14 DAY TRIAL // Shortly after the release of Fallout 3, its post apocalyptic role playing game, Bethesda announced its plans to release a level editor for the title just before beginning to roll out three major downloadable content packs, which should arrive starting January 2009.
The Fallout 3 level editor, called the Garden of Eden Creation Kit (GECK) after one of the most important devices in the game universe, is now live on the Bethesda web site and players can get it for free. Of course, only those who have the PC edition of the game can use it, and Bethesda says that users will get access to a big chunk of the game data files, gaining the ability to play around and modify things like buildings, locations, weapons, creatures. Players can even create new dialogs for characters and put together quest chains that will then be playable in the game. It’s also easy to pack up the modified files and share them online with other Fallout 3 fans.
If you get your hands on the GECK and feel a bit lost because of the complexity level, you can check out the Wiki page, which has been set up to provide tutorials and guidance to those interested in making Fallout 3 better or at least different from the Bethesda developers’ vision.
The first piece of new content for the game, called Operation Anchorage, will arrive in January 2008 and will cost 800 Microsoft Points. It will allow players to go back in the history of the Fallout world and fight alongside the United States Army as they retake Alaska from the Chinese invaders. The developers promise two to four hours of gameplay, a new Perk and some new Achievements. Unfortunately, the level cap will not be raised until March, when the Broken Steel DLC is released.