I’d been putting off purchasing the expansions because I just couldn’t really afford it.  Last week, Operation: Anchorage was on sale, so I nabbed it.  I also bought the other two currently available, but I haven’t done anything with them yet, so I’ll save those for another post.  First, let me say that I’m glad I got it on sale.  It only adds a few hours of game play, it’s very linear, and it wasn’t very exciting.  But, the rewards for your character for completing it are SWEET! 

If you’re really gung-ho for completing this expansion, you can do it in about three hours.  Sure, you can play it with different characters, but beyond the rewards, there isn’t any reason to.  There are really no choices (beyond whether to do the mission or not), and there isn’t anything unique going on.  Instead of an RPG with an FPS feel (like the rest of Fallout 3), O:A is an FPS with an RPG’s game engine.  Which, let’s face it, Fallout 3 is a fantastic RPG and a horrible shooter.  As for those RPG elements, choice is what really defines an RPG, but the only decision you get to have is to choose a custom squad to “command”.  But, this is a lie.  All you get to command them to do is “go to the next objective” or “wait here”.  Not to mention that the characters you meet are flat and boring (which is uncharacteristic of the Fallout franchise).  The action is underwhelming and not very challenging, leaving you wanting more, and that’s never good for a game.

So, what’s the point?  Well, the armor and weapons you get upon finishing the quests.  The power armor, by itself might be worth it, since you gain proficiency with it immediately upon donning it.  That means you can get access to power armor well before you’re supposed in the base game.  And the rifle is nearly the most powerful and accurate gun yet.  Oh, and as long as you haven’t maxed out your level already, you’ll still earn XP, so that’s good.

If you can get this at a discount (like I did), then I recommend it for someone that already really loves the game and wants to get more out of it.  If the game wasn’t your favorite, you can probably skip it.

Grade: C+ (79%)

Oh yeah, as for the whole “DLC” thing . . . stop calling it that.  “Downloadable Content” used to mean “free”.  It meant that if you already owned a game, you could get access to bonus material for it by downloading free stuff.  Kind of like a patch or user-made content.  You didn’t have to pay for it.  If you had to pay for it, it was called an “Expansion Pack”.  Y’know what, that’s what these are: Expansions.  So stop it with the misnomers and get back with the program!