Bethesda unveils first Fallout 3 DLC, will lift level cap

by Justin McElroy { Dec 11th 2008 at 11:15AM }

Fallout 3 was great, but it was lacking in one important facet: Battling the forces of communism. Expect this to be rectified in the game's first DLC pack: "Operation Anchorage," which Bethesda recently detailed for IGN. The four to five hour, 800-point ($10) campaign is a simulation of what producer Jeff Gardiner calls the "famous liberation of Anchorage from Fallout lore." That's right, virtually simulated red Chinese: Your days are numbered.

In the stealth/action focused mission, you'll fight your way into a Chinese base with new tools and perks at your disposal that will be exclusive to the DLC. IGN's got a lot more info, including Bethesda's plan is to increase the level cap with the third piece of DLC, Broken Steel. The wait for next year just got a little longer.

Tags: bethesda, fallout-3, operation-anchorage

Related From Joystiq

Today's Xbox Live deal: 50% off all Fallout 3 DLC
1 day ago
Operation Flashpoint 'Overwatch' DLC on Xbox 360 today, PS3 & PC 'soon'
7 days ago
Fight Night Round 4 DLC pulled due to freezing issues
22 days ago

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Mitsuo @ Dec 11th 2008 11:20AM

awesome...can't wait to see what they do with Pittsburgh in the 2nd content pack.

oh does anyone know if it's possible to get to lvl 21 by getting to lvl 20 then using that perk to give you one extra lvl?

dwhite @ Dec 11th 2008 11:35AM

Sorry that will not work. Level 20 is it for now. That being said, I am a huge fan of this game and will buy all the DLC they put out. This is one of those games that reminded me why I like to play in the first place. I'm sure some will nit pick, but over all its one of the best games ever made, regardless of system or generation.

copa @ Dec 11th 2008 11:46AM

The Bethesda forums are filled with people clamoring for the level cap to be raised, but for the life of me I don't understand why.

The game is balanced for 20 levels. By level 20, you are ridiculously overpowered, and have had the opportunity to max out all the skills and perks you are interested in.

Unless they are adding new perks, I don't know what the incentive is to keep gaining levels.

AwesomeTown @ Dec 11th 2008 12:00PM

@copa
I think it's the balancing itself. I understand what your saying and you are right, its balanced for 20. But I think you just get there way too early, especially for the amount of game content. It's an RPG, its made for character development and leveling, but it's over halfway through the game, and it seems to lose that aspect of it.

mystictaco @ Dec 11th 2008 12:01PM

Exactly, copa. Between bobbleheads, skillbooks, and the right combination of perks, you could probably max out just about every skill by 20. At least every relevant skill if you ignore useless things like barter and repair.

AwesomeTown @ Dec 11th 2008 12:33PM

@mystictaco

On no, repair is fantastic. I use it constantly.

baby sea tuna @ Dec 11th 2008 12:59PM

Seriously, repair is a killer skill considering most of the scavengers and merchants only have the ability to repair up to like 50%. With the Robco Jumpsuit equipped I could keep my equipment maintained up to like 94% or something ridiculous like that.

The only thing I really want this game to add is some more cool shit for me to spend my money on. I ended up with like 8000 caps and nothing worth buying.

Duke @ Dec 11th 2008 1:04PM

Yeah, I am all about the repair skill!

Haggard @ Dec 11th 2008 1:16PM

Repair = awesome

LaughingTarget @ Dec 11th 2008 1:30PM

The only thing I would improve with the repair skill is to allow the player to use scrap metal and not just a similar/identical weapon in your inventory.

AwesomeTown @ Dec 11th 2008 11:22AM

I hope 4 - 5 hours is conservative. I usually take my time exploring, so if I can get a couple more hours out of it, it'll be worth $10. But new weapons and armor are really exciting.
Who am I kidding, I'll buy it regardless.

CJC @ Dec 11th 2008 11:23AM

When is the G.E.C.K due again?

sicsided @ Dec 11th 2008 11:24AM

This month... hopefully.

ZombieRobot @ Dec 11th 2008 11:23AM

Damn I smell them milking releasing the SDK for awhile now.

Ubiqutous Oxymoron @ Dec 11th 2008 11:24AM

is this going to be available for PC also?

i would pony up for this.

gb @ Dec 11th 2008 11:29AM

the pc will have numerous user mods. free.

Guibs @ Dec 11th 2008 11:29AM

if they do as they did with Oblivion, it will be available on PC at the same price.

YonGibbeynater @ Dec 11th 2008 11:49AM

I wonder if they're going to retcon the ending for the third DLC pack.

Not that I really care, I have the Free Play mod.

Jakka ( The Order of Haters of Balance) @ Dec 11th 2008 1:51PM

I hope the retcon ending involves someone fired over the original ending...while we at it, fire a person who decided not to make a Colonel Autumn Ending, too.

Chin-Poh @ Dec 11th 2008 4:18PM

All the upcoming DLC is for the PC and 360 versions and the PC gets the G.E.C.K as well. :)

mindshed @ Dec 11th 2008 11:29AM

Gahhhhhhhh, I the title of this post made me think the level cap would be lifted with the first DLC :(

Blockhead Mark @ Dec 11th 2008 11:30AM

Awesome. I love Fallout 3 but the level cap make exploring pointless late in the game. I went back and created an evil character after playing through with my good. I may end up with a good, a bad, and a neutral when this comes out.

NaeemTHM @ Dec 11th 2008 11:29AM

What no cockroach armor?

