Newest Fallout 3 Expansion Gets It Right

brokensteelscreen_02bWhile the first two Fallout 3 expansion packs were solid in their own respects, as “Operation Anchorage,” offered more shooting action than in the main game and “The Pitt” provided a nice diversion from the capital wasteland, fans wanted a better ending and the promised level 30 cap.

With “Broken Steel,” the newest expansion in the series, gamers not only get the aforementioned goodies, they also get a plethora of new achievements and an opportunity to continue their gameplay experience well after they defeat the Enclave forces.

Because of this, “Broken Steel” is a must own and the best companion pack available in the series.

Unlike the first ending in the game, “Broken Steel” allows the gamer to continue playing after the final quest is completed, allowing them to reach level 30. This alone makes the download a must own, as gamers can now go back and complete any side quests they may have been keeping off.

Speaking of quests, the three offered in “Broken Steel,” are perhaps the longest and most comprehensive in the game. That considered, this expansion is the most difficult of the three available, taking anywhere from six to eight hours to complete. Some have complained that the quests lack the originality and creativity of the other expansions, but considering the fact that they are extending the main game, it’s obvious they wouldn’t be as vibrant. Nevertheless, they are still thoroughly enjoyable and combined with the new level-30 cap, 14 new perks [which range from changing your karma in a flash or never having to worry about your trusty companion, Dog Meat, ever again] and 10 new achievements, the 800 Microsoft points it’ll cost to have the pack on your hard drive are more than justified.

However, if that wasn’t enough, the added enemies the likes of Albino Radscorpions, Enclave Hellfire Troopers and Super Mutant Overlords spice up combat and are by far the toughest enemies you’ll face in the capital wasteland. Luckily, you’ll have brand new weapons like the Heavy Incinerator, a massive fireball thrower that causes massive amounts of damage and the Tesla Cannon, which is easily the best weapon in the game, despite it’s ability to hurt its user if he’s too close to the enemy he’s attacking.

With the addition of these new weapons, players will now have some great new toys to play with. As well, for the first time, granted you own the Gauss Rifle from the game’s first expansion, those playing will finally have some serious high power weapons to choose from, making them a virtual killing machine. And with the amount of deadly weapons crawling around the capital wasteland and the Adams Air Force base, you’re going to need it.

With the game’s new open-ended structure as well and regenerating enemies, you can play with your new gadgets for as long as you want, enabling one of the greatest games of our time to effectively never end. Simply put, the fact that Bethesda was smart enough to breathe some more life into an already amazing game shows how much they wanted this pack to thrive.

For that reason, “Broken Steel” is type of expansion pack that many will feel should should have been on the disc in the first place and is a more than ample final romp to one of the greatest RPGs of this console generation.

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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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