Bethesda offered details on upcoming downloadable content for their RPG, Fallout 3, today.
The DLC was expected, but probably not many thought that they would release it as quickly as they plan -- the first content pack is due in January.
Here is what coming, for both the console and PC versions of the game:
Operation: Anchorage
Enter a military simulation and fight in one of the greatest battles of the Fallout universe - the liberation of Anchorage, Alaska from its Chinese Communist invaders. An action-packed battle scheduled for release in January.
The Pitt
Journey to the industrial raider town called The Pitt, located in the remains of Pittsburgh. Choose your side. Scheduled for release in February.
Broken Steel
Join the ranks of the Brotherhood of Steel and rid the Capital Wasteland of the Enclave remnants once and for all. Continues the adventure past the main quest. Scheduled for release in March.
In the Fallout universe, the Chinese took Alaska before the nuclear war started. Around this time the US was busy raping and looting Canada. It seems unlikely that there is still any sort of Chinese military contingent in Alaska because they would've been nuked in the Great [nuclear] War, so it seems plausible that Operation: Anchorage will be some sort of simulation in Fallout 3 -- or will possibly take place way before the plot of Fallout 1,2 and 3, during the original Reclamation. Continuing with the overall design of Fallout 3, it also seems that Operation: Anchorage will be focused on combat, and not role-playing.
In addition, the Fallout 3 community will be thrilled to hear that the SDK is also coming in December. Named the G.E.C.K, after the game's Garden of Eden Creation Kit, the community will now be able to get to serious work on the game, modifying it and improving aspects of Fallout 3 that could use some work. "Users can create, modify, and edit any data for use with Fallout 3, from building landscapes, towns, and locations to writing dialogue, creating characters, weapons, creatures, and more," wrote Bethesda. "We can’t wait to see what the community does with the G.E.C.K.”
Mods brought an unprecedented amount of content and expansion to Bethesda's Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion -- with the popularity of Fallout 3, and the die-hard legions of Fallout fans out there, you can bet your house that there will be a mass of mods coming for the game.
Bethesda also announced that a PC patch is in the works, and coming soon (though no date was set.)
Personally, this gamer has put the game aside in anticipation of all the mods that will be coming out. A year from now, Fallout 3 will probably be so modified and expanded that it will offer twice the fun as the current game.