*I totally stole that from another site

butaneko @ Dec 11th 2008 11:57AM

Make that radroach armor and you've got yourself a lol

semi-originality could have been yours!

LeadBoxx @ Dec 11th 2008 11:32AM

I better trade my friend his Far Cry 2 back for my Fallout 3 soon!

MikeO. @ Dec 11th 2008 11:48AM

I assumed the cap was meant to be raised at some point since I finally reached level 20 and during the screen transition saw that it had the

20V..|..|..|..21

thing going on. Haha.

On another note, Fallout is so freakin' awesome.

mystictaco @ Dec 11th 2008 11:47AM

Aaa the joys of playing on PC and breaking level cap without buying $10 DLC.

As if the player character wasn't brokenly overpowered in the first place.

Antagonist @ Dec 11th 2008 11:48AM

I really have been enjoying Fallout 3, but the cap at level 20 is garbage. I hit level 20 when I was only halfway through the game. It really puts a damper on exploration when a major part of the game's reward system comes to a screeching halt so early in the game.

TwEE @ Dec 11th 2008 3:12PM

Bingo.

Wayne Donaldson @ Dec 11th 2008 12:17PM

I don't think people would have complained if you just reached level 20 later in the game.
But these same people probably done lots of exploring and side quests which is why they leveled up so early.

dc_fortythree @ Dec 11th 2008 12:20PM

i know this is just a pipe dream but Bethesda please throw the PS3 a bone and lift the level cap. you can keep your DLC, but please let me roam the wastelands as the bad mother f'er that I want to be.

Shteevie @ Dec 11th 2008 12:30PM

I still don't understand any of the praise for this game. I feel like I must be playing something different than everyone else is.

I would assume that the level cap raise is to match the difficulty of the content in the third PDLC installment. Not that 'difficulty' is going to be represented by puzzles, an increase in AI, or the need for strategy or tactical thinking. Just bigger numbers and more damage.

Fallout 3 is certainly going to be remembered for quite some time, but as one of the most over-hyped and under-performing games of the generation. With Halo 3, GTA4, Too Human, and Mass Effect, it has lots and lots of company.

Conor @ Dec 11th 2008 12:43PM

I'd have to disagree with you on halo being overrated.....

I'll wait to see if this DLC is worth my 10 quid after it comes out.

Duke @ Dec 11th 2008 1:08PM

I have to disagree with you saying this game will be remembered for being over-hyped. Look at all the posts here that show their love for the game! Maybe you are confusing your opinion on that with the rest of the worlds.

The game is largely being praised and sure was not painted as a disappointment in the media like Too Human was.

Jakka ( The Order of Haters of Balance) @ Dec 11th 2008 1:49PM

Most Over-hyped game of the year...seriously?

It can't compare to hype GTA4 got and as much as I hate F3, it's actually pretty good.

There.

I said it.

Coming from a person who has picked up about every plot hole in this game and who's head almost exploded while doing so,this is a pretty good compliment.

WRE @ Dec 11th 2008 12:45PM

I love Fallout 3, but damned if it isn't riddled with glitches and bugs. I have the PS3 version and I've been stuck in walls, had my weapon freeze until I turned my system on and off, and was subjected to a popping and crackling audio glitch until I turned the footsteps and effects way down. Are the PC and 360 versions similarly affected, or is this a PS3 issue?

ryan @ Dec 11th 2008 12:57PM

360 is the least buggiest I think.

Dr. Stabbingworth @ Dec 11th 2008 1:11PM

I have the 360 version and the game froze once. Otherwise, I personally have not run into any bugs. It has been very smooth.

JimyD @ Dec 11th 2008 1:35PM

I've been playing the PS3 version for awhile and haven't had any of the problems you've described. The only issue that I can complain about is with some of the graphics - mostly clipping and scenery pop-in.

I disagree with the above comment on the game being over hyped. I am not a big RPG fan but once I got past the initial ramp up, this game has been fantastic to play. Fallout 3 is clearly one of the best games of 2008.

WRE @ Dec 11th 2008 2:26PM

Oh yeah, the pop-in! Don't fucking remind me...

Chin-Poh @ Dec 11th 2008 4:20PM

When I had rented it for the 360 version to debate getting it for PC, I encountered no bugs or glitches at all whereas my brother said the game hanged once in VATS. With the PC version, its crashed on several occasions completely random in gameplay. :(

Robert @ Dec 11th 2008 1:50PM

Bethesda, there's a reason you're my favorite. Keep the nuclear apocalypse coming!

TwEE @ Dec 11th 2008 3:41PM

I love Fallout 3, its just plan fun roaming the wastes looking for supplies and dodging monsters, but man did they neuter my favorite RPG franchise.

Bethesda removed a lot of what made fallout great but really didn't replace it with anything at all (except VATS, which they should expand on).

The perks are a joke and only give you the illusion of choice.

Having a such a small level cap in a "rpg" seems insane to me, but now I know they were planing on selling us the higher levels a few weeks later.. hurray for DLC.

Everything about the story was anti climatic.. I don't think there was one story line in this game that paid off.. they all just fizzled out. But now I know they were planing on selling me the endings as DLC.. again hurray,

TwEE @ Dec 11th 2008 3:54PM

To me what made Fallout 3 great (or at least the first half of the game) was that it was a kind of a big sandbox 3rd/1st person shooter with a real sense of exploration, though by the end of the game you realized that all the exploring really amounted to nothing more usefull then extra bullets.

And Halo 3 is great, I play fps with 3-6 other people in the room, is there any other fps that lets 4 players go online together or really dose anything right when it comes to splitscreen multiplayer?