Review: Fallout 3 DLC: The Pitt [PC]
Dr`Steve, 30-Mar-09 » 
Slavery today isn’t what it used to be. In the past, if you needed something done all you’d need is a pawn to take the brunt of your trusty cat-o-nine tails, whilst you reap the rewards of a hard day of work performed by someone other than yourself. Times have changed and having your own personal minion isn’t as politically correct as it once was. The good folk at Bethesda have seen to it that the age old art of servitude gets the exposure it deserves in the second installment of downloadable content (DLC) for its post-apocalyptic RPG Fallout 3.
The Pitt is an industrial town modeled on the remains of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. You make the journey there after responding to a mysterious distress call on your trusty Pip-Boy 3000. Upon arrival you can see that the town is in a bit of a mess. Although the township was lucky enough not to have been a target for the falling nukes, the place, in real estate terms would be a “renovator’s delight”. Add to that, the residents are getting a little bit sick due to environmental factors and are forced at gunpoint to do menial chores at the local steel mill. So on the face of things it’s far from sunshine and lollypops. It would be prudent for any wastelander to see if they can lend a hand (and possibly profit from the situation). After slipping into some comfortable slave apparel you can wander on in, although I must not have hidden all my stockpiled gear well enough on my person and was had to deal with the raider staffers, who gave me a bit of a touch up and taxed my wares.
Unlike Operation Anchorage, The Pitt does not feel detached from the original flow of Fallout 3. My biggest qualm with the first installment of DLC was that the run and gun missions didn’t mesh with the gameplay experience up to that point. The fact that this installment brought things back into line with the winning Fallout 3 formula is a big plus in my books. The Pitt gives another three storyline missions that provide some real moral dilemmas that left me searching my head and heart for an outcome that would not fill me with a whole world of guilt. There is also a side mission that sends you through the depths of the steel mill to locate no less than 100 lumps of steel, whist it is time consuming, the rewards are worthwhile for those who love to pick up new gear. On that topic, there are quite a few new items available including a rotary axe aptly named the ‘Man Opener’ and some funky new power armor. A new enemy enters the mix too, with looks that not even a mother could love and the tendency to be sneakier than the average dropbear. Some say they have fallen ill to the effects of The Pitt, some say they are souls who have lost their way. All I know is that they’re called the Trog!
While this installment has been a marked improvement on Operation Anchorage, it’s not all good. The download was actually pulled from the Xbox Live Marketplace because it was quite broken. Whilst the PC release didn’t have the same issues, I still found it to be quite buggy with the odd lock up and/or crash. The content was also very short, consisting of about two hours of the storyline missions (a little bit longer if you decide to explore and complete the side mission), but it is to be expected from a relatively small and inexpensive content pack. All in all, The Pitt rekindled my love for Fallout 3 and has left me crossing off dates in the calendar in anticipation for the next piece of content; Broken Steel, which will be available at the end of April.
The Pitt is available for download from Microsoft Games for Windows Live http://global.gamesforwindows.com/en-AU/ for PC and the Xbox Live Marketplace for Xbox 360 for 800 MS points.
Slavery today isn’t what it used to be. In the past, if you needed something done all you’d need is a pawn to take the brunt of your trusty cat-o-nine tails, whilst you reap the rewards of a hard day of work performed by someone other than yourself. Times have changed and having your own personal minion isn’t as politically correct as it once was. The good folk at Bethesda have seen to it that the age old art of servitude gets the exposure it deserves in the second installment of downloadable content (DLC) for its post-apocalyptic RPG Fallout 3.
The Pitt is an industrial town modeled on the remains of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. You make the journey there after responding to a mysterious distress call on your trusty Pip-Boy 3000. Upon arrival you can see that the town is in a bit of a mess. Although the township was lucky enough not to have been a target for the falling nukes, the place, in real estate terms would be a “renovator’s delight”. Add to that, the residents are getting a little bit sick due to environmental factors and are forced at gunpoint to do menial chores at the local steel mill. So on the face of things it’s far from sunshine and lollypops. It would be prudent for any wastelander to see if they can lend a hand (and possibly profit from the situation). After slipping into some comfortable slave apparel you can wander on in, although I must not have hidden all my stockpiled gear well enough on my person and was had to deal with the raider staffers, who gave me a bit of a touch up and taxed my wares.
Unlike Operation Anchorage, The Pitt does not feel detached from the original flow of Fallout 3. My biggest qualm with the first installment of DLC was that the run and gun missions didn’t mesh with the gameplay experience up to that point. The fact that this installment brought things back into line with the winning Fallout 3 formula is a big plus in my books. The Pitt gives another three storyline missions that provide some real moral dilemmas that left me searching my head and heart for an outcome that would not fill me with a whole world of guilt. There is also a side mission that sends you through the depths of the steel mill to locate no less than 100 lumps of steel, whist it is time consuming, the rewards are worthwhile for those who love to pick up new gear. On that topic, there are quite a few new items available including a rotary axe aptly named the ‘Man Opener’ and some funky new power armor. A new enemy enters the mix too, with looks that not even a mother could love and the tendency to be sneakier than the average dropbear. Some say they have fallen ill to the effects of The Pitt, some say they are souls who have lost their way. All I know is that they’re called the Trog!
While this installment has been a marked improvement on Operation Anchorage, it’s not all good. The download was actually pulled from the Xbox Live Marketplace because it was quite broken. Whilst the PC release didn’t have the same issues, I still found it to be quite buggy with the odd lock up and/or crash. The content was also very short, consisting of about two hours of the storyline missions (a little bit longer if you decide to explore and complete the side mission), but it is to be expected from a relatively small and inexpensive content pack. All in all, The Pitt rekindled my love for Fallout 3 and has left me crossing off dates in the calendar in anticipation for the next piece of content; Broken Steel, which will be available at the end of April.
The Pitt is available for download from Microsoft Games for Windows Live http://global.gamesforwindows.com/en-AU/ for PC and the Xbox Live Marketplace for Xbox 360 for 800 MS points.
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Article Stats
| Category: | Game Reviews |
| Posted: | 30-Mar-09 5:03:24 am |
| Author: | Dr`Steve |