First Fallout Expansion Not Too Hot, But Good Enough

screen12bOriginally released on Jan. 27, Fallout 3’s first expansion pack, “Operation Anchorage,” is a stimulating and worthwhile romp through communist-Alaska, but it lacks the levity and overall polish that many fans have expected from the current incarnation of the series.

Nevertheless, it’s still worth it’s 800 Microsoft point price tag, but not for the reasons you’d most likely expect.

Sure, four new quests and 100 achievement points alone are enough for any hardcore fan to dust off the game, but the rewards don’t stop there. Upon completion of the expansion pack, players will have not only have the T-51b winterized armor, the best in the game [it never has to be repaired] in their inventory, but they’ll also have Jingwei’s Shock Sword, an excellent melee weapon that will reduce their enemies to piles of ash at times and the Gauss rifle, one of the most powerful and useful guns in the game, despite its horrible delay between rounds. Playing through the main game later with these weapons and armor is an absolute blast and alone makes up for the pack lasting about three hours.

However, while the add-on itself lacks the diversity of the main game, no one will ever argue that Bethesda didn’t have fun developing it. On the whole, Operation Anchorage plays more like a first-person shooter, as there is far less story than there is just plain old shooting and killing. Nonetheless, while the colorful characters and entertaining story that make Fallout 3 one of the best RPGs of this console generation aren’t there, the game manages to thrive in different ways.

For starters, the shooting action in Operation Anchorage Ranging is nearly flawless. The different types of enemies also play a part in this as well, from the run of the mill Chinese soldiers that require no real finesse to kill, to flat out dangerous Chinese Dragoons, who have their own version of the popular stealth-boy and will sneak up on you faster than Kevin Bacon in “Hollow Man.” When it’s all said and done, the combat in this DLC make up for any misgivings you could possibly have with its length or lack of color. The Chimera tank is also a worthy foe and will require a bit of ingenuity, or a combination of speed and explosives to defeat. If that wasn’t enough, you’ll also find yourself using the VATS targeting system much more in this add-on, mostly due to the number of enemies you’ll be encountering, resulting in a plethora of blood and flying limbs.

Aside from the core gameplay, the graphics in Operation Anchorage are also a departure from the main game, as the dark and gloomy textures of the capital wasteland have been replaced with the type of blue skies that could only be represented properly by an Allman Brothers song. The snow on the ground too gives the game a different type of tone and sometimes makes you feel like you’re playing a different game entirely.

In spite of this however, there is enough of the trademark Fallout 3 components to make this an enticing offering for fans of the series and anyone else looking for a fast-faced shooting frenzy.

When it’s all said and done, Operation Anchorage may be lacking in depth and is far from the revelation its big brother was, but it’s rewards more than out way it’s shortcomings.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14230 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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