Fallout 3 DLC : Mothership Zeta : review

• Format: PS3 (version reviewed) 360, PC
• Unleashed: Out Now
• Publisher: Bethesda
• Developer: Bethesda
• Players: 1
• Site: http://fallout.bethsoft.com/

The mother ship announces itself in proper alien fashion by sucking you up into its guts with an abduction beam. You are then poked, prodded and probed (read: violated!) proper alien style. Mmm, that’ll get your bowels moving!

After waking up in a cell, stripped of all your stuff (and we mean all your stuff) you are introduced to a fellow abductee who tells you what happened to you, not that you’ll need much more info than what you already know. It’s not long before you find yourself running around the ship, whacking little green men with a zappy stick and randomly prodding buttons that do god-knows-what! There’s a distinct Dr.Who-ish, B-movie feel to this place that’s very different to the world you’re used to. Things are clean, new and shiny rather than old, mouldy and broken. The corridors are confined and give you a sense of claustrophobia too, but this is due to the size of your captors which makes it all seem more tangible.

It’s not long before you meet other captives, all of whom are from different times in Earth’s history. One particular individual is from Anchorage, and brings with him a continuity to the DLC that fits in nicely with what’s just happened to you. Not only this, there are also recordings of conversations between people who have been abducted and their captors for you to find and collect, giving you further insight into how long ‘they’ have been watching us. These range from comical to freaky, and flesh out the experience very well. As you traverse this massive ship you’ll no doubt feel lost at times because of everything looking so alien, and without an English signpost in sight, you’ll thank God they forgot to take off your Pip-Boy!

The weapons that can be found here have great names and are fun to use, things like the deadly Disintegrator or Atomiser can be found rather quickly and there’s even a cow-dispenser to test your new toys on. Mothership Zeta has its tongue firmly in its cheek all the way through, little touches will no doubt have you thinking how alien we are to them. Things like their fascination with robot ponies built on Earth for little girls can be found up here in large quantities, and much as they have collected these, you’ll be stuffing your pockets full of alien crystals that for all you know are alien nose products!

Regardless of what your style of play is, Zeta will be suspenseful and intense most of the time, due to the sheer amount of aliens and drones that inhabit the confined ship. Getting into a fire-fight will give you little manoeuvrability for advantages and even less options for tactical retreat, while staying hidden can prove very difficult most of the time because of lighting and streamlined corridors. Much like Point Lookout, there is no chance to fix or find bodily protection either, however, there are handy ‘health tubes’ to walk through now and again that can restore you fully (if you have the skill to modify them).

For the final DLC pack on PSN, this is a fun romp around and those into sci-fi will see quite a few inspirations from 50′s cinema here. The joy of being in such an environment has its own merits, but Bethesda has brought the abduction experience to a fun new level that should have sci-fi fans grinning all the way.

4/5