When you visit Washington D.C, also soon (if Bethesda is to be believed) to be known as the Capital Wasteland, you may be surprised to learn that it was once all a boggy marsh. Given up by neighbouring states who, quite frankly, didn't want it, the idea was to a provide neutral ground on which to found a new nation's capital. Miles of concrete, extensive irrigation and a fair bit of expenses swindling transformed this uninhabitable bog into a gleaming example of American pride and patriotic strength. Then it got blown up. So it goes.

The mighty Potomac flows on, however, and provides Wasteland inhabitants with an easy access route to Point Lookout - "a treasure hunter's dream". Downriver, where the bombs didn't fall, is an untouched natural beauty spot filled with priceless antiques, exotic flora and fauna, warring scientists, merciless smugglers, Chinese conspiracies and other equally inviting attractions - oh and don't let me forget the angry mutated rednecks (sorry, Rural Americans). This is all contained within Point Lookout, Bethesda's latest downloadable expansion for Fallout 3.

Before we get into the details of the gameplay and its quality, I first feel the need to make a few points about downloadable content of this nature. First, please remember that the original Fallout 3 experience already comes highly rated, with numerous perfect scores and the praise that comes with them. As an expansion, there is no difference in terms of graphical and audio quality between the downloadable content and its more expensive predecessor, which shouldn't come as a disappointment, as Bethesda has already done a fantastic job and, aside from some rather ugly character animations, the whole game is consistently polished and well designed. You are essentially paying your 800 Microsoft Points (which equates to a bit more than £5 of real money) for a few more side quests and the perks and achievements they provide. For your money you get around five to six hours of additional playtime and a new area that's roughly a fifth of the size of the Capital Wasteland. It's important to note that you can only access this content before you complete the final mission of the main quest though, meaning that it's important to hold onto a save file prior to completion if you ever want to revisit any of it. In a more welcome development though, you can freely move back and forth between the two areas, completing quests as and when you feel like it, instead of being trapped like you were in Operation Anchorage and for a large portion of The Pitt.

So, now that you know what you're getting, I'm sure you'd now like to know if it's actually worth the investment. Well, it most certainly is! It seems that Bethesda has really figured out this DLC malarkey and delivered a quality piece of gaming that opens up a whole new range of experiences within the Fallout 3 universe. After receiving a radio broadcast from the Duchess Gambit, a pleasure steamer offering trips to scenic Point Lookout, a new map-marker is added for you to discover. Once at your destination, you simply purchase a ticket from the disconcertingly friendly ferryman and lie down in the back while you chug towards your destination. You awaken to see a new vista looming menacingly ahead, looking nothing like what the postcards promised. While Point Lookout was spared the devastation wrought upon the more strategically important American sites, years of neglect and residual radiation have still made their mark; the beaches and boardwalk are derelict and the grassland hides irradiated marshes, explosive natural gas vents and the dilapidated shacks of mutated hillbillies with a hankerin' fer some human flesh.

I don't want to go too much into the quests available, for fear of spoiling the experience, but the missions you undertake all feature a much darker undertone than the often outrageous and sometimes downright humorous situations back in D.C. The swamps are claustrophobic and clouded by a thick fog that makes spotting danger much more difficult while, being in Maryland, there is also a hint of the black magic influence of the southern states and a few swigs of the local moonshine as well as a sampling of some questionable plant-life leads to an uncomfortably revealing personal journey for the Lone Wanderer.

The content is fantastic throughout and, while the quests are totally divorced from the world up river, the whole experience feels like an organic expansion of the story rather than a simple effort to tack on a few more hours of gameplay. Bethesda has also managed to answer a number of the issues that many had with their previous DLC efforts; plenty of new character models are introduced, adding a great deal of variety and offering a unique touch to the surroundings in the form of inventive (and hard as nails) enemies. There are also additional weapons that you can take back with you to augment your arsenal and a few new perks to improve your abilities.

Each DLC pack seems to focus on one or two of the aspects of Fallout 3 that make the game great. Operation Anchorage was linear but featured some elegantly crafted shooting sections, while The Pitt and Broken Steel furthered the story and Point Lookout really excels when it comes to open world exploration. As I mentioned earlier, the new map is huge and features lots of hidden treasures in the form of amusing, frightening and sometimes haunting locations. Landmarks are spread fairly evenly around the environment and while it is possible to complete all of the quests by visiting just a few of these places, I'd recommend you avoid fast travelling for at least the first few hours. Bring plenty of ammo and stimpacks however, as the locals aren't known for their hospitality.

Rating DLC can be extremely difficult given the nature of the media - and it almost always comes down to the issue of cost. With three previous DLC packs and at least one due for release after this instalment, owners of Fallout 3 can be expected to have spent almost £100 on the full range over the span of just one year. With that said, Bethesda has yet to show any indication of simply cashing in on a franchise that many have been consistently playing for all this time; I'm personally around thirty hours in and have barely touched upon the main quest yet. With many full price titles lasting only a few hours with little replay value, Fallout 3 is yet to disappoint and I can happily say that Point Lookout is a near essential addition to the range, marred only by the limited length of the quests, meaning there's little reason to return once you're done, other than to scavenge. We can only hope that other publishers and studios take note and work to provide the same amount of diverse and exciting content as is available here.

Reviewed by Henry Osadzinski for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).