Valkyria Chronicles - New content

Some exciting news has just reached me regarding the PlayStation 3's best game - Valkyria Chronicles.

Sega have announced that three downloadable packs will be released for the gorgeous real-time strategy game later this year.

Hard EX Mode will give you the opportunity to play through a tougher campaign, apparently without the help of mission stalwart, the Edelweiss.

The second pack, entitled Enter the Edy Detachment, lets you experience the game from Edy's point of view after becoming detached from the rest of your teammates.

The third and final pack is perhaps the most interesting, as it gives you the opportunity to play from the Imperial side in a pack entitled Behind Her Blue Flame.

As far as I'm aware, these three packs have only been announced for the US, and there's no concrete information on a European release. There's also no word on whether the new expansions will add trophy support - although we can but hope.

Valkyria Chronicles is one of the finest games I've played this
console generation and to get my full thoughts on Sega's
masterpiece, click here

Images courtesy of Sega

Fallout 3: Operation: Anchorage - 360/PC

Bethesda's sprawling open world epic Fallout 3 arrived late last year to great critical acclaim. Players were given the freedom to explore a vast post-apocalyptic Washington DC, exploring the wasteland, battling mutants and undertaking a series of bizarre and imaginative quests.
    Operation Anchorage is Fallout 3's first expansion pack, and gives the player the opportunity to escape Fallout 3’s muddy, debris-strewn landscape - albeit briefly.
    After downloading Operation Anchorage, you receive a distress call while wandering about the wasteland. Following this quest leads you to an underground bunker, where a military training simulator is based. It's within this simulator that Operation Anchorage takes place, and your job is to explore the snowy Alaskan landscape and take out the Chinese military who have invaded the region.
    The focus of this expansion is heavily based on combat, which doesn't really sit comfortably within the context of Fallout 3. Yes, the game is played in first person and it involves guns, but even the most ardent Fallout fan will tell you it doesn't stand up well alongside more established shooters.
    Fallout's main draw is exploration, and this aspect is sadly lacking in Operation Anchorage. The whole experience – which you should be able to polish off in around 3-4 hours – is extremely linear and lacks any of the main game's sparkle. It is refreshing to escape the russet-coloured devastation of the main game, though, and travelling across Alaska's frozen tundra under steely-blue skies is a welcome diversion from the main game, but it all just feels a little shallow.
    Operation Anchorage isn't terrible, but its linear structure and reliance on average gun mechanics jar slightly. If you love Fallout 3, and have explored everything else the main game has to offer, then by all means go for it. Just don't expect a long-lasting challenge.