Zeta is actually the last of the Fallout 3 DLC (there are three others for us to get to?! But that's so many DLC to count in our 52 game challenge! Almost like I planned this...) however we have done it second...? Because that's the order we found them in! There I was, minding my business on my way to Vault 93 to find an old lady a violin, when we picked up a strange frequency on the pipboy. I took myself to high ground and looked about until I found a crashed space ship. Heading over I was sucked up to the sky... poor Dogmeat watched me fly off lol.
Similar to Anchorage I do have memory of playing this DLC on whenever my last FO3 playthrough was - I remember not being too fond of it then and I have pretty much confirmed that opinion now. After being abducted by aliens you quickly get to work escaping from their clutches (and find your gear very quickly, thankfully) and then make your way through hallway after hallway and hangar after hangar of little green aliens until you blow up another ship and head back to good ol' Earth. Who would even want to go back honestly... But we're playing a lady looking for her errant father so that's what we're going to do. Now it might seem like my criticisms of this should be the same as Anchorage, 99% combat 99% of the time, but I quite liked Anchorage. What's the difference here? To put it simply - variety. The Alien ship is VERY samey and I even had to turn back on the dreaded Quest Markers to find my way around because I so regularly got turned around in the metallic hallways and droid bays. The enemies are pretty boring to fight (regular aliens with blasters and turrets make up 85% or so of the enemies, and only a handful are a real threat) and the new weapons are neat but don't feel like something I would keep in my long-term arsenal. Compared to the rewards of Anchorage (fuckin' sweet stealth suit, winter armor, Gauss rifle) the alien 'gear' feels a bit too goofy?
There are some new characters here to talk with who are all people taken from Earth's history at various points leading us to confirm that the Aliens have been watching us for quite some time. There's a Japanese Samuarai who of course only speaks Japanese, a cowboy, an army medic from just before the bombs dropped, and a little girl from just AFTER the bombs dropped. Our main contact though is a woman who is also from the wastes - who we eventually learn worked with slavers... there could very easily be an interesting bit of ethical quagmire here with just how far you're willing to tolerate someone's past if it means to get out of an emergency but.... but nah, they didn't bother. The girl even has a subplot about her missing sister - as far as I can tell it is never even resolved.
While Mothership Zeta has an interesting premise to it, the payoff is just too little and doesn't fit too well into FO3 as it is. There are a few cool setpieces like walking out in space (but with regular physics..), a monster shooting range and unfreezing all of the other people on board but it is far too little to buoy the slog of walking through a spaceships samey hallways for two whole hours and then to walk out with... a kinda cool side blaster?
Similar to Anchorage I do have memory of playing this DLC on whenever my last FO3 playthrough was - I remember not being too fond of it then and I have pretty much confirmed that opinion now. After being abducted by aliens you quickly get to work escaping from their clutches (and find your gear very quickly, thankfully) and then make your way through hallway after hallway and hangar after hangar of little green aliens until you blow up another ship and head back to good ol' Earth. Who would even want to go back honestly... But we're playing a lady looking for her errant father so that's what we're going to do. Now it might seem like my criticisms of this should be the same as Anchorage, 99% combat 99% of the time, but I quite liked Anchorage. What's the difference here? To put it simply - variety. The Alien ship is VERY samey and I even had to turn back on the dreaded Quest Markers to find my way around because I so regularly got turned around in the metallic hallways and droid bays. The enemies are pretty boring to fight (regular aliens with blasters and turrets make up 85% or so of the enemies, and only a handful are a real threat) and the new weapons are neat but don't feel like something I would keep in my long-term arsenal. Compared to the rewards of Anchorage (fuckin' sweet stealth suit, winter armor, Gauss rifle) the alien 'gear' feels a bit too goofy?
There are some new characters here to talk with who are all people taken from Earth's history at various points leading us to confirm that the Aliens have been watching us for quite some time. There's a Japanese Samuarai who of course only speaks Japanese, a cowboy, an army medic from just before the bombs dropped, and a little girl from just AFTER the bombs dropped. Our main contact though is a woman who is also from the wastes - who we eventually learn worked with slavers... there could very easily be an interesting bit of ethical quagmire here with just how far you're willing to tolerate someone's past if it means to get out of an emergency but.... but nah, they didn't bother. The girl even has a subplot about her missing sister - as far as I can tell it is never even resolved.
While Mothership Zeta has an interesting premise to it, the payoff is just too little and doesn't fit too well into FO3 as it is. There are a few cool setpieces like walking out in space (but with regular physics..), a monster shooting range and unfreezing all of the other people on board but it is far too little to buoy the slog of walking through a spaceships samey hallways for two whole hours and then to walk out with... a kinda cool side blaster?