Fallout 3 downloadable content

[5] When asked if the PlayStation 3 version would receive an update that would enable gameplay beyond the main quest's completion, Todd Howard responded, "Not at this time, no".

[6] However, in May 2009, Bethesda announced that the existing DLC packs (Operation: Anchorage, The Pitt and Broken Steel) would be made available for the PlayStation 3; the later two (Point Lookout and Mothership Zeta) were released for all platforms.

[7] Operation: Anchorage is the first Fallout 3 downloadable content pack, and takes place as a virtual reality "military simulation" in the main game where the player character is stripped of their equipment and is forced to use the replacements provided.

Both the PC and the Xbox 360 version of the Operation: Anchorage DLC received mixed reviews from critics, averaging a 67[12] and a 69[13] respectively at Metacritic.

"[17] Game Over's Phil Soletsky was particularly critical of the expansion's story, saying "I had been hoping that the liberation of Alaska would be a massive affair involving battalions of soldiers hammering away at each other.

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, although not hit directly by atomic bombs during the Great War, was afflicted by the highly irradiated water of the nearby Allegheny, Monongahela, and Ohio rivers, resulting in the decay of the region.

Some 30 years before the Lone Wanderer started their journey, Owyn Lyons led the Brotherhood of Steel's expedition to Washington, D.C. through The Pitt.

In one night, the Brotherhood swept through and destroyed the raider force occupying the town and rid the surrounding area of other "scum", killing anything that put up a fight.

As they cut through the raiders, the Brotherhood saved several young children, among them Paladin Kodiak, who had not yet been mutated to the extent of The Pitt's adult inhabitants.

[27] If the player personally activates Project Purity, their character no longer dies but instead wakes up after a two-week coma to join the ranks of the Brotherhood of Steel and helps rid the Capital Wasteland of the Enclave once and for all.

[32][33] Some Xbox 360 users reported a bug that prevents them from activating Project Purity, resulting in the plot elements added by the DLC being inaccessible.

Regardless of what is chosen, however, the player will wake up two weeks later at the Citadel (unless they allow the Purifier to explode, which automatically ends the game), having been knocked unconscious by an unknown radiation spike.

In the two weeks since the activation of the purifier, the Brotherhood has been using the now-reactivated Liberty Prime to root out the remaining Enclave presence in the Capital Wasteland.

[38][39] IGN mirrored this view by stating "Lifting the level cap breathes new life into a great game, but shouldn't totally overshadow a new series of quests that is a lot of fun."

Edge, on the other hand, while commenting that "it's the most you're going to get out of Fallout's current batch of DLC", felt that "it lacks the scope or density of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion's The Shivering Isles".

Club commented that "After deflating the finality of the original ending, Broken Steel is unsure what to do next, beyond sending you on a few entertaining but hollow missions to snuff out the remnants of the para-military Enclave.

Thankfully, the expansion's B-story is more thoughtful, as it plunges into the chaos and profiteering that result when a limited supply of clean water starts flowing into the Wasteland".

Rather, it adds a large area for the player to explore, with new enemies, such as swamp mirelurks, and swampfolk, as well as items to find, such as the lever-action rifle, axe, and double-barreled shotgun.

One major quest line focuses on the rivalry between Desmond Lockheart and Professor Calvert, two scientists who have been feuding since before the Great War.

Eurogamer stated "Like a compacted version of its parent game, this is the first DLC that has felt like a genuine expansion, as opposed to a just a few inconsequential missions thrown together.

"[46] IGN noted that "[t]he stories and characters here are filled with that trademark Fallout dark humor, elevating these quests to a level that rivals the main game" and that "[t]he major draw to Point Lookout... is its emphasis on exploration.

With the help of Somah, a little girl named Sally, and a few unlikely allies from several different time periods, the Lone Wanderer must fight their way to the bridge of the ship and defeat the alien captain.

Edge also noted that they "encountered a script bug so catastrophic that we couldn't finish the game – we actually had to clip through a doorway and use console commands to bring everything back on track" and criticized the DLC for locking off most of the ship after completion.

[52] Eurogamer states that "the most disappointing factor about Mothership Zeta is how little subtlety is afforded to the details" and sums up the DLC as "repetitive, largely uninspired corridor combat, and boring, linear and samey mission design.

"[53] Gamedaily praises Mothership Zeta for "keep[ing] Fallout's trademark humor intact", its improved graphics, and for the new enemies and weapons introduced.