Fallout 3: Game of the Year Edition

The Good
Well, its Fallout 3 plus all the expansions in one convenient package. What's there not to like?

The Bad
It took too long to be released, which hinders main game memory a bit for people who, like me, don't gradually buy DLC as they come out but rather wait for a GotY edition to get it all in at once.

The Bottom Line
It comes with 2 discs, the second one being an install-to-HDD disc containing all 5 DLC expansions. The main game has been thoroughly reviewed at this point, but to keep it short let's imagine that Bethesda's Oblivion is the skeleton and the muscles, and the first 2 Fallout games are both the skin and the brain. This is clearly an Action-RPG, but while other such games usually bait roleplaying fans to what turns out to be Action/Adventure with very few RPG elements, Fallout 3 runs the risk of attracting FPS aficionados who will probably be turned off by its unmistakable stat-derived gameplay.

As for the DLC, there are 5 of them:

• Operation: Anchorage - The weakest of the five, it takes the Lone Wanderer into a pre-war VR simulator, dug up by the Brotherhood of Steel, that re-enacts the events of the retaking of Anchorage, Alaska, by the US. It has a strong focus on the FPS side of FO3, and the least free-form of all mission paths. It is cool as a change of pace and style from the main game.

• The Pitt - The Lone Wanderer travels to Pittsburgh, a region of slavers and deranged mutants, at the behest of a former Pitt slave. It's pretty good, with an even grittier vibe than the main game.

• Broken Steel - Now this is the big one, altering the main game's ending in order to expand the Lone Wanderer's story. It also raises the level cap from 20 to 30. It's hard to provide details without spoiling, so let's just say that it let's you actually see the result of your actions at the end of the main game, and round out a wider sense of achievement.

• Point Lookout - This one brings back the "far away" style of the first two DLC, taking the player to Point Lookout State Park, Maryland, where, despite not having been hit by any bombs, it has become a filthy swamp wasteland populated with aggressive inbred hillbillies. It provides a new map, and several quest lines, but no main goal. It's a lot of fun exploring a completely new environment, and in my opinion it is the only DLC worth revisiting just for some free-form XP-hunting.

• Mothership Zeta - The wackiest expansion, it plays a lot on Fallout 2's trademark humour. The Lone Wanderer is abducted by aliens (of the "grey" variety), and has to escape captivity lest he be subjected to probes (of the "anal" variety). The experience is kept in rails most of the time, much like Operation: Anchorage, but the original environments and zany fun all add up to a nice Fallout treat. This DLC also provides the player with rather unbalanced equipment, but being the last release it probably won't harm the game much.

Wrapping it all up, this is the ultimate Fallout 3 experience, and although niche gamers will love some of the DLC while hating others, regular Fallout fans simply will not do without this lot. Recommended.