Operation: Anchorage, set during the liberation of Alaska shortly before the nuclear fallout that shapes Fallout 3, has officially been available to the public for over 72 hours. Scouring message boards on a couple of different gaming sites, many gamers were finished with the simulation before I even woke up and “downloaded” (see: Why You Gotta Hate On Me) at 10 A.M EST. Aside from my hardware problems, I had Operation: Anchorage up and running with a character fresh out of the vault. I quickly entered Megaton and massacred the town for the measly amount of weapons, ammo and armor to hopefully be able to fend for myself against the Super Mutant Brutes attacking the Outcast’s base. Once successfully within the building, you learn of the Outcast’s motives, much like the Brotherhood of Steel preservation of technology, and they need your help in securing combat equipment sealed in an armory that may only be accessed by a PipBoy, and a PipBoy that has completed the Anchorage simulation. This is where your character comes in.

As you enter the simulation, you’ll find all of your equipment gone, and you’re left simply with a silenced 10mm pistol and ammo, winterized combat armor and accompanying helmet, a combat knife and a stealth boy. Because of this quest’s virtual nature, you may not loot corpses or interact with anything for that matter, unless if flashes red. Finding more equipment is fairly easy, as it lies around in set points, alongside both health and ammo dispensers. There are no stimpaks, no purified water, or foodstuffs. The first part offers a decent selection of weaponry, as well as allowing you to test out the Gauss rifle, which provides absolute devastation. Essentially an energy sniper rifle, the gauss rifle packs enough punch to knockdown your enemy on every successful hit, as well as nearly obliterating them in the process. Even at level 6, I was turning Brotherhood Outcasts into piles of ash with an energy weapon skill below 25.

However, when you first encounter the rifle, its only for a short period of time as you infiltrate a Chinese military base to get you familiar with your icy surroundings, which aren’t much of a change from the Capital Wasteland’s barren landscape besides a difference in color. I was not too impressed with the choices Bethesda made for Anchorage; in the Fallout universe, Anchorage is an oil hub, providing much of America’s oil. Not once did I see an oil refinery, or for that matter, an expansive town or any civilians. You’d think a military simulation would incorporate some form of interaction with the people your protecting and fighting for or the surrounding cities and towns.

As you finish the infiltration of the Chinese outpost with your trusted companion Benji, you’ll flash forward to the meat of Operation: Anchorage with a three part quest. As you prepare for the upcoming assaults, you’ll be given the chance to prepare yourself for battle. Equipment once again is scarce; you must choose between certain sets that only grant you one or two weapons, as well as grenades and mines. You’ll also have the opportunity to acquire a strike team, with units ranging from an infantry unit to a Mr. Gutsy. I’m not going to get into the missions, for they aren’t exactly the longest quests in the game, nor do I want to get flamed for spoilers.

All in all, Operation: Anchorage provides an entertaining experience, but does not nearly live up to the “4-6 hours” of gameplay that was promised. I explored the simulation very thoroughly and completed all quests, both mandatory  and optional. Including my expedition to the Outcast base, the DLC couldn’t have take me longer than two and a half hours, yet, the quest rewards you receive for completing the simulation are pretty damn good, but not worth the $10 price tag.

Note: I experienced a glitch after completing the extra content. In a previous post, I mentioned I had formatted my HDD and lost all of my save files, including Fallout 3. I had completed the game in full, acquiring the achievement for completing “Picking Up the Trail” and receiving power armor training. After completing Operating: Anchorage with a new character and no previous save files, I was able to wear power armor of any variety. I found this a little peculiar (well, not that much, this game IS riddled with bugs) but shrugged it off as a nice coincidence. I wonder if this is because of the DLC, or because I already have the achievement?

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