Fallout 3 DLC dated, detailed

By Robert Purchese Published 26 November, 2008

Plus: free PC toolset in December.

Bethesda has whipped the wrappers off three chunky downloadable additions to Fallout 3.

First to arrive, in January 2009, will be Operation: Anchorage. It's a military simulation that takes players back to the historical battle of Anchorage, where Chinese invaders threatened the future of Alaska.

The Pitt follows in February, and adds an industrial raider town in the remains of Pittsburgh, where players will face tricky allegiance decisions. (Jen or Ange?)

Finally, Broken Steel arrives in March. Here, players will be recruited into the Brotherhood of Steel, and be swept up in the furious termination of all Enclave supporters in the Capital Wasteland. Broken Steel takes Fallout 3 past the conclusion of the main quest.

There's no word on exact pricing, although Pete Hines has once again stressed (this time to MTV Multiplayer) that the DLC will be similar in many ways to Oblivion's add-on quest, Knights of The Nine.

This, remember, was open to both new and existing saved games from the main map, and was usually prompted by a letter in the inventory or by an NPC in one of the towns.

Knights of the Nine lasted a good few hours, too, and was released for 800 Microsoft Points on Xbox 360 (GBP 6.80 / EUR 9.60 / USD 10). PC owners eventually got the same standalone content for the same price.

Still, PC owners needn't necessarily fork out any extra money, as Bethesda is releasing the G.E.C.K (Garden of Eden Creation Kit) toolset for free in December.

This lets the curious tinker with any bits of data from Fallout 3; landscapes, towns, locations, nuclear rats, dialogue, weapons, armour, creatures and so on.

Fallout 3 was released at the end of October here in Europe, and was welcomed with a big critical hug from just about everybody, including Eurogamer.

Fans have warmed to the nuclear-radiant role-playing game as well, leading to over 4 million sales so far.

However, not all remained happy, as numerous bugs go unchecked on all three formats, of which the PC and PS3 versions appear to be suffering the most. Bethesda has promised patches for all platforms, but has given no indication of when they will arrive.

Until then, we've compiled a handy Fallout 3: Tripe Format Face-Off comparison article, complete with screenshots and video, to help you decide which version to buy.

And buying should be an easy choice, as our Fallout 3 review will point out.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (23) Latest comment 3 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Eraysor #1 3 years ago

    The Operation: Anchorage one could be epic win
    Edited by 1 at 26/11/08 @ 09:03

  • Byzanite #2 3 years ago

    Annoying that when you finish the game there is no option to carry on though. Or am i missing something?

  • SteveB #3 3 years ago

    @Byzanite - No you are not, you cannot carry on. I know what the last level is and will save before hand.

    Probably my GOTY. I thought I would bored of it by now, but 80 hours in I'm still going strong and will definitely pick up this DLC. It's XBox exclusive isn't it ?

  • Xerx3s #4 3 years ago

    "Finally, Broken Steel arrives in March. Here, players will be recruited into the Brotherhood of Steel, and be swept up in the furious termination of all Enclave supporters in the Capital Wasteland."

    \0/

    "Broken Steel takes Fallout 3 past the conclusion of the main quest."

    Oh *g* thanks for that spoiler, now I can make a pretty educated guess at the end of the story.

  • SteveB #5 3 years ago

    Shouldn't they leave it at least 6 months for DLC, just to give the impression that these were not ready to go in the retail game?

    I think this is the one game that you cannot accuse of skimping on the content.

  • guernican #6 3 years ago

    Perhaps I've not investigated the Wasteland enough, but there doesn't seem to me to be nearly as many quests or content in Fallout 3 as there were in Oblivion. I've even cross-checked against the Fallout Wikis and don't seem to have missed very much.

    In many ways, much much better than Oblivion. But more of it would have been great.

  • Dizzy #7 3 years ago

    Nice... haven't bought it yet. WIll buy it when that new DLC is available probably. I just finished Oblivion after 3 years... so I needed a break from Bethesda games ;)

  • Farzlepot #8 3 years ago

    "Fallout 3: Tripe Format Face-Off comparison article"

    I lolled.

  • CapnCloudchaser #9 3 years ago

    Still not played Fallout 3 yet, despite the lunch box sitting on my shelf for ages now. I'll get round to it over Christmas in time for the DLC.

  • glottis0 #10 3 years ago

    Something that really riled me - on the official fallout 3 forum, there's a big set of rules about ABSOLUTELY NO nude mod content to be posted, linked to, etc.

    It's been mentioned a million times before, but I still don't understand how in American culture it's ok to show a character's head being caved in with a sledgehammer, in close-up slowmo, with parts of their brain bouncing out and off the walls, but it's not ok to show a girl's boobs. I mean, what the hell is up with that part of the world?

