If you have played any of the Fallout games to completion, no matter what you do as a character, you always seems end the game on a sad note. So if you have not beaten Fallout 3, you may not want to continue reading as there may be spoilers ahead...

Ok, you still there? So at the end of the game, as you know, you sacrifice yourself to engage the "project purity" plan and while clean water begins to flow and breathe life into the wasteland, you end up dead. As far as bad endings go, this one was the worst, not a bleak ending like in the earlier games, but a finality. Well, Broken Steel mends this travesty and through the magic of creative writing, you live! Only now instead of everyone being happy about all the new fresh water, it's gone and made things different and worse in some ways. The Enclave, while crippled by your actions, is still a formidable enemy and with your Brotherhood of Steel buddies and the massive Liberty Prime robot, you have to finish the job.

Only it's not that easy.

Bethesda has finally given us a really cool downloadable game to play with. And while there are other downloads on the way, the decision to start off with Broken Steel was a smart one, since now you are able to level up your character all the way to 30, rather then the cap of 20 that the original game stopped at. What this means to you, is that you can now beef your character up and then go take on the other downloads that are coming out soon. This includes the Pitt, Operation Anchorage and Mothership Zeta. What this also means is that there are new karma-inducing opportunities as well as some new perks to be discovered and selected on your way to level 30. The fact that you can do this, and then go take on those darn giant ants from the "They" mission in the capital wasteland is a huge biggie. In fact, you can go back to the original game and really look and find all that stuff you were always meaning to do - only now you are tougher.

And more well armed too!

Broken Steel introduces plenty of new things to do, but it also introduces some newer, more serious firepower. More specifically the Tesla Cannon, a weapon so powerful that when used in VATS it pretty much destroys any and everything. Along with this and other new weapons come many of the same locales featured in the original game, but some new ones as well. Adams Air Force base provides some interesting predicaments and running afoul of the beasties and bad humans that populate the Wasteland is a given since the game delves into an almost bloody horror show with some deaths. I will say though that some of the new abilities (including being able to get trusty Dogmeat back) is also a sign that this is the best add-on Fallout adventure to date (my point of reference is the downloads available for the 360 and soon to be PS3).  

The game is graphics heavy and that does cause some problems; specifically, like the original, the backgrounds can break down temporarily and at times even lock-up causing you to reload your game. So yes, save often, adventuring in the Wastleand is a dangerous pastime made more difficult by random lock-ups.

I always liked the look of the game from an burnt-out hellhole perspective. Bethesda really got things right with the lay of the land and with this add-on, it's more of the same. Yeah, I said there are some new locations, but to me, any game that takes place after a nuclear apocalypse, needs to look like this one. There are a few new character models - the raiders and Enclave soldiers are still appropriately threatening and the new Super Mutant is pretty awesome looking. This kind of game both makes things reassuringly familiar and all-too-dangerous at the same time. We all know there will be a fourth Fallout, and as long as the developers continue in the vein heartily established in this installment, we can all look forward to more fun in an irradiated future.

Since this title has been given the same amount of love and attention a well-produced title should have, the audio continues in the tradition. Voice work in all the Fallout games has been a highlight and continues with Broken Steel. The Brotherhood of Steel provides plenty of things to listen to and the monsters still easily pass muster, but this game is an action one, and the explosions and weapons fire are where the most money was spent and it shows.

It may sound like like I have a man-crush on this title, and for the most part I do. But Fallout is the kind of game that players know what they are getting into, and this add-on is more of that. It features carnage, violence, the best and worst of the human spirit, and lots of things to shoot. Broken Steel is about eight more hours of adventuring if you want to take the journey. I suggest that if you enjoyed Fallout 3, you quickly spend the money on this title, because it is worth it.

Gameplay: 8.5
V.A.T.S. is alive and kicking in this new installment. You should only be reading this review if you have beaten the game, so no need to rehash old info. It's a great addition to the game that I got the most enjoyment out of this last year.

Graphics: 8.0
The lock-ups can be infuriating and you may or may not experience them, but it goes to show you how great the game is when it happens, because you immediately load back up and keep going. Character models and locations are familiar, but still fun to explore.

Sound: 8.4
Great big booms, Liberty Prime stomping across the Wasteland, lots of action and excitement, and pretty distinctive voice work. 

Difficulty: Medium
If you beat the original then you will enjoy this one, the addition of a higher level cap helps things along nicely.

Concept: 9.0
A new (and better) ending and continuation of an adventure I did not want to end.

Overall: 8.6
It's an add-on that is longer than most full games, well produced, with lots to do and see, new enemies and weapons, and it really sets the bar for any future downloadable content in this universe.