Publisher: Bethesda Softworks
Developer: Bethesda Softworks
Genre: Action RPG
Release date: Available now

It seems like every month I’ve been sitting down to write a review for one of developer Bethesda’s DLC packs for Fallout 3. The company has been able to consistently deliver content for the popular action RPG and has somehow kept the game fresh and relevant. The add-ons have been received well for the most part, and everyone has had fun with them. With five now released, Bethesda claims they’re done with Fallout 3 DLC and are finally escaping from the Capitol Wasteland to move on to other things. The final release for the game, Mothership Zeta, transports you to a new setting and new story unlike anything experienced thus far. Could it deliver the quality of the previous offerings and end the saga on a high note?

Mothership Zeta begins with your character once again hearing a new radio signal being broadcast throughout the Wasteland, except this time it’s in a language that sounds very “alien.” Those of you who have spent time wandering the Wasteland might have come upon a crashed spaceship. This is the source of the strange broadcast. When you walk over to it, a cutscene begins and you’re beamed up to the mothership. Upon your arrival you find yourself strapped to a table with alien creatures hovering over you ready to (what else?) bring out the probe. After blacking out you finally gain control of your character, who’s locked in a holding cell from which he must escape.

I must admit that I was very excited for this new chapter. The setting had me intrigued. When you begin walking around the ship, it’s almost surreal to see your character in this high-tech alien environment. Bethesda did a fantastic job of capturing the mood and sense of the place, at least initially. From the metal walkways and force field doors to the alien control panels and examination tables, everything you would expect is here. There are times when you get the chance to gaze out of one of the ship’s windows, and this is definitely stunning. But the fact that you are stuck in this closed space means that you see the same areas over and over. Every walkway and hallway looks the same. The excitement wanes fast and you find yourself just wandering through familiar areas. There is one scene that puts you outside the ship, and although it’s a different experience than anything you’ve experienced in Fallout 3, it still isn’t enough to make you forget about the redundent setting.

This is still Fallout 3, so we all know how the game plays, but in terms of the quests (or quest, I should say), Mothership Zeta falls flat. It sends you into an alien vessel and tasks you with finding a way to escape, which sounds great in theory. But for those who have made it this far in Fallout 3, the quest is disappointing. We love the ability to explore and to have multiple ways to complete our objectives. Mothership Zeta does not deliver this at all. It consists of one main quest with a small side mission that has you finding alien captive recordings. The side quest isn’t really initiated; you just find these recordings along the way. Like the Operation Anchorage expansion, Mothership Zeta is heavy on combat. During the main quest you battle your way through corridors against what seems like endless waves of aliens. Healing points are also made available throughout your journey. These are force fields that restore ¾ of your health when you step into them. I don’t really understand the thought behind them other than to push the combat. They take away the anxiety of health conservation and make the game easier to finish. The character models for the aliens you battle are pretty creepy. They come in a couple of flavors, but overall they are all the same with just a variety of outfits to tell them apart. Also, there are some worker aliens who run from you at first sight, and if killed they give you bad karma. Why their deaths are considered “bad” escapes me, since they’re the ones “working” at probing the humans.

Like the previous DLC packs, Mothership Zeta delivers some new weapons and items, yet these are unremarkable. Along the way you’ll find a pistol called the Alien Atomizer, which is pretty much worthless unless your small-guns perk is maxed. The new weapon I used the most was the Alien Disintegrator, an energy weapon that turns enemies into dust. It feels very familiar to some of the energy weapons you find in the Wasteland, with just a new skin put over it. Overall, nothing great in the weapons department. You are given an alien space suit that you actually have to wear at one point, but in terms of defense it’s nothing more than your average armor with a unique look to it. There are some new items such as alien crystals, alien biogel and epoxy. The biogel heals you a little bit and is very abundant throughout the main quest. Out of all the add-ons Bethesda has released, this one is the weakest in terms of new items that are worth trying to obtain.

Mothership Zeta doesn’t live up to the previous Fallout 3 expansions. We’ve been spoiled by some of the others. Broken Steel and Point Lookout are definitely the two must-haves for any Fallout 3 owner; Broken Steel because of the ending to the main story and the increased level cap, and Point Lookout for its abundance of side quests and unique setting. Don’t get me wrong, most Fallout 3 players will still have a good time with Mothership Zeta, but that doesn’t make it a five-star game. I think Bethesda thought the ship would be an exciting place to drop a character and decided that there aren’t too many moral decisions to be made or conversations to be had on a ship that houses creatures with whom you can’t communicate. In theory the idea is great, but in execution it’s just mediocre. Bethesda has finally answered the question of “Are we alone?,” but whether or not this is the end of Fallout 3 remains to be seen…at least by me.

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