Fallout 3 has certainly given its fans more than enough reason to continue exploring the Capital Wasteland with its downloadable add-on missions that range from a cart ride to a hellish version of Pittsburg or extended the ending to include a final mission that puts the Enclave loyalists in their place for good. Now, there’s yet another reason to keep your Stimpacks handy and your combat shotgun loaded because Mothership Zeta will having you going up against little green men.

Like the last four add-on missions, Mothership Zeta begins with a new radio transmission that will point you in the direction of a spot on the map that Fallout 3 fans have stumbled upon at some point while exploring. Anyone who has spent a great deal of time walking through the wastes has discovered the crashed UFO and its dead alien pilot so the sight of another such site won’t be very surprising. What will be surprising, however, is that the minute you step near it you are caught in a sort of tractor beam.

When you wake up, you find yourself surrounded by aliens poking and probing your body to the point that you pass out. When you wake up again, you find yourself in a holding cell where you meet a woman named Somah, who is another human captive held by the aliens. Together you break out of the holding cell as alarms begin to sound throughout the alien mothership. The only way to find freedom is to take the ship by force as you fight back against the aliens with their technology.

One of the things you’ll notice about Mothership Zeta is that the emphasis is less on story and more on action. Unlike The Pitt where you discover your weapons a bit later in the game, you find your equipment early so you can get to the alien slaughter and lead the other human test subjects to freedom. You will not only find yourself going up against aliens and their advanced robot drones but also the deadly creatures the aliens unleash on you like the Death Claws or the Super Mutants Masters they kept in cryo stasis.

As I mentioned, you will be leading other human captives to freedom and - interestingly enough - there are an assortment of surprisingly intriguing characters that will aid you. There’s Sally, a little girl whose knowledge of the ship will have you questioning her identity, and then there’s Somah who is good at tinkering with mechanical devices. Later in the mission, you free three other characters that include an Army medic named Elliott, an Old West cowboy named Paulson and a Feudal era Japanese samurai named Toshiro.

Each character helps you out at different parts of the game when you are tasked with destroying power generators scattered throughout the ship. For example, since Somah is good with mechanical things, it’s best to take her along when you explore the robot assembly room. When you head out to the Cryo Lab, Elliot’s medical expertise will come handy. Unfortunately, Mothership Zeta doesn’t really allow you to get to know these characters so you won’t feel attached to them if one of them died. This is too bad seeing as Elliot discovers what happened to his squad. I even thought Paulson’s let-send-them-all-to-hell Old Western mentality quite refreshing, but, as I said, we don’t get a chance to know them better seeing as the story is rushed.

Of course, you’ll find new weapons and items in this add-on as well, many of which pack quite a punch. The Alien Atomizer, for example, is a powerful ray gun that will definitely replace your tired old Laser Pistol and then there’s the Alien Disintegrator that is sure to become a new favorite. The best new weapon, however, comes in the form of the powerful Drone Cannon that shots a ball of energy that suddenly explodes. There are also some new food types and a Biogel (which Elliott can adapt for human use) that replaces any health items you might need. You even get a space suit for one of the most exciting parts of the game when you actually walk out on the surface of the ship overlooking space.

Sadly, Mothership Zeta is a short add-on mission that is over way too quickly and its quick, action-packed pace doesn’t offer a compelling story to enjoy. Yes, it’s super awesome to be running through an alien ship with flashy alien technology … like a portal that heals and Star Trek-like transporters that whisk you away to other parts of the ship. It’s also cool to see familiar enemies trapped on the ship with you. The problem is that the ship’s corridors start feeling bland the longer you play. Secondly, what good are the new weapons if the ammo is so scarce? There’s even a boss fight, of sorts, but it’s not much of a challenge.

Not one of the best downloadable missions for Fallout 3, Mothership Zeta - like the disappointing Operation Anchorage - should provide a short and occasionally fun short ride. While the story isn’t as deep or as involving as some of the main missions in the game, there should be enough extra weapons and action for those fans that continue to look for a reason to jump back into the Capital Wasteland.

Gameplay: 7.0
A bit on the short side with an emphasis on aliens-versus-humans action, Mothership Zeta is low on surprises and adds very little with the exception of some cool alien weapons and items. The characters you’ll meet are surprisingly one-dimensional as well but at least there are new enemies and robots to go up against.

Graphics: 7.5
The alien mothership’s corridors are actually quite bland but then again there are some rather interesting sights and gadgets to be seen throughout the ship as well. The alien weapon effects also look flashy.

Sound: 8.0
The voice acting is not bad at all, although you just have to love the appropriately (and intentionally) cheesy ‘50s styled sound effects each time you fire one of the alien weapons. Even the alien language sounds funny.

Difficulty: Easy/Medium
While most aliens are easy to dispatch even with an Earth weapon like a combat shotgun, there are some aliens that will require heavy firepower to defeat. There’s also a boss battle but it’s hardly much of a real challenge.

Concept: 7.0
What was once just a Fallout 3 Easter Egg has turned into an actual mission aboard an alien spacecraft. While the mission doesn’t offer anything surprisingly unique in terms of mission structure or story, there are a few new weapons to add to your arsenal.

Overall: 7.0
Considerably short and lacking in all the things that made Point Lookout and The Pitt worthwhile downloads, Mothership Zeta is not a bad add-on but it’s not the best one either. That said, hardcore Fallout 3 fans still looking for more to do in the Capital Wasteland should check it out either way.