Fallout 3: Broken Steel

The Capital Wasteland, the post-apocalyptic landscape in which Fallout 3 is set was perhaps the game's biggest star. The game's high calibre gameplay is still great and ironically reducing an opponent from evil psychopath to assortment of exploding limbs never gets old. The main criticism I levelled at the title was its relatively brief main story and sudden end after the last quest. The abrupt climax took away the chance of exploring with your main character. Thankfully, Broken Steel rectifies these issues and allows you to explore this bleak landscape with a few new quests thrown in for good measure.

Broken Steel is the third downloadable content pack for the game and continues the main quest beyond the previous ending. Not only does it carry on the story but it offers the ability to increase your character's level beyond the previous maximum of 20. With considerable time and effort it is now possible to reach level 30, with some fresh perks and abilities along the way.

As always a large body of the new content is taken up with some extra quests which pick up after the ending of Fallout 3. If you haven't reached the end of the game yet, then look away now! After the success of the Brotherhood of Steel in recovering Project Purity from the Enclave the player is revived after being unconscious for two weeks. You are then tasked with assisting the Brotherhood in wiping out the remaining Enclave strongholds across The Capital Wasteland.

Essentially there are only three new quests here but don't expect them to be easy. The first involves a seemingly simple operation to gather information from an Enclave communications station which doesn't go to plan. From here on in the gameplay is typical Fallout style and can be approached in a number of ways. The second quest stands out as being challenging and enjoyable with a series of tough locations to battle through.

The final mission is typically epic in scale and involves treks and battles worthy of a piece of historical fiction. You face hordes of enemies who are all armed to the teeth and can and will cause you to load previous saves on a regular basis. These quests feel like they should have belonged at the end of Fallout 3 rather than being an expansion as they tie things up far better than the previous finale.

Whilst these three quests would struggle on their own as a piece of downloadable content, the new levels, perks and enemies help to boost the pack into something far more appealing. As I was feeling hardcore I started a completely new game to see how much effort it takes to max out your character to the level 30. In short: a lot.

The amount of experience needed to reach the top is very high and completing every quest still leaves you needing plenty more from combat and successful skill use. Helping you to get that experience is a selection of new enemies who begin to appear at level 20. These are the Feral Ghoul Reaver, the Albino Radscorpion and the Super Mutant Overlord: their one defining characteristic is that they are incredibly hard.

The first time I encountered an Albino Radscorpion I sauntered up to it armed to the teeth with a selection of high powered armour and health items. I left with a sliver of health, no ammunition and a very battered character. These new enemies make this downloadable content pack the most challenging especially if you make the mistake of tackling some of the main quests at a high level. During one of them I encountered six or seven Super Mutant Overlords in a matter of minutes and ended up using over 40 health packs. No matter how good your character is be well prepared for a challenge, bring plenty of ammo and save often.

Whilst I relished the challenge of these new enemies they don't appear to give you any more experience than their regular counterparts which is very disappointing. It is a huge increase in difficulty but you aren't rewarded for finishing them off any more than a relatively basic enemy. This gets especially frustrating when faced with the lethal Super Mutant Overlords who carry Tri-Beam Laser Rifles which will have you shouting in rage as your health evaporates faster than the skin from your super-heated bones.

However the increased difficulty makes the pack last longer and you must now carefully utilise your collected arsenal and perks more than ever to survive. This really does feel like harsh survival in a ruined wasteland. Whilst it is hard, it never feels unfair and when you utilise some dastardly cunning to eliminate the hard-as-nails super opponents you feel particularly smug.

With the increased levels comes a selection of perks which are a little underwhelming. Out of the fresh perks the only really useful one comes at level 30 which raises all of your S.P.E.C.I.A.L stats to almost maximum. This effectively turns you into a virtually invincible opponent when combined with all your previous skills. However the real benefit for the extra levels is to get all the perks you really wanted the first time but couldn't quite take. Special mention needs to be given to the "Puppies!" perk which makes Dogmeat respawn upon death. No longer do you need to worry about your faithful canine companion being sent to the kennel in the sky by a Super Mutant with a missile launcher.

Broken Steel feels like an expansion which should have been in Fallout 3 all along. After completing it, it seems odd to think it wasn't there to start with, which is surely the mark of a good addition. If you are new to Fallout 3 then I would strongly suggest downloading this pack to add to the experience as you play through. If you have already finished the main quest then there is enough here to draw you back to The Capital Wasteland.