Fallout 3 - Broken Steel Review (PC)
When I first heard Fallout 3 was coming out I brushed it off as I wasn't a fan of the series (mostly cause I never played them) and the only thing I knew was that Bethseda was making it. As time went on I got more and more excited about the game as I thought it was really starting to look cool. When it did come out, at first I was only mildly impressed with it as I really thought that it was more like Oblivion with guns. However the more I played the more engrossed with the game I became. It seems to be a common trend with me and Fallout 3, at first I don't think much of it but as time goes on it draws me in.
Now almost a year later and two other DLC's later, we have arrived at Broken Steel, and I have to say that I was shocked at the fact that I almost loved it straight away, thus breaking the trend.
The game begins after the events of the original game, and many people, including myself, will be pleased with the fact that your character doesn't die in the end. After the retaking of the Purifier you awaken 2 weeks later, the Enclave has become disorganized after their second major defeat, but are still a threat in the DC Ruins and surrounding area. And its up to you to help the Brotherhood of Steel with their efforts to clean up.
The Tesla Cannon
This DLC, like the ones that came before it, introduce a whole new set of enemies, weapons, armour and locations. However unlike the other ones, this one also includes a set of new Perks and of course, raises the max level cap of your character to level 30.
While Broken Steel is set mainly within the existing Washington DC area, it also includes some new off map areas for you to explore, however there are still a few new places in the existing world for you to go out and look for.
There are a group of new enemies in the game, and let me tell you that these bad boy's are tough, it's a good thing that you are able to train to level 30, cause you are going to need all the advantages you can get. The only real let down about the new baddies I feel is that some of them are a lot like the existing ones, only with their armour and attack power ramped up. Even still, they add their own element to combat, and when they show up in numbers (two Albino Scorpions?... Nightmare!), things can get a little hectic but its a lot of fun having to change your tactics in the middle of combat. An example of which would be coming up against a group of Enclave soldiers with a new Hellfire Trooper in their ranks (who's armed with one of the new weapons, the Heavy Incinerator).
The Enclave Hellfire Trooper with a Heavy Incinerater
The new weapons are a mostly a heavy duty lot, and while most of them will annihilate common enemies, such as Raiders, with only a shot or two, your going to need them to take on some of the heavier, newer enemies. The Heavy Incinerator is a new Enclave weapon, that in a way acts like a long range flame thrower as it hurls balls of fire at you in an arc and sets the ground on fire for a time. When facing an opponents armed with this weapon, I would find it very difficult to stay in cover for to long without the whole area going up like a bush fire (now think about that while there are two other Enclave soldiers with plasma rifles firing at you at the same time, you see what I mean about changing tactics?) The Brotherhood are not without their own new toys. The Tesla Cannon will find its way into your itchy little trigger fingers later in the game, and boy is it fun.
There are 14 new perks in the game, and while some of them you will find useful, it would appear that most of them are nothing more then gimmicks. For example, there are 3 perks that have an instant effect on your Karma, one sets it to very good, another to very evil and the last to netural. I don?t think that instantly changing your Karma to a certain level should be a perk, infact I think it's a bit of a waste, or another perk that gives you all the schematics for all the custom weapons in the game, just go out an buy them! Other perks are not so crummy thankfully, for anyone who loves Dog Meat (I did, then he went and got himself killed), you can take the Puppies Perk, which will cause one of Dog Meats offspring to appear outside Vault 101 if he dies (I couldn't take this perk however, as seeing Dog Meat die once was to much, I couldn't go through it again and again), or another perk that will raise all your S.P.E.C.A.L's to 9
The new Super Mutant Overlord
Bottom line: Broken Steel is for anyone who liked the original game content, and who was more then a little annoyed with the ending, its well worth the money they're asking for and it's a hell of a lot better then The Pitt.
Recommendation: Buy It!!!
When I first heard Fallout 3 was coming out I brushed it off as I wasn't a fan of the series (mostly cause I never played them) and the only thing I knew was that Bethseda was making it. As time went on I got more and more excited about the game as I thought it was really starting to look cool. When it did come out, at first I was only mildly impressed with it as I really thought that it was more like Oblivion with guns. However the more I played the more engrossed with the game I became. It seems to be a common trend with me and Fallout 3, at first I don't think much of it but as time goes on it draws me in.
Now almost a year later and two other DLC's later, we have arrived at Broken Steel, and I have to say that I was shocked at the fact that I almost loved it straight away, thus breaking the trend.
The game begins after the events of the original game, and many people, including myself, will be pleased with the fact that your character doesn't die in the end. After the retaking of the Purifier you awaken 2 weeks later, the Enclave has become disorganized after their second major defeat, but are still a threat in the DC Ruins and surrounding area. And its up to you to help the Brotherhood of Steel with their efforts to clean up.
The Tesla Cannon
This DLC, like the ones that came before it, introduce a whole new set of enemies, weapons, armour and locations. However unlike the other ones, this one also includes a set of new Perks and of course, raises the max level cap of your character to level 30.
While Broken Steel is set mainly within the existing Washington DC area, it also includes some new off map areas for you to explore, however there are still a few new places in the existing world for you to go out and look for.
There are a group of new enemies in the game, and let me tell you that these bad boy's are tough, it's a good thing that you are able to train to level 30, cause you are going to need all the advantages you can get. The only real let down about the new baddies I feel is that some of them are a lot like the existing ones, only with their armour and attack power ramped up. Even still, they add their own element to combat, and when they show up in numbers (two Albino Scorpions?... Nightmare!), things can get a little hectic but its a lot of fun having to change your tactics in the middle of combat. An example of which would be coming up against a group of Enclave soldiers with a new Hellfire Trooper in their ranks (who's armed with one of the new weapons, the Heavy Incinerator).
The Enclave Hellfire Trooper with a Heavy Incinerater
The new weapons are a mostly a heavy duty lot, and while most of them will annihilate common enemies, such as Raiders, with only a shot or two, your going to need them to take on some of the heavier, newer enemies. The Heavy Incinerator is a new Enclave weapon, that in a way acts like a long range flame thrower as it hurls balls of fire at you in an arc and sets the ground on fire for a time. When facing an opponents armed with this weapon, I would find it very difficult to stay in cover for to long without the whole area going up like a bush fire (now think about that while there are two other Enclave soldiers with plasma rifles firing at you at the same time, you see what I mean about changing tactics?) The Brotherhood are not without their own new toys. The Tesla Cannon will find its way into your itchy little trigger fingers later in the game, and boy is it fun.
There are 14 new perks in the game, and while some of them you will find useful, it would appear that most of them are nothing more then gimmicks. For example, there are 3 perks that have an instant effect on your Karma, one sets it to very good, another to very evil and the last to netural. I don?t think that instantly changing your Karma to a certain level should be a perk, infact I think it's a bit of a waste, or another perk that gives you all the schematics for all the custom weapons in the game, just go out an buy them! Other perks are not so crummy thankfully, for anyone who loves Dog Meat (I did, then he went and got himself killed), you can take the Puppies Perk, which will cause one of Dog Meats offspring to appear outside Vault 101 if he dies (I couldn't take this perk however, as seeing Dog Meat die once was to much, I couldn't go through it again and again), or another perk that will raise all your S.P.E.C.A.L's to 9
The new Super Mutant Overlord
Bottom line: Broken Steel is for anyone who liked the original game content, and who was more then a little annoyed with the ending, its well worth the money they're asking for and it's a hell of a lot better then The Pitt.
Recommendation: Buy It!!!
