Fallout 3: The Pitt

Downloadable content comes in all sizes and shapes, from the vile microtransactions that grant you small benefits in games, to new worlds and maps. Bethesda has always been thoroughly reviewed after they released the Horse Armor DLC in Oblivion. Even though now a simple aesthetic DLC is pretty common it was pretty much a sin back in those days. But when it comes to Fallout, it's a different story. Far from adding just an armor to your horse, Fallout 3: The Pitt is an interesting addition to the game experience.

About the DLC

Our character travels to the ruins of the old Pittsburg, a city not destroyed only from the war, but also from the radiation in the water of the three big rivers. This radiation turned some of its inhabitants into evil mutant creatures. After the Brotherhood of Steel took on the job to exterminate pretty much everyone in Pittsburg because of this, the whole place was invaded by thieves, smugglers, and mercenaries.

But apparently, someone has found the cure for these mutations. Now you get the chance to help them cure the mutants and liberate the slaves from these mercenaries. But you can also get pretty rich if you chose to help the other side, it is up to you to decide how things will turn out.

A huge Pitt?

When you compare The Pitt to Fallout 3's previous DLC Operation Anchorage they are very different from one another. And if Anchorage was like a war movie, then The Pitt is a prison break one. At the start of the mission they take all of your inventory away, leaving you exposed and in defense, this is excellent for making you feel like the slaves in the Pitt.

Keep in mind that this is more of an Add-on DLC, and not a whole new game downloadable content. Unlike huge ones like Red Dead Redemption Undead Nightmare or The Witcher 3: Blood And Wine, DLC's that could easily be entire games on their own. This one is more to expand the experience in Fallout 3, and it works out great.

Review

The Pitt is a great DLC for Fallout 3 that exploits some of the best qualities of the game. You get to make important decisions that will affect the world around you, explore amazing areas, meet new characters and interact with the world. The plot is nicely developed, and it will keep you playing until you finish it.

But there are some negative aspects to it, the DLC has some issues, and with new characters on screen and in some places of the map, frame drops become very common. Not only that, but it's also too short. When you play a game with such a great plot you don't want it to end, and this one does so very soon. And even though the new map is highly detailed and interesting, there aren't many new enemies included in this expansion.

• Graphics and Visuals: The new map looks beautiful with the amazing art direction you would expect from Fallout. The few enemies they added are nicely detailed and designed. The frame drops are completely unappreciated, but it's not enough to make this whole expansion look bad either.

• Gameplay: The usual great gameplay from the Fallout series. Our choices matter, customization all around and nice fighting mechanics. The new weapons are great and add nice versatility to the game

• Sound: Some great additions to the soundtrack that complement the atmosphere of The Pitt.

You Have To hand it to Bethesda - they've choosen a part of the US that really lends itself to surviving a nuclear apocalypse seemingly unscathed. That, and getting the designers of The Pitt to actually play Fallout 3 all the way through, so they could get a feel for what people might want to play. The Pitt is set in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania - an already desolate city, made only slightly worse by the fallout, that is overrun by raiders. Said raiders have enslaved members of The Pitt's population who haven't been infected by a virus that turns them into trogs -mutated humans who live underground.

You're lured there by a chap called Wernher, who has escaped the city in an attempt to find help - and a cure to the plague that he's certain the city's owners possess. This leads you to mucking in as a slave, and one of the few missteps of the expansion. Bethesda needs to allow players to take all their gear into expansion content. Even if you walk in and shoot down all of the guards, you're powerless to stop three sissyboys from clubbing you unconscious and removing your gear. Frankly, this is insulting - I still have my power armour from Anchorage, and I want to use it.

The Pitts

Despite this, The Pitt is a functional and enjoyable expansion. It condenses and presents its own version of Oblivion's arena as The Hole, and the new weapons (especially the AutoAxe, a one-handed chainsaw-thing) are great fun to use. The quest itself fails to enthral, though - you'll beat it for the sake of beating it, as it's easy and short (about four hours long) and fun enough, but it fails to excite. Even the big secret and the big decision you make at the end are as predictable as they come.

Also, the last time I checked, Pittsburgh covers an area of 58 square miles, not a set of claustrophobic corridors and a large courtyard.

The Pitt is good fun, if a little short for the money. What Fallout 3 needs is an expansion like The Shivering Isles, with real meat to it. For now, you'll have to make do with this - a good, but short and somewhat bland extra mission.