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Bethesda finally announced that the next DLC expansion for Fallout 3, Broken Steel, will release May 5 and they outlined some new gameplay details; but two things in particular stood out: you can order your companions to input the code, and Dogmeat can be reincarnated upon death.

If you don't understand that last sentence, you should probably finish Fallout 3 first. In fact, many of Broken Steel's features are about adding content after the main title's endgame, so you should hold off on reading these details unless you've already finished the game. Anyhow, as I pointed out in an interview about Fallout 3 with lead designer Emil Pagliarulo, there are three specific characters who should be able to enter the Project Purity code instead of you, and one of Broken Steel's changes is that you can, indeed, order any of those three characters to step in and type the code in your place.

Broken Steel starts two weeks after the events of Fallout 3, regardless of how the "end" of the original game played out (and the expansion incorporates choices you made, such as whether you used the FEV or not). Project Purity is in full-swing, and there's a new group of Brotherhood of Steel members working out how to distribute purified water to the Capital Wasteland. In addition to the new endgame-expanding main quest, Broken Steel also turns Project Purity into a hub-area. From Purity, you can undertake new sidequests apart from the Broken Steel plotline; one example is investigating the disappearance of a water caravan that was delivering fresh water to Megaton.

The main quest in Broken Steel focuses on the Brotherhood and the Enclave still fighting over the (now-working) Project Purity. Bethesda VP of Marketing and PR Pete Hines demonstrated a sequence where you're asked to retrieve a Tesla coil from an abandoned power station in order to help the Brotherhood create a new Tesla Cannon. The resultant blaster is powerful enough to shoot down a Vertibird in one hit, and is just one of the new weapons that Broken Steel adds. Other weapons include a powerful Tri-Laser (which seems like a super-powerful version of the Gatling Laser), and the Heavy Incinerator (Hines describes this as a "projectile flamethrower"). Hines added that there will be more for your arsenal than just these three additions.

In addition to the new, powerful weapons, and a higher level cap, the developers have added some powerful enemies to give high-level players a bit of challenge. These include the Tri-Laser-wielding Supermutant Overlord, the Feral Ghoul Reaper (who's fond of tossing grenades) and the Enclave Hellfire Trooper (an Enclave soldier who delivers the goods via Heavy Incinerator). Hines also commented that the leveling process after 20 should be longer than expected, with each post-20 level requiring a significantly-larger amount of experience before obtainment -- it seems likely you'll have to scour the land and do everything if you want to hit the level 30 cap.



Hines also demonstrated another sequence in the quest chain, where you search for the Enclave's new base of operations. This involves going to the White House and uncovering the special Presidential Metro underneath. The Presidential Metro is full of Ghouls, and you can interact with a computer A.I. named M.A.R.G.oT. (I seriously have no idea what it stands for) to take care of the Ghoul problem. Advance pro-tip: if you have a high enough Speech or Science skill, you can convince M.A.R.G.oT. to deploy Sentry Bots to help you purge the Ghouls. Anyhow, after that, you can then ride the Presidential Metro (yes, as in stand inside a moving train, as opposed to looking at a loadscreen) over to Adams Air Force base, and finally take out the Enclave. Hines confirmed that finishing Broken Steel doesn't "end your game;" you can continue to wander the Capital Wasteland afterwards.

As for the Dogmeat comment made in the beginning, that's the result of a new Perk: "Puppies!" If you select that Perk, every time Dogmeat dies, a puppy will be born and waiting for you (presumably at whatever home you're using). The puppy quickly "grows" into the same power and level as your original Dogmeat, so you don't have to freak out if you get the "Dogmeat has died" message prompt. Broken Steel will be priced at 800 points, and look for our final impressions of the DLC in the 1UP RPG blog, The Grind.