Operation: Anchorage

Operation: Anchorage is the first add-on for Fallout 3, developed and published by Bethesda Softworks.

Release and availability
Operation: Anchorage was initially released exclusively as downloadable content on Xbox Live and Games for Windows Live on January 27, 2009. It was made available for PlayStation Store on October 1, 2009. For Xbox 360, download codes for Xbox Live are also available in retail.

For PC and Xbox 360, Operation: Anchorage is available as a disc version as part of the first Fallout 3 Game Add-on Pack, released on May 26, 2009. The pack also includes The Pitt as well as a Vault Boy poster.

Like all add-ons, Operation: Anchorage is included in the Fallout 3: Game of the Year Edition, released on October 13, 2009 for all platforms, along with a Vault Boy poster and a map of the Capital Wasteland.

For Steam users, Operation: Anchorage, along with all the other Fallout 3 add-ons, are available and were released on July 16, 2010.

Plot


In this add-on, the Brotherhood of Steel Outcasts are trying to acquire advanced military tools. The only way to enter the vault containing these relics appears to be completing a military virtual reality simulation. However, none of the Outcasts have a computer interface like the Pip-Boy 3000 to enter the Operation: Anchorage simulation.

There is evidence that the Outcasts tried to use one of the Gary clones somehow obtained from Vault 108 but the fact that the clone can be found dead and some outcast members' dialog all prove their results have been limited. So it comes down to the Lone Wanderer to go inside and complete a simulation of perhaps the greatest battle of the Fallout universe: the liberation of Anchorage, Alaska from occupying Red Chinese troops. The simulation is set during the Anchorage campaign, which occurred between June 2076, when the T-51b power armor was first introduced, and January 2077, when Chinese forces were completely driven out of Alaska. Evidence locatable in the Outcast Outpost makes it clear that the simulation is not an accurate recreation of the battle in many important ways, however these ways are never detailed but are blamed on General Chase who was the military correspondant for the simulation program.

Once the add-on is downloaded, the quest objective for Operation: Anchorage will be activated by a radio broadcast stating, "This is Defender Morrill. Any Outcasts listening on this frequency report to sector 7-B, Bailey's Crossroads. This is a high-priority message; backup is needed at our location. Any personnel listening on this frequency, please report at once." A marker will be shown on the world map near the Red Racer Factory.

The add-on can be played at any time after the player exits Vault 101 at the beginning of the game. After completing the simulation, the player is free to unlock the armory via the terminal, and also receives Power Armor Training. Also, all of the equipment inside is free for the taking without a Karma penalty.

In the simulation, the player is stripped of any equipment and weapons (excluding quest items) and forced to utilize the resources supplied throughout the simulation's environment. The Chinese Red Army is everywhere, and the player first has to secure the surrounding mountainside and then fight their way into the Chinese base. The player has to use a lot of their standard combat skills, along with several new tools that are only available in the add-on. These include interactive strike teams under the player's command as well as unique armor, weapons, and other exotic gadgets. Throughout the simulation, various pieces of intel are also hidden that yield the Covert Ops perk when all are collected.

The player is also introduced to a new healing system in the simulation: rather than stimpaks, there are health dispensers that will completely replenish your health. Ammo dispensers can also be found in many places. Corpses cannot be looted, however; all bodies disappear in a blue-static animation a few seconds after death (If you are quick, however, you can devour them with the Cannibal perk). There is no need for looting, however: weapons and armor have extremely high HP values and do not degrade. The player is also unable to pick up clutter or open containers; he/she can only interact with objects that are blinking red and emitting a humming noise. After exiting the simulation, the Lone Wanderer is allowed into the armory and can grab anything he/she wants.

Opening the armory spurs a heated discussion between Defender Sibley and Protector McGraw, which culminates in Sibley and most of the other Outcasts starting a mutiny against McGraw and Olin. This is a battle that the Lone Wanderer can decide with no negative reputation to the Outcasts so long as they do not attack either McGraw or Specialist Olin.

Simulation-only items
Items which do not appear outside the simulation without the use of glitches or console commands:

Cut content

 * Beta Gauss rifle
 * Smoke grenades
 * The Peepers
 * Signal flare

Perks
If the person who completed the simualtion doesn't already have it, after exiting the simulation the participant will receive the Power Armor Training perk.

Bugs

 * The quartermaster states that the player may only change your gear load out once. Dropping gear however will allow the player to have another gear load out e.g. Infantry and heavy weapons.
 * Freezing and a slow frame rate is very common occurrence after the Guns of Anchorage quest. Shutting down and re booting should temporarily rectify this. These glitches are noticeable immediately after leaving the generals command tent and are usually preceded by an unusually long loading time. Shutting down during loading may corrupt data so it is best to wait until loading completes and autosaves. It will then be safe to reboot.
 * Players with low-end graphics cards may find the game is noticeably less responsive in the simulations than in other areas, particularly when a blinking red item is in view.

Videos

 * Trailer at official site

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