Operation Anchorage - A review

[nitnit]

Now that I've got a 360, I'm playing through Fallout 3 for a second time (first time was on the PC) to try doing some things differently, and fully completing the game.

In order to be completely thorough, I downloaded the first major DLC package for the game, Operation Anchorage. Here's a brief review.




Downloadable Content. A great way for game companies to add on to their games, fix up loose ends, and sometimes make a little cash in the process. Operation Anchorage is a respectable 800 microsoft points, which is about 10$. Usually I try to avoid factoring in cost in a review, but Operation Anchorage cannot be borrowed, resold, rented, and pirating it is relatively difficult even on the PC, let alone a 360.

For this price, I found Operation Anchorage to be rather short. It took me approximately 4-5 hours to complete, and I had my fair share of deaths (my charismatic lockpicking computer hacking character had little advantage in the purely combat simulation).

Fallout 3, despite its shortcomings and flaws, fairly successfully allowed players to fight, sneak, or speak their way through the majority of encounters. This was one of the games major critical praises, along with its moral ambiguity, and beautiful landscapes. All of this, with the exception of the graphics, is completely thrown out the window in Operation Anchorage.

Operation Anchorage is quite literally a simulation about a major battle in the Fallout mythos. Unfortunately, it is pretty much a dumbed down FPS with an auto targeting system. Your weapons and armor are pretty much chosen for you, and there are literally health/ammo refill stations. Forget having to (mostly) conserve ammunition and eying your health meter, just make sure you can get to the nearest refill area and you're set.

Non combat characters beware, you cannot interact with the enemy Chinese, and while you can stealth to get some sneak attacks in, don't bother trying to avoid fighting. I can only remember two speech checks, and they were to ask for an extra gun, and to convince the chinese general to surrender at the very end. Throughout the simulation you'll acquire a large chunk of experience, possibly enough to procure a couple level ups. For all of your hard work you'll earn a spiffy suit of winter themed class fallout power armor, stealth armor that's worth using, and the game's only worthwhile energy weapon, the gauss rifle - oh, and if you complete this before advancing far in the storyline you'll gain power armor training.

Honestly, I found Operation Anchorage to be boring. If I wanted to play a first person shooter, I'd go play a first person shooter. I don't know if bethsoft thought that this was an exciting idea for their fans, or decided to make something quickly and easily... but either way it was a huge letdown. I knew that a simulation based around a battle would be linear... but this is just ridiculous. They could have added in some non combat interaction with the enemy, or multiple paths, or at least expanded the non simulation. Hell, they could have even made it a few different battles from past and called it "Fallout: Wars" or something in that vain.

All in all, Operation Anchorage is boring, linear, unexciting, repetitive, and if it were actually fun - too short.

All in all I give this DLC is a 4/10 - Below Average




P.S. to Bethesda ( even though they won't read this ) -

Why would you make it so as soon as you exit the vault a new player receives a distress signal? Some newcomers will think this is a crucial event and run over there, only to be slaughtered.

Also, why did you take all of the negative criticisms made about your game and throw them into one package?

ALSO THE GAUSS RIFLE IS A SMALL GUN NOT AN ENERGY WEAPON. Seriously, just because you wanted a scoped energy weapon doesn't mean you can't make something new up.  

[Pay Per Cuts]

For the record it's actually easy to pirate it on the PC. Not that I would know.  

[nitnit]

Hmmmm. Even so, if you judge it separately from fallout 3 it's terrible. Should have been added into the main game for free as a little side quest.  

[Solar IXI]

Will we see a review for "The Pitt" DLC soon? I would like to see what people think about that one too  

[nitnit]

In the future? Probably. Soon? Probably not. I'm going to be in ecuador for over a week during my april vacation, plus I don't really want to download The Pitt until I've heard from the majority of sources that all the random game crashing bugs associated with it are gone.  

[nitnit]

I lied. I ended up getting the pitt and playing through it last night. A review should come in a day or so. Spoiler, I liked it more than most of fallout 3.  

[Haratio TaFotter]

That pretty accurately summed up Anchorage. I think that The Pitt turned out ten times better.  

[nitnit]

Yeah, I actually enjoyed the Pitt, except for a couple plot related things that made little sense.  

[Razz-Berry 9]

Yeah I thought The Pitt was a lot better. I'm looking forward to the 10 level increase with Broken Steel.  

[Haratio TaFotter]

Razz-Berry 9

Yeah I thought The Pitt was a lot better. I'm looking forward to the 10 level increase with Broken Steel.

