FALLOUT 3 - DLC - BROKEN STEEL REVIEW Posted by PlayDevil.com Staff on Aug 25, 2009 10:49 (Aug 25, 2009 10:49) |
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Written by: Ian
 Broken or brillant?
The first 2 Fallout 3 DLCs were plagued by some pretty serious technical issues at launch. Therefore it seems curious that the first word of the title is ‘broken.’ Is this 3rd piece of DLC "Broken Steel" really broken or is it the brilliant add-on we’ve waited for?
Story:
The main draw of the story in BS, when compared to the two previous packs, is that you get to continue the main story. Your first task will be to finish the final story mission however you like. You wake up two weeks later in the Brotherhood of Steel citadel in a changed world.
From there, you get tasked with tracking down and eliminating the rest of the Enclave resistance, and also get a lot of side quests to deliver crisp, clean water to various camps in the wasteland. What will also delight many is the fact that the game finally truly becomes open-world, as you revert to free-roam once you complete the plot line.
Gameplay:
Gameplay-wise, it’s all pretty familiar stuff if you’ve sampled some of the other DLC so far. You get three ok sized story missions, which are all pretty combat-orientated, and some new equipment. Personally, I’m starting to tire of the very heavy combat focus, but I can see why, given the limited new areas to explore.
 However, BS makes some significant steps by allowing you to continue the main story as mentioned above. Once you’ve completed the DLC, the game then becomes free-roam, as fans had clamoured for, and this alone will make the pack worth buying for some. Others will also appreciate the fact that the level cap has been raised to 30. This is an excellent addition as you can really boost your character up, and new perks have been added too.
However, if you already played all the sidequests and other DLC, then chances are you’re out of quests, and the level requirements are very high. This means that those who already completed everything will find it more difficult to reach the cap as any experience you got over 20 is wasted once you activate the DLC. It’s a shame it wasn’t recorded and carried over. Having said that, these two elements alone are crucial updates for the majority of fans.
Two things to note though are these- the DLC is pretty short, like the other two packs, offering 3-5 hours gameplay. Secondly, ironically, the DLC was broken on release, with glitched achievements. These problems have now been fixed, however.
Graphics & Sound:
In a way, BS is the most disappointing of the three packs in terms of the audio-visual experience. That’s for a pretty simple reason. With Anchorage & Pitt, players were whisked off to two very different locales to the Capital Wasteland, whereas here the quests take place manly in that Wasteland, and on Edwards Airforce Base, which is nearby and looks pretty samey, with just a few hangars and warehouses to differentiate it.
Again, you’ll also be mainly dealing with old allies from the Brotherhood of Steel, so you’ll have heard many of the voice actors during the main plot.
 That’s not to say that I was disappointed, because the game remains absolutely fantastic to look at, six months after release. Returning to everything after the visual updates applied with Anchorage was especially nice, as the game has been given an appreciable upgrade if you have the first DLC, making a fine-looking game even finer.
Multiplayer:
N/A
Conclusion:
After fighting off the initial bugs, "Broken Steel" is now a safe bet to download! It’s a great addition to the main storyline, and adds some excellent features like free roam and a new level cap. However, the lack of many new areas or characters hurt it a little. It’s still a worthy purchase for any Fallout 3 fan, and probably the best of the three initial DLC packs.
Pros:
+ Extends story
+ Revisits certain characters + Raises level cap Cons: - Shorter than I expected
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