Review: Fallout 3 - Broken Steel DLC

For fans of the vanilla game, there is a lot to love about Broken Steel. New weapons, an entire new set of skills to get into with the level skill cap increase from 20 to 30, and new places to visit in the Wasteland. But more importantly, it lets you continue your game from after the sort-of-naff ending.

So yes, instead of dying and being written into the annals of history as told by the narrator, you instead awake from unconsciousness two weeks later to find a strengthen Brotherhood of Steel and a scattered Enclave. Yet the battle is far from over as the Enclave has an ace up their sleeve - an orbital strike cannon that threatens to hit the Citadel and eradicate all that is good in the post-apocalyptic world.

So, it is left up to you to finish off the Enclave once and for all. This is where the main mission that comes with the DLC falls short. It feels very cliched and not at all interesting. It is a story of you as a one-man army going to take on an entire base of Enclaves. Unlike the original ending which saw you taking part in a climatic battle with other Brotherhood of Steel soldiers, this one feels seriously like going through the motions of moving from one location to the next, to shoot a whole bunch of Enclave, Deathclaws and robots. Oh yes, there are plenty of robots irritatingly enough.

The saving grace is that the new settings are interesting like the Presidential Metro underground, a place that used to glorify the American leaders of past, with the regal decors to the interesting M.A.R.G.o.T A.I with a highly developed intelligence. Also, another noteworthy place is the Adams Air Base in the final fight to destroy the orbital strike platform. Yet, I can't help but feel there is hardly any variation to the mission. You can't really sneak about, and it is just purely shooting your way through till you hit the final button.

The enemies definetly feel a lot harder than before though, and I thought I had gotten my character pretty tough up till the end of the original game (only to realize I haven't even hit level 20 by the end. I only hit 20 by the end of Broken Steel). I don't remember ever having dealt with Deathclaws before the DLC and they are friggin' scary.

There's a lot of lonely environments underground and in factories, so be prepared for more depressing treks. But thankfully, I had company; Fawkes the super-mutant and Star Paladin Cross, a Brotherhood of Steel soldier, and having them to fight alongside does help especially in the final fight through the army base. That bit feels overwhelming with the number of high-powered Enclaves thrown at you, so be sure, either you are super buff yourself or have help.

The new Tesla Cannon is big and sparkly but isn't all that special, and other than MARGOT (who is worthwhile to stop and chat with) there aren't that many new, interesting NPCs to interact with. Just a lot of shooting and the ability to check out the places you've missed after you ended the original game. And that's a big plus point in itself if you intend to keep playing. Apparently, it is also possible for Dogmeat to have babies, and they appear at the entrance to Vault 101 for you to pick up if Dogmeat dies. Unfortunately, Dogmeat perished at the end of the original Fallout 3 for me, so I couldn't check that out haha.

All in all, despite the shortcomings, it is definetly a worthwhile return to Fallout 3. If you've uninstalled it, seriously, power it back up and return to the Wastelands.