemented less than half of Fallout 3's potential by removing the aspects of the game that set it apart in the first place. Ask yourself if you would have spent $60 on a full version of this game that was identical in play to the "expansion". Anyone who has played Gears of War or any other comparable FPS would laugh at this feeble attempt at an action shooter. My opinion of course, but I wager that the average gamer, unaware of the status of Bethesda or the popularity of Fallout 3, will feel the same.

  • ooNaruto

    Posted Jan 30, 2009 3:11 pm PT

    wait.. so i can't take people's armor and weapons after killing them?

    that sucks. I'll probaly buy it anyway. Looks good if you ask me

  • KrzyJoe posted Jan 30, 2009 2:57 pm PT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    KrzyJoe

    Posted Jan 30, 2009 2:57 pm PT (hide)

    @Jonsushi: Well Said
    and about fallout well sucks for u guys that bought it.

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