The lowdown on Operation Anchorage

Operation Anchorage's main draw from the get go is to provide a sense of a holodeck like simulation - everything that occurs in it seems like it was thoroughly planned and is controlled up into the amount of health and ammo that can be picked up at a time, let alone the weapons. What cannot be looted will simply fade away instantaneously, including dead enemies. Objects that can be interacted with glow red - since nothing can be brought from outside the simulation, things like food, weapons, armor and ammo are provided in location. Health and ammo stations are scattered in convenient locations, normally after fire fights occur. And fire fights do occur. A lot. The focus in this downloadable content pack is fighting. It is a war, after all. The Chinese bring in their best infantry to stop the U.S's efforts - new units like the Dragoons can cloak themselves becoming invisible, while Inferno units cary flamethrowers. Sadly, in some spots, even the toughest of these fail disastrously due to some annoying intelligence problems. Sometimes they just stand around soaking bullets, just like your non playable allies. As part of the Army, you'll be able to choose from a cast of types of units to compose a strike team. Unfortunately, most of your choices will end up being nothing more than cosmetic, due to the fact that these soldiers seem to be more interested in taking in the scenery than fighting.

All looks great, as the original Fallout 3 content. Eventually you will notice a lot in common between the two, though, as the snowy ruins tend to look a lot alike, not only between themselves, but with the Washington D.C Wastelands', only in a different color palette. There is however a new selection of weapons to be used, including a very interesting pulse scoped rifle, and a non so interesting silenced pistol. The ninja armor shown in screen shots acts as a infiltration suit that is automatically given as you join the Alaskan fight. It does look out of place compared to Fallout's selection, but take into account the historical period - the apocalypse hadn't occurred yet! Power armors do make a presence, although they cannot be picked up. In terms of collectibles, sadly there are no bobbleheads to be found. Intel suitcases are hidden around, but add little to the story. Some odd holotapes can be picked up, which provide a little back-story from the soldiers' perspective in the fight, going from confident to very depressed journals.
Content-wise, a cliche has to be used - if you really enjoyed Fallout 3, you'll enjoy this DLC pack - if not, you might want to wait for the other two to come out. The three or so hours that this extension provides play a lot into Fallout 3's strengths and weaknesses. Whether that makes it worth the 800 Microsoft Points or not, it's up to your discretion.

Operation Anchorage is available for the Games For Windows and Xbox 360 versions of Fallout 3. No PS3, though.