If you own Fallout 3 and haven’t picked up any of the three available downloadable content packs, know this: the Fallout 3: Broken Steel DLC is the best content available for this game. It isn’t simply what this pack adds, but what it fixes that makes it so great. Many complained about the original game’s ending. Gone! Many complained about the level cap. Raised! Many complained about having to pay 800 Microsoft points. I downloaded this and gained points! (Actually, that last one was just my Braid refund, but I can dream can’t I?)

Whether we see more content packs in the future is still shrouded in mystery and rumor (Point Look?), but even then it would be hard to imagine anything better. The extension of the story to include an assault on a large Enclave controlled Air Force Base is very similar to the endings of the original titles, which gives a feeling of not only fitting well into Fallout 3, but fitting well into the general Fallout universe.

There are a few negative things to say about the DLC. With a couple of exceptions the new perks are far less than stellar and for the moment a couple of new bugs have been introduced to the game. Some of these glitches can lead to absolutely hilarious moments while others (such as finishing quests without gaining achievements) can be very frustrating. Overall the new content is such a great value that I’d actually recommend not playing Fallout 3 until you’ve made this purchase.

Hit the jump for more Tales of a Pip-Boy Traveler.

For the first few missions, the safest place to stand is going to be behind Liberty Prime.

First let’s start off with what this DLC does absolutely right, which is to address what most fans saw as the single greatest flaw of the entire game: it ended. Now, without giving anything away, rather than a hard stop where you had to start over if you wanted to explore more of the wasteland, you are allowed to explore to your heart’s content. With a game world as large as this one and new content literally springing up all over the wasteland, it’s nice to not only be able to wander again but to do so with the confidence that there isn’t a “point of no return.” Now you can do whatever you would like, see whatever you want to see, and rest easy knowing that whatever Bethesda adds from this point forward you’ll still be able to use your original character to see.

Aside from perks and weapons, there’s plenty here to interest people who aren’t excited about numbers. The story itself is more than just a mere continuation of previous events. While there are three parts of one quest, each related to their own achievement, there are additional side quests to engage in. With the main goal of Project Purity finally achieved, the Brotherhood of Steel takes it upon themselves to distribute the new and wonderful fruits of that labor. Of course, no plan goes off without a hitch and should you so choose you can investigate problems with various shipments and use the full karmic rainbow for solutions.

In the future, factories pump clean water into dirty rivers. Yes, we can change!

Once you’re ready, traveling to the far side of the map eventually gains you entry to Adams Air Force Base. This assault is extremely reminiscent of previous Fallout conclusions: in the old days, savvy players could make a beeline for power armor, then go straight to where they knew the “final boss” was on the overland map. You can’t quite skip that far ahead this time though, as direct access to Broken Steel’s new content won’t be allowed until you’ve gone completely through the game’s main quest. It is a little odd that new players could make this purchase and not really get the full benefit of it for a hundred hours to come, but player-made choices at Adams Air Force Base could easily break many of the existing quest lines, so it is an unfortunately necessary restriction.

The new quests alone might be worth paying 800 Microsoft points for. When you factor in the value of new perks and raise the level cap to thirty, anyone should be sold. Although the new perks themselves don’t seem to be that great (personally I only grabbed two of the fourteen), if you are a glass-half-full type you’ll appreciate the fact that essentially you can now go back and get at least twelve more of those really interesting perks you left behind at level twenty. Of course, power gamers are going to be upset either way.

One of the beefiest new perks is called Almost Perfect, and it does just that -- pick it up when you reach level thirty and all of your S.P.E.C.I.A.L. stats will be raised to nine. That means all your stats can be natural tens, assuming you haven’t picked up any of the related bobbleheads. (You haven’t, have you?) This perk has the added detriment of rendering all those ranks of Intense Training completely useless. If you don’t care much about stats, there is one other level thirty alternative which is pretty impressive.

Sometimes I think all the Ghouls really want is a little kiss. Then they bite my face off.

If you reach level thirty and take the Nuclear Anomaly perk, there’s a pretty good chance that you’ll never, ever die. Whenever you are reduced to twenty hit points or less, a massive nuclear blast goes off with you as the epicenter. In addition to doling out massive damage to foes (and friends -- so take the Puppies! perk as well), Nuclear Anomaly can also actually heal your character -- now don’t you wish you didn't crush Moira's dreams? Of course, if a shot comes in that deals more than twenty points of damage your adventure ends, so it is a slight gamble, but with the ability to save anywhere at any time it’s more fun to run around exploding and throw caution to the nuclear winds.

Aside from that, it’s hard to make an argument for any of the other new perks -- dedicating three to changing karma can be useful if you’re going for the level thirty karma achievements, but honestly you were just going to save and reload anyway, weren’t you? And that’s about how the rest of the new perks play out; they help you make up for any mistakes.

There has already been a good amount of press coverage detailing the new weapons and armor, and there’s little excitement over anything that wasn’t revealed. It is interesting to note that tucked away in the new Enclave base is an additional Alien Blaster and about a hundred rounds of ammo, but as far as armor goes there’s nothing better here than what you have already. Any weapons you can pick up, with the exception of the Tesla and Hellfire cannons, are simply stronger versions of things already in your inventory.

If Nikola had seen this, perhaps we'd be awarding Tesla Peace Prizes.

New Perks, levels and a great story, however, do not necessarily mean this expansion is perfect. From day one there was a problem with the initial download, where random users experienced a conversation bug which made it impossible to progress the story and access the new content. That was solved relatively quickly, as was the achievement glitch where some gamers finished quests without any points being added to their gamerscore. While this has been fixed, it isn’t retroactive, so victims of the glitch are forced to replay the missions again. That’s not terrible, but that’s not perfect, either.

Then in a category all it’s own we have the brand new Deathclaw “glitch,” which hopefully never gets fixed. At one point you discover that the Enclave soldiers are using mind control devices to enslave Deathclaws. A scribe at the Citadel gives you a device she hopes will counteract this and make the Deathclaws fight on your side. At this point I chose to fast travel to Megaton to prepare for the coming battle. Somewhere along the way my fast traveling character must have walked by a mind controlled Deathclaw, who then not only became my new best friend, but followed me inside of Megaton. At this point my new buddy began to sprint around, slashing all of the citizens of Megaton into tiny carnal bits. This is perhaps the greatest single moral dilemma of the entire game -- sure, you could blow up Megaton and be known as evil throughout the wastes. But what if a little old Deathclaw, completely unrelated to you, just happened to show up one day and slaughter everybody? Dead people can’t spend caps so surely scavenging all their worldly possessions would be the right thing to do.

The two previous content packs were a debatable purchase, each offering something unique to the game atmosphere while playing out in a physically remote location. Broken Steel plays as much more of a traditional add-on and consequently benefits from all the strengths of the original game. Sure, there are some problems with bugs for now, but most of that damage was contained at release day. What’s left is one of the very few absolutely-must-own DLC packs available for any game. If you don’t pick this up for the story and how perfectly it fits into the world, then pick it up for the added weapons, levels and perks. This pack is something all Fallout 3 players should buy.

Final Score: A-

Comments (3)

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Parris said:

... great review and I was one of those players that stopped short of finishing Fallout 3 because of the ending and now I am free to get to level 30 and roam the Captial Wasteland until my hearts content

May 12, 2009

CobraCommander said:

... This truly is a game changing year!!

May 12, 2009

tim said:

... Awesome, I am still looking for the "Duck Hunt" review. Who said an English degree is a useless degree?

May 17, 2009