GamesRelay

Name: Fallout 3: Broken Steel

Broken Steel is an add-on for Fallout 3 that fixes one of the major problems with the game, the ending. You see, originally Fallout 3 ended kind of abruptly, you were happily going along and following the quests when you inadvertently triggered the end of the game and you couldn't continue on, whether other quests needing doing or not. Once Broken Steel is installed that's no longer a problem and you can continue your adventures in the Captial Wastelands. Other improvements have been made also, your experience points used to take you to a Level 20 cap, this has now been raised to Level 30 so you can continue to improve the stats of your character, it also includes new enemies, weapons, locations for you to explore and a bunch of new quests that must be completed.

As previously mentioned, this add-on fixes the game so you can continue your game after the ending, and thus, it has been changed slightly to allow for the new content. The new Quests are only available after this but everything else the update brings is available as soon as you've installed it, including the new Level 30 cap and don't worry, the new enemies that are introduced will be attacking you as soon as they get the chance. It's set two weeks after what used to be the ending of the game and sees you being recruited into the Brotherhood of Steel to help hunt down the Enclave who are now fractured thanks to the events at the reactor at the end of the Take it Back! quest. There are three main quests to complete which starts with an attack on a secret Enclave base. This goes really wrong really quickly when a counter attack is launched on The Brotherhood. You're then tasked with finding the origin of the attack and also with finding a component that's needed for a new weapon. Finally you are asked to find an Air Force Base and help launch a final attack on the Enclave. It's a neat little story that's been well thought out and you'll be visiting locations both new and old in your time, all interwoven perfectly with the original game. There are also three additional side quests to keep you occupied which sees you protecting the Aqua Cura water supply, this is the water that's been purified (or not) after The Brotherhood takes control of the Purifier, and just to stop you getting bored you're also tasked with various other bits and pieces that can also be used to gain XP. These include retrieving items for repair or Super Mutant blood samples. The main quest will take you around five hours to complete from start to finish with the side quests taking around an hour each which isn't a bad addition to the game by any means.

You can expect to stumble across three new enemies in your travels around the Capitial Wasteland; there's an Albino Radscorpion to come across, a Feral Reaver Ghoul and a Super Mutant Overlord. As you might expect these are dangerous foes but not the only new danger, the Enclave also have three dangerous new additions to their ranks; Hellfire Troopers, Sigma Squad Members and Sigma Squad Leaders each with their own skills and abilities and of course new armour for you to plunder.

Other additions to the game include a smattering of new weaponry that can be found or given to you; a new precision version of the Laser Gatling Gun is to be had alongside a Heavy Incinerator weapon favoured by the Hellfire Troopers, and as previously mentioned you'll be asked to find a component to create a new weapon, The Tesla Cannon, which you'll also be able to get your hands on towards the back end of the game. Of course there are other new additions but these are mostly modified versions of the games original weapons but still nice to find and come across them.

The new Level Cap for the character also brings with it new Perks which can be added, there are 14 of these of which 10 can be added providing your skill levels are high enough. Like the games original Perks these are either useful to you as a player or just add novelty value, for instance the Nuclear Anomaly Perk will see you explode into a massive explosion should your health be reduced to 20 or less - taking out all your attackers, or allies. There is another one called Puppies where if your canine companion Dogmeat dies then you can wait a little while and go collect another. Whatever your choices they add more value to the game and allow for a unique experience every time which isn't a bad thing at all.

All in all this is a very good update to an already great game and well worth the purchase even if all you really want to do is be able to continue to increase your rank and explore the wasteland at your own free will, that alone is worth the price of admission.

The Download pack is available now for download on PC, Xbox 360 and more recently the PlayStation 3, however a Fallout 3 Game of the Year Edition is planned for Mid-October 2009 which will include Fallout 3 and all of the download content on one shiny disk.