Aliens Invade Fallout 3
Two new expansion packs detailed. And yes, the aliens come to Washington and they are pissed.
May 19, 2009
The Microsoft exclusive for Fallout 3's downloadable add-ons won't exist for much longer, as Bethesda has announced plans to bring all downloadable content for Fallout 3 to PlayStation 3. The fun isn't over for Fallout 3 PC and Xbox 360 owners just yet, however. Bethesda has also announced two new expansions, titled Point Lookout and Mothership Zeta, that will come to Microsoft platforms first.
Point Lookout takes players to a new swampy area with new quests. Mothership Zeta features a return of the aliens who are described by Bethesda as "pissed." The download allows players to experience an alien abduction. Both Point Lookout and Mothership Zeta will be priced at 800 Microsoft points (US $9.99). Point Lookout will be available in June for Xbox 360 and PC while Mothership Zeta is slated for July on the same platforms.
Operation: Anchorage will be released for PS3 in June with The Pitt and Broken Steel following with 4-6 weeks between each. Exact release dates will be announced in the future. Both Point Lookout and Mothership Zeta will eventually find their way over to PS3 as well, though they will come after the first three add-ons have made the leap.
But wait, there's more! Disc-based versions of the game add-ons are in the works. Fallout 3 Game Add-on Pack #1 will be released on May 26 for Xbox 360 and PC. It includes The Pitt and Operation: Anchorage. Add-on Pack #2, which includes Broken Steel and Point Lookout will be released in August for Xbox 360 and PC. PlayStation 3 will not get these disc-based versions of the add-ons. However, those on PS3 without access to the downloads will be able to buy the Fallout 3: Game of the Year edition that is coming out in October. It will include the full game plus all five add-ons and have a price of $59.99 on Xbox 360 and PS3 and $49.99 for PC.
And if that isn't enough for you to digest, read on for IGN's exclusive first interview with Todd Howard, Game Director for Fallout 3, that dives into more details on the newly announced add-ons as well as extra details on the port to PS3.
IGN: Is Point Lookout a reference to Point Lookout State Park in Maryland? Is that where the DLC takes place?
Todd Howard: Yes, yes it is.
IGN: Does the substantial history of Point Lookout State Park play a role in this expansion?
Todd Howard: In some ways, yes, such as the civil war stuff. Its modern incarnation is different, since we do treat it as we see it from the Fallout timeline, post 1950. More of a seaside vacation town with a boardwalk.
IGN: Without spoiling too much for us, what is the general plotline of Point Lookout's new quests?
Todd Howard: Yeah, I really don't want to spoil it yet. It has a swampy-horror vibe. It's the brainchild of Joel Burgess and Nate Purkeypile, two of our best people here. Their pitch was, "picture backwoods Maryland, where the bombs didn't actually fall, but the world has left it behind." It's also big. Really big. It's a mini wasteland swamp to explore. It has a main quest, side quests, etc.
IGN: What about for Mothership Zeta?
Todd Howard: If you poke around Fallout 3, you can find a crashed UFO with an alien inside that is broadcasting a signal your Pip-Boy picks up. This is where you can get the alien blaster. Well, Mothership Zeta is answering the distress call. You get abducted and the whole thing takes place on a giant alien spacecraft. It's one of those classic 50's B movie type things, but with a harder edge.
IGN: How substantial are Point Lookout and Mothership Zeta? Can we expect them to be on par with past Fallout 3 add-ons?
Todd Howard: They're all within the same range. Some skew a bit bigger, some a tad smaller, but we try to keep them around the same size and cost.
IGN: Operation Anchorage focused on combat. The Pitt offered morally grey questing. Broken Steel extended the main story and lifted the level cap. What will be the main selling points of Point Lookout and Mothership Zeta?
Todd Howard: We just try to do different things, do some stuff visually and gameplay-wise the main game didn't do. So the vibe of Point Lookout is really different, and the same with Mothership Zeta. With Point Lookout, we wanted a larger landscape, a new place to explore; really explore, as opposed to Anchorage and The Pitt that are more linear. With Mothership Zeta, that started as something we always kind of joked about, doing an alien-abduction game. It's crazy visually, since we couldn't really reuse any art from the main game. Fallout 3's lead artist Istvan Pely is heading that DLC up, and it's some great stuff. It looks like a new game.
IGN: Will these add-ons take place in the post-game world of Project Purity that was set up in Broken Steel? In other words, will actions in that download affect the either Point Lookout or Mothership Zeta?
Todd Howard: They work either way, kind of like our other quests in that they play out whether you have finished the main game or not.
IGN: Each of the past downloads for Fallout 3 added new weapons and armor to play around with. What can we look forward to in terms of new equipment in the upcoming add-ons?
Todd Howard: They both add stuff, but we'll be talking about those later.
IGN: Are there any particularly cool new perks on the way that you can tell us about now?
Todd Howard: Yes, but another thing we'll save for later.
IGN: Will Point Lookout or Mothership Zeta once again lift the level cap for 360 and PC players that have hit 30 already?
Todd Howard: Neither affects the level cap, so it's whatever your game is already at. If you have Broken Steel, it will be 30, if not, it will be 20.
IGN: Why is it that the first three pieces of DLC are finally hitting the PS3? Was it a timed exclusivity deal, or was something else worked out?
Todd Howard: It's mostly the workload on us. Based on our Oblivion experience, it was clear that Xbox users were much more comfortable buying content, by a wide margin. It's a lot of work to get them ready for a particular platform and now that they've been so popular, we want to get them on the PS3. And there's obviously been a lot of frustration on the part of PS3 owners, who don't feel they are getting the total Fallout 3 experience, and we don't want that to happen. We want everyone to have everything, but we still need to set priorities so we can use our development time wisely.
IGN: Was the eventual PlayStation 3 release for the existing DLC always in the works, or was it something that came up after the fact?
Todd Howard: We always wanted to do it, but until it actually looks like it will happen, we don't want to make promises. We've been working on it and they aren't done yet so it's going to take time for each DLC to be moved over to the PS3 and work well. As a result there will still be a month or so gap between each one once they start hitting on the PS3.
IGN: Will Operation Anchorage, Broken Steel or The Pitt on PS3 feature any changes from what we saw in the Xbox 360 versions?
Todd Howard: No, we want to keep the content the same across platforms.
IGN: Are there going to be new Trophies for all of the content on PlayStation 3?
Todd Howard: Hopefully. It's something we're still working on.
IGN: Will PlayStation 3 players have to wait until Broken Steel for the level cap to be lifted?
Todd Howard: Yes, it works the same as Xbox.
IGN: Will anything in Point Lookout or Mothership Zeta give us hints about what to expect in Fallout: New Vegas?
Todd Howard: No, New Vegas is a totally different game being developed by Obsidian Entertainment.
IGN: Will this be the end of downloadable add-ons to Fallout 3 or can we expect more announcements towards the end of this year?
Todd Howard: I think this will be it. But I've thought that before too.
IGN: Once again, we must ask: will any of these downloads offer up Dogmeat Armor?
Todd Howard: How much would you pay for one that uses Liberty Prime's voice chip and makes Dogmeat talk like a giant robot while blasting people to chunky soup?
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As always, stick with IGN for latest news on Fallout 3 expansions.
This game has a general creepy factor, I'm not sure if I can handle full-out creepiness...
My faith in mankind has been restored!
they are apparently still losing something like $50 for each one they sell so I can see why they don't want to drop the price though...
