Having been a Fallout enthusiast ever since I heard Ron Perlman say those iconic lines at the opening of the original Fallout, I was eager to play what looks to be the last bit of downloadable content for Fallout 3 until we get to the eventual Fallout: New Vegas. Mothership Zeta extends one of the base game’s random encounters in which the player runs across the crashed wreckage of a UFO and alien.

When arriving on-scene with Mothership Zeta installed, the player will be whisked aboard an alien spacecraft and… probed. From there you end up in an alien holding cell and are tasked with not only breaking out and escaping the vessel but also taking control of it as well. What are these aliens doing on Earth and for how long have they been doing it? These are just two of the many questions you will have to answer over the course of the adventure presented to you in the DLC pack.

Visually, most of the game takes place on board the alien vessel and its interiors are fairly repetitive. This gets very repetitive but also works in the way of creating a sense of Deja Vu: Did not I already go down this hallway? However, despite the repetition there are some truly awesome set pieces to encounter such as the bridge of the alien ship and even a very cool walk across the vessel’s hull!

The aliens’ look as well as their technology are very much in keeping with the overall retro-50’s feel of Fallout 3 and the sound design makes for a very engrossing experience. The ambient noises of the ship’s inner-workings serve to create a claustrophobic atmosphere and the alien’s creepy vocals are unnerving.

One of Mothership Zeta’s high points come from the assortment of human characters you will meet who also ended up on board the space ship, one of whom can’t even speak English! I will leave the rest for you to discover on your own. The each provide their own back story as to how they got there and one might even be a throwback to a previous expansion…

Mothership Zeta adds quite a number of new weapons and equipment for you to use, a refreshing turn from Point Lookout, which I found to be a bit lacking in the items department. Alien Disintegrators, Drone Cannons, and Alien Blasters to name a few will allow you to get a leg up on the aliens who often times come with personal energy shielding. When not shielded, the aliens go down pretty quick and there is nothing quite like blowing away fleeing alien workers with your minigun, but I digress.

Overall playtime is much less than the previously-mentioned Point Lookout, but the diversion it provides is definitely welcome. Any chance to further explore Fallout 3 is a good one!

Now if Bethesda and Obsidian can just get cracking on the next Fallout title so we don’t have to wait too long. Rumor has it that New Vegas will be released in 2010 for a current-gen release. I find that to be a bit conservative, personally, and would imagine a 2011 release more likely – but hey, what do I know, I just review games.

Mothership Zeta retails for 800 Microsoft Points on the Xbox LIVE and Games for Windows LIVE Marketplaces and is available now. It provides a unique adventure in the Fallout universe that we have yet to experience before and, while feeling a bit short, gives you a ton of new technology to take back with you to terra firma, should you survive. And watch where you point that Death Ray for cripes sake!