Alaskan appeal melts away fast; FALLOUT 3: OPERATION ANCHORAGE *** 360/PC Scott Munro's games round up.

Byline: Scott Munro

BETHESDA'S sprawling epic Fallout 3 arrived late last year to great critical acclaim.

Players were given the freedom to explore a post-apocalyptic Washington DC, checking out the wasteland, battling mutants and undertaking thoughtful and imaginative quests.

Operation Anchorage - 800 points from the Xbox marketplace - is Fallout 3's first expansion pack, and gives players the opportunity to escape the muddy, debris-strewn landscape, albeit briefly.

Operation Anchorage takes place within a military training simulation, 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 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 established shooters such as Halo 3 or Rainbow Six: Vegas.

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 three to four hours - is extremely linear and straightforward.

Ammo and health can be recharged at terminals along the way, while you get access to a wide-range of guns within the first 45 minutes.

It's 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 bit shallow.

Operation Anchorage isn't terrible, but its linear structure and reliance on gunplay 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.