Fallout 3: Anchorage & Pitt

Bethesda’s Fallout 3 was one of the biggest triumphs of 2008. From silencing fan concerns about the IP’s new direction to its impressive sales achievements, it seems that the game can do no wrong.

The game racked up sales of 4.7 million copies in the UK and US alone, representing a retail value of $300 million – Fallout 3 is retail gold.

So retailers would be wise to stock plenty of Bethesda’s latest release, Fallout 3 Game Add-On Pack: Operation Anchorage and The Pitt.

Within its catchy title are the names of the first two DLC packs released for Fallout 3. Already released for download on Xbox 360 and PC towards the start of the year, these additional episodes now make their retail debut in a compilation that caters to those unable to download such content and entices those yet to do so.

Operation Anchorage and The Pitt both add new areas for Fallout 3 players to traverse, taking them away from the Capitol Wasteland and exploring other regions of a post-apocalyptic United States. Here they will find new items to collect and missions to undertake, adding more content to a game already bursting with things to discover.

“We expect great things for this pack,” says Bethesda’s sales director Paul Oughton.

“Benchmarking would suggest that the UK should achieve a 20 to 25 per cent attachment rate to sales of the original Fallout 3. The fact that Fallout 3 sold a seriously high amount of units only helps to promote this, the first add-on pack.”

HAVING AN EPISODE
Operation Anchorage appeases veteran Fallout followers by allowing them to take part in one of the pivotal events of the series’ backstory.

Entering a military simulation, players must liberate the settlement of Anchorage, Alaska, which has been invaded by Chinese Communists.

The episode is a far cry from the dreary, ruined wasteland of the main game, transporting gamers to a snow-covered, treacherous tundra. Here they must establish a base where they can assemble their strike teams before attacking and defeating the Chinese.

The Pitt offers a completely different experience. More akin to Fallout 3’s Washington D.C., this DLC is set in the post-apocalyptic ruins of Pittsburgh – now known as The Pitt. Gamers are asked to help free the slaves at an industrial mill controlled by raiders, as well as searching for a cure to an infection that transforms humans into hideous creatures called trogs.

While Operation Anchorage is focused on military action, The Pitt places an emphasis on morally ambiguous choices, giving wastelanders much more freedom in how they progress. They can bring down the raiders with a full-on assault or by infiltrating their stronghold – the decision is theirs.

These two DLC episodes are the first of many (see ‘Future Episodes’), so this Game Add-On Pack is only the beginning. Bethesda will continue to build on the triumph of Fallout 3 in the future, with fans already looking forward to the likes of Fallout: New Vegas and the additional DLC packs.

Bethesda also recently announced Fallout 3’s downloadable content is heading to PS3, so expect a re-release of this product on that format in the future.