Taking you out of the Capital Wasteland and into the hillbilly infested swaps is Fallout 3’s fourth downloadable content, Point Lookout. For 800 MS Points ($10) this swampy journey is worth its weight in gold by offering a very wide open set of extra missions.
Point Lookout is reached by traveling to the edge of the Capital Wasteland. One quick ferry ride later, and you are placed in a brand new world with many locations to explore. The quest opens before you leave the dock, however. A woman asks you to help locate her daughter who supposedly made her way to Point Lookout. Besides looking for this runaway child, the player should expect the unexpected. This DLC takes the player on numerous quests that are as entertaining, if not more so, than the disc based missions.
Point Lookout has such a great emphasis on exploration, the developers even reward an Achievement for finding all the places to visit. Like a mini Capital Wasteland, the player has a giant world to explore – even larger than The Pitt DLC. All in all, it might take you around 4-6 hours to beat the main quest from beginning to end, but there is so much more to see and do other than complete the Achievement Point bearing missions; and no, Fawks cannot come with you. Without spoiling too much, here are simple phrases of the type of things you will be doing with this DLC: submarine exploding, brain carving, hallucination bobblehead collecting, moonshine making, and espionage spy tracking. One mission even has the option to start in Point Lookout, but finish in the Capital Wastleland if the player chooses to take that path. This new location has many references to the real life Civil War as confederate hats and war references are around every corner. The Pitt is even referenced.
Unlike the other DLC, there are a couple features that really stick out besides the different type of environment to explore. First, this is one area that you are not going to want to explore unless you have purchased the Broken Steel DLC. If you are anything less than level 20, I highly suggest staying in Washington DC. Fighting insane inbreed hicks is a lot more difficult than it sounds as they are some of the game’s toughest enemies. I never thought I would get so much use out of my Tesla Cannon, the killer weapons to find during Broken Steel. Without this powerful gun, my time in the swamp would have been a lot harder.
Secondly, there aren’t really any new killer weapons or armor to be found unlike the other DLC. The new double barreled shotgun is slow and clunky and the new rifles are just different versions of the standing hunting rifle (I think Lincoln’s Repeater is still better). However, this swampland is full of wild fruit. This fruit only has positive benefits and will not increase your radiation when eaten, so be sure to keep some room in your quiver for your journey back to the Capital Wastland.
Even though there are not any cool new weapons/armor to get excited about, Point Lookout is the next best DLC after Broken Steel. If you are still working your way up to level 30 and want to experience something new, this $10 download is worthy of a purchase. It also should be noted that it is not as buggy and is a lot more stable than The Pitt. One thing I would have liked to see, however, is some new character animations. Every character in the game animates the exact same way during conversations and they are really starting to show their age.
Point Lookout is a welcomed trip to the swamp…now if I was only able to shoot radiated alligators and lick nuclear frogs…