Yep, I always make this joke with my girlfriend when she asks if I'm free to do anything. "I am free until next month; then my life belongs to the new Fallout 3 expansion." I always get a good rise out of her. Yeah, Broken Steel sound amazing! I'm just waiting patiently for the new perks to be posted so I can plan out what I want to get.  

[nitnit]

Ehhh, while it could be promising no doubt, I have low expectations for broken steel. The only way to make a workable story for it is to completely scrap the game's original ending.

My main concern however is that I think it will be too easy, much like The Pitt. I have a feeling that my char will rip it to shreds. Right now he's sporting maxed out small guns/energy weapons, unique chinese assault rifle, the terrible shotgun, victory rifle, guass rifle, metal blaster, blackhawk, lincolns repeater if really needed alien blaster winterized T51-b power armor/normal T51-b power armor, very high stealth + chinese stealth armor... Plus I'm going to pick up the experimental MIRV in a day or two...

Well you get the picture. Plus if the perks are as good as Grim Reaper's Sprint, then I think it's going to be very, very easy. Super Mutant Behemoths 1v1 are already a joke, and in a day or two I'll let you know if I am able to lol my way through the deathclaw sanctuary or not.

(just in case someone is wondering, I'm playing on normal difficulty. I don't believe in having to jack up the difficulty to very hard just so my enemies die twice as slowly)

Also, just wanted to point out that Bethesda may have to up the skill cap for each skill to 200% like in Fallout 1, considering that it's possible to get all of your skills maxed out thanks to bobbleheads/skill books if you plan it out (I didn't though, so my unarmed/melee/explosions/big guns is low while everything else is high)  

[Haratio TaFotter]

nitnit

Ehhh, while it could be promising no doubt, I have low expectations for broken steel. The only way to make a workable story for it is to completely scrap the game's original ending.

My main concern however is that I think it will be too easy, much like The Pitt. I have a feeling that my char will rip it to shreds. Right now he's sporting maxed out small guns/energy weapons, unique chinese assault rifle, the terrible shotgun, victory rifle, guass rifle, metal blaster, blackhawk, lincolns repeater if really needed alien blaster winterized T51-b power armor/normal T51-b power armor, very high stealth + chinese stealth armor... Plus I'm going to pick up the experimental MIRV in a day or two...

Well you get the picture. Plus if the perks are as good as Grim Reaper's Sprint, then I think it's going to be very, very easy. Super Mutant Behemoths 1v1 are already a joke, and in a day or two I'll let you know if I am able to lol my way through the deathclaw sanctuary or not.

(just in case someone is wondering, I'm playing on normal difficulty. I don't believe in having to jack up the difficulty to very hard just so my enemies die twice as slowly)

Also, just wanted to point out that Bethesda may have to up the skill cap for each skill to 200% like in Fallout 1, considering that it's possible to get all of your skills maxed out thanks to bobbleheads/skill books if you plan it out (I didn't though, so my unarmed/melee/explosions/big guns is low while everything else is high)

I've already read an article, and the ending will be changed, regardless of what you did in the end. Easy or not, I am still looking forward to what else they might do, not to mention any game altering choices you could make before the end.  

[nitnit]

Something else to keep in mind, if you do purify the river, won't it become a free healing source with no drawbacks?  

[Tron714]

So The Pitt and Operation Anchorage are going to be put on discs and sold at retail stores soon. Hopefully it will be 20 bucks, anything higher i wont buy. So if The Pitt is great and Anchorage sucks... should i get it?

Oh and i found this little tidbit to share:

Quote:

Fallout 3's Fourth Downloadable Pack Called Point Look?
Written Thursday, April 30, 2009 by Dan Webb


The future of Fallout 3 beyond Broken Steel is pretty much an unknown entity. Bethesda haven't really said much and have tended not to speculate.

However, a recent listing by eStarland, a relatively small US games outlet, has recently posted a double downloadable content listing for two pieces of Fallout 3 DLC; Broken Steel & Point Look.

Whilst no information is listed alongside it, the pricing would indicate that it is another 800 Microsoft Points piece and the current release date is set for June 6th 2009.

A possible slip maybe? Or an over imaginitive worker? At current, we'll chalk this one down as a rumour, but we'll keep our ear to the ground.

We've contacted Bethesda for confirmation and will hopefully know more tomorrow.

[Via Gamefocus.ca, thanks FallenDream20

]

So theres more DLC after Broken Steel?!? HHhhmm will Bethesda shoot this rumor/slip up down? To be continued.... xD  

[nitnit]

I read somewhere that they've still got a few hundred available achievement points they can allot to future DLCs. Considering that achievement points are a big seller (which is pretty funny actually), and that Bethesda is pretty good at marketing you can probably bet that they'll make DLC until that amount is used up.