[DLC] Fallout 3 - The Pitt
Enter post-nuke Pittsburgh if you dare, but be ready for some fairly major issues.
Published: October 10, 2009
The Pitt is somewhat infamous among those that picked it up on the 360 when it was originally released as the second piece of downloadable content (after Operation Anchorage). Littered with all kinds of bugs, it was actually pulled off the Marketplace before getting re-tooled and re-launched, though complaints of performance and scripting errors continued. Given that nearly all the PS3 Fallout 3 DLC has been subject to some kind of problem, it's probably not a huge surprise that I ran into issues here too.
In particular, it was an AI glitch that left Wernher, the sort of slave emissary that serves as your introduction to The Pitt, apparently so blind with rage that he just wanted to beat on me for no reason. Now granted, he is part of the overall conflict in the ruins of Pittsburgh that have left Raiders and their slaves in a particularly messy tussle, but you'd think he would want to help the dude that was trying to find a cure, but... well, there's no trying to reason out why it happens, it's a bug and had I not been able to find a fix online (which has you resting until the AI is essentially "reset"), it would have ended my time in The Pitt on a decidedly sour note.
It's a shame, too, because of all the DLC, The Pitt is probably the most like the original game while taking place in an entirely new setting. You'll have to weigh some moral options, get plenty of opportunity to play the good or bad guy depending on your particular character path and you'll get a ton of heavy weapons -- including the pure melee awesomeness of the auto-axe, a blade that cuts right through enemy armor once powered up.
Like the other DLC, new perks that play toward the industrial, mining-heavy nature of the world are present, and you'll be able to carry back those goodies with you into the main world if you decide you've had enough of the overcast skies and mangled steel walkways running at chunky framerates and littered with hitches (some of which are hard crashes requiring a trip over to the PS3 to reset it). I actually recommend it, particularly if you have some of the other DLC as The Pitt is, well, depressing -- even moreso than the normal Wasteland. It's a bleak, uncaring remnant of one of the hardest-blasted parts of the Eastern US post-nukes and as a result the whole place can become draining after a while.
That's not to say it can't be fun. As I said before, this is probably the most Fallout 3-like of the expansions, offering plenty of people to talk to, multiple routes through the same area depending on dialogue and earlier choices with enemies and of course ample opportunity to double-cross and work both sides against each other. It's just a shame the DLC is so buggy, as it can make the Capital look decidedly cheery by comparison. If you end up venturing into The Pitt, make sure you're saving constantly. Trust me.
In particular, it was an AI glitch that left Wernher, the sort of slave emissary that serves as your introduction to The Pitt, apparently so blind with rage that he just wanted to beat on me for no reason. Now granted, he is part of the overall conflict in the ruins of Pittsburgh that have left Raiders and their slaves in a particularly messy tussle, but you'd think he would want to help the dude that was trying to find a cure, but... well, there's no trying to reason out why it happens, it's a bug and had I not been able to find a fix online (which has you resting until the AI is essentially "reset"), it would have ended my time in The Pitt on a decidedly sour note.
It's a shame, too, because of all the DLC, The Pitt is probably the most like the original game while taking place in an entirely new setting. You'll have to weigh some moral options, get plenty of opportunity to play the good or bad guy depending on your particular character path and you'll get a ton of heavy weapons -- including the pure melee awesomeness of the auto-axe, a blade that cuts right through enemy armor once powered up.
Like the other DLC, new perks that play toward the industrial, mining-heavy nature of the world are present, and you'll be able to carry back those goodies with you into the main world if you decide you've had enough of the overcast skies and mangled steel walkways running at chunky framerates and littered with hitches (some of which are hard crashes requiring a trip over to the PS3 to reset it). I actually recommend it, particularly if you have some of the other DLC as The Pitt is, well, depressing -- even moreso than the normal Wasteland. It's a bleak, uncaring remnant of one of the hardest-blasted parts of the Eastern US post-nukes and as a result the whole place can become draining after a while.
That's not to say it can't be fun. As I said before, this is probably the most Fallout 3-like of the expansions, offering plenty of people to talk to, multiple routes through the same area depending on dialogue and earlier choices with enemies and of course ample opportunity to double-cross and work both sides against each other. It's just a shame the DLC is so buggy, as it can make the Capital look decidedly cheery by comparison. If you end up venturing into The Pitt, make sure you're saving constantly. Trust me.