  • Farzlepot #11 3 years ago

    @ glottis0

    Do you really think it'd be any different in the UK?

  • glottis0 #12 3 years ago

    @Farzlepot

    Yeah a bit; at least we got uncut versions of Fahrenheit and The Witcher... usually in the UK the daily mail and its affiliated asshats complain a bit but that just serves to increase sales - nothing gets banned (or has shops refusing to stock it) for having nudity.

  • Red-Moose #13 3 years ago

    That's quite fast for DLC. as I have an actual life and things to do, I've only managed 5 hrs of Fallout 3 since it was released. It's quite good, but I am thinking it's time for a trainer and race on through it because in reality, I will never finish it otherwise.

  • Darren #14 3 years ago

    I loved Fallout 3 on the Xbox 360, it was a slow burner for sure but by the time I'd got to the end of the main quest after 50 hours of playing the game, I was well and truly hooked. Never encountered any bugs/glitches with the game either nor did I experience any crashes (unlike the pre-patched Oblivion for example!). Nice. Wish Bethesda would add a V-Sync On option for the 360 version though, that's my only real complaint about that game as the screen tearing can be quite ugly at times and they occur in the places I wouldn't expect them to.

    Definitely interested in the DLC... but do I get it for the 360 or PC version?

  • Miths #15 3 years ago

    Sounds like those of us with the PS3 version could actually be missing out on some pretty good DLC here (unlike say what was promised for GTA4, which I have a feeling I'm not the only one who stopped caring about after a couple of weeks? Has it even been released yet?).
    Well, I was sort of planning on getting a gaming PC again in January anyway, so I guess there'll be mods and DLC when I buy the PC version of Fallout 3.

  • Wite_Noiz #16 3 years ago

    As with everyone, I was annoyed at how there was no option to continue after the credits (ala Oblivion) - strange decision.
    I rolled back to my save 5-minutes before and ran off back to the wastes, leaving the Brotherhood and the robot to hold the monument while I complete inane quests :p

    Stunning game, though; looking forward to the DLC (don't see how the same character could continue after the main quest... unless they sacrifice wasername to the radiation

    @guernican
    For my first ~100 hours, I pretty much stayed in the city, where there aren't too many quests.
    I then went outside (starting with a quest in Megaton obviously intended to get you used to the game - which I wiped as a level 15 :p) and found quests EVERYWHERE.
    Well worth going for long treks in random directions, if you can put up with the annoying random encounters with pointless rad* creatures (or get the Animal Friend perk).

  • brockenheimer #17 3 years ago

    What format(s) will the DLC be available on? And why is this info seemingly hard to come by?

  • glottis0 #18 3 years ago

    @brockenheimer - 360 & PC only, for now.

  • metalangel #19 3 years ago

    looks like I too will be holding off completing the main quest so my character can have these adventures too. Even FO2 let you keep exploring after the ending, albeit with everyone slapping you on the back and thanking you.

  • samk #20 3 years ago

    Darren: Definitely interested in the DLC... but do I get it for the 360 or PC version?

    Wait...you have BOTH versions?

  • osbald #21 3 years ago

    Will they up the difficulty and level cap with the DLC? Still kicking myself for accidentally finishing the main quest over the weekend (easy to get caught-up and accelerate your progress in the latter stages). even going to my prior save my character was maxxed out and nothing short of a surprise attack by several deathclaws is going to prove much of a challenge.

    Also kicking myself for getting the 360 version where the PC one might have offered more customisation to spice up any replays (to mop up the unfinished quests). Will the PC crowd have to pay for the DLCs?
    Edited by 1 at 26/11/08 @ 15:14

  • osbald #22 3 years ago

    ..Main bugs I saw were mostly to do with NPCs, mostly dogmeat who wouldn't stay put for very long (even in my shack). Kept reappearing at some random location near me or more likely outside 101 where he'd meet a sticky end due to the random deathclaw around there. Equally most of my roving traders kept getting wiped out by a pair of deathdclaws that seemed to phase in&out around the metgaton main gate, wondered how that effected my trader side-quest(s)? only time I got to see my traders was tripping over the odd internal organ (which lucky still contained some of his stock ;).
    Edited by 1 at 26/11/08 @ 15:11

  • Bulbatron #23 3 years ago

    I too wish it were possible to continue playing after the ending. though obviously that would have been a bit difficult, given what happened at the end. So I had to go back a few saves so that I could explore the rest of the wasteland - which I am still doing. Also I have Fawkes following me around. He makes an awesome bodyguard!