RPS Reviews Operation: Anchorage

Post by **King of Creation** » Wed Jan 28, 2009 5:35 am

[ Game -> Review ] - More info on <a href="#Fallout 3: Operation: Anchorage">Game: Fallout 3: Operation: Anchorage</a>

<a href="http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2009/01 ... s-in-gfwl/" target="_self">Rock Paper Shotgun</a> has posted a review of the process of getting Operation: Anchorage. Mind you, this is not a review of the game. The process of getting the game requires a review of its own.
 <blockquote> You need to know that I’ve not read previews of this, nor indeed about
the DLC for the game at all. I am now aware that it’s a Games For
Windows Live affair, but this wasn’t a piece of information I’d picked
up before today. I’ve not touched GFWL since its redesign. None of this
may be relevant to you, or happen to anyone else. This is what happened
to me. My first instinct, and you’ll laugh, was to launch the game. I have
the Steam version, and wondered if it would auto-update to let me
choose to buy the new content. It costs 800 Microsoft Points, it seems,
and while I’m not sure how one would spend those on a PC, I was
confident I’d find out. There was first a hefty update. I hadn’t tried to run the game since
before Christmas, and the patch has appeared since then. The game
opens. Sadly, the “DOWNLOADS” option was greyed out. Never mind, I
thought, I’ll look on the <a href="http://fallout.bethsoft.com/" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview('/outbound/article/fallout.bethsoft.com');">Fallout 3 website</a>
for details. With the announcement of the launch today, it must surely
be the big news story… Um, no. Instead the patch from the 13th
presided. (Steam Update News? Last entry, October 31st.) In fact, if
there’s a clue about it on Bethesda’s site, I can’t find it. There’s
nothing under <a href="http://fallout.bethsoft.com/eng/downloads/updates.html" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview('/outbound/article/fallout.bethsoft.com');">Downloads</a> either.Looking in the comments on the <a href="http://www.shacknews.com/laryn.x?story=56946" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview('/outbound/article/www.shacknews.com');">ShackNews story</a>,
I saw that it requires Games For Windows Live. Aha! Back into the game,
and the “LIVE” option. Down pops the slick new interface, and asks me
to log in or create an account. I have one, of course, so popped in the
details. It needed to update. Good old Windows. Without asking my
permission it quit out the game and downloaded its updates, then
vanished without telling me it was done. Nice.So I restart Fallout 3 and DOWNLOADS is still greyed out. Go into
Live, tell it my account details again, and this time it downloads my
account. Ta-da! The DOWNLOADS option is there! I’m surely almost there.
I click it.<blockquote>“No new content available.”</blockquote>I see.Back to the ShackNews comments. Ah, it seems you need to run GFWL.
Quick search of my hard drive, as I’m sure I installed it once. Maybe
not. Let’s screw that, I thought, and just download it again. I find
the download on the site, get it, run it, and it’s installed. No option
for a shortcut on the desktop, etc, but it’s there in the Start Menu.
Any second now!Run it. I require a hotfix for Windows XP to install GFWL.
Apparently this couldn’t be included in any of the four hundred
thousand updates Windows XP likes to install each week. So I click the
option to get it, and find myself on <a href="http://support.microsoft.com/kb/960554" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview('/outbound/article/support.microsoft.com');">this page</a>,
which eventually has the link after discussing error codes I haven’t
seen. Download it, run it, and I have successfully completed the
KB938759 Setup Wizard! It now requires a restart. Oh good Lord.</blockquote>
It goes on from there. Go <a href="http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2009/01 ... s-in-gfwl/" target="_self">here</a> to read the rest of his adventure. Thanks to Arjuna for the tip.

Post by **Retlaw83** » Wed Jan 28, 2009 6:20 am

Operation: Anchorage is simply a couple of BSAs and an ESM - just like every other Fallout 3 mod.

I gnaked it off of a torrent site, slapped it in my Fallout 3 folder, and voila.

While I'm not advocating piracy (or perhaps I am) what kind of world is it where the only thing I'm short is the time it takes to download the stuff illegally and am playing as flawlessly as the product is capable of running (which is not at all flawless, but bear with me), while folks who plunked down $68 for this garbage and are being asked to plunk down $16 more down the road are getting the shaft?

As for the DLC itself, I daresay the parts of it I've played are pretty good if you're looking for mindlessly shooting things and being put on a linear rail. Looks like they got some new voice actors, and while I won't say it's top notch, it's refreshing. There's some really obvious, glaring bugs in world geometry, and the simulator apparently doesn't remove all your regular gear from you sometimes, but it's nothing game-breaking.

The only thing that immediately seemed odd to me was the brotherhood outcasts not just killing me and taking my Pipboy, but one of them references that as an option so it helped make it a little more acceptable.

Wolfman Walt · Post by **Wolfman Walt** » Wed Jan 28, 2009 6:36 am

Not addressing Operation:Assandrage in specific, more of just Bethesda's system. I dig how in order to get a complete game, since this has obviousily been in the works for awhile, you have to pay additional money for it. All things considered - this shit had no reason to not be in the game in the first place. That Broken Steel DLC that's coming out? Complete bullshit. Why should I pay for the option to continue my game after beating it when that should have been an option to begin with? It's like Bethesda is adopting Microsoft's sales model of: "We're gonna sell you a shitty broken product and then demand you pay us to fix it once you've bought it." Granted, this shit isn't horse armor level shit, but let's be honest; it's still shit.

Post by **Retlaw83** » Wed Jan 28, 2009 6:42 am

Seems to me game companies started that model with The Sims 2, and the last two games I actually bought, Battlefield 2142 and The Movies, did it similarly. Not on the scale Bethesda is doing it, mind you, but this shit has been snowballing for years.

Post by **Dogmeatlives** » Wed Jan 28, 2009 7:18 am

Piracy is the only logical recourse at this point. Its absolutely idiotic and somewhat pathetic that people are willing to pay up like this for a game fix.

Let's get serious. The fix to allow the player to continue should have been in this DLC (well it should have been a free update) But no. They blatantly scam as much as they can, making you buy these first two packs just to get to the good stuff.

People actually fall for this shit.

Anyway, I'm "not" torrenting the game after seeing some of the more interesting mods out, and then I'll DL this shit FOR FREE Motherfuckers!!!! Suck my cock, you scam artists!

Thor Kaufman · Post by **Thor Kaufman** » Wed Jan 28, 2009 10:33 am

Bethesda has all the right to demand money for such a great product. If you don't want to play it don't buy it and don't torrent lest you are thief scum.

niejadek5 · Post by **niejadek5** » Wed Jan 28, 2009 12:44 pm

Thor Kaufman wrote:Bethesda has all the right to demand money for such a great product

lol

peasofme · Post by **peasofme** » Wed Jan 28, 2009 1:38 pm

big brother (microsoft) is watching you

niejadek5 · Post by **niejadek5** » Wed Jan 28, 2009 7:39 pm

peasofme wrote:big brother (microsoft) is watching you

Good because i'm showing him my hairy ass

St. Toxic · Post by **St. Toxic** » Wed Jan 28, 2009 11:33 pm

I envy him.