Bethesda wows players once more with the addition of the newest Fallout 3 downloadable content: Broken Steel.
Broken Steel not only adds to the overall plot of Fallout 3, by allowing the player to join the ranks of the Brotherhood of Steel to finally defeat the evil Enclave, but adds ten more levels, raising the level cap from twenty to thirty, complete with new perks.
The new missions are, for lack of a better term, epic. The addition of new enemies, such as the Albino Radscorpian, the Super Mutant Overlord, and the devilishly tough Enclave Hellfire Trooper add to the fun of the new DLC. Unlike the previous two packs, these enemies are added to the entirety of the Capital Wasteland, instead of just specific areas like The Pitt. The extra perks, like one called “Puppies!” that allows the player to gain another canine follower after the original dies, adds even more to the enjoyment of the game. There are even additions of little “freeform” quests are added to the game, most of which are completed with the right speech choice, where the player can decide to help or hinder fellow Wastelanders in their quest to spread newly purified water around the Wasteland. These, combined with the ten extra level opportunities, make the game worth another playthrough.
The new DLC is roughly the same length as the previous two content packs, but instead of just adding new quests to the game; the main storyline is actually extended. However, in the new pack the player’s choices in the game do not really seem to matter to the extended storyline. In a majority of the game, the player’s choice to approach a quest from the good, evil, or neutral side effects how characters in the game see and react with him or her. In Broken Steel, the previous choices hardly matter. In fact, one major choice the player makes at the end of the game, omitted for spoiler reasons, only effect how the world looks when the actual missions of Broken Steel begin. If the player decides to go the “evil” route with this choice, no in-game characters will act hostile whatsoever.
Overall, the DLC is a great addition to an already massive world. The only downside of the DLC is the low replayability factor, because there are really no “good” or “evil” choices in the addition missions. The fact that most of the additional content, minus the missions for the Brotherhood, can be accessed at any point throughout the game make it a must buy for both new and old players of Fallout 3.
