Fallout 3 Quest Mods Review #66 by TrickyTrack00
Mod Name: The Librarian - Orion's Gate
Mod Type: Quest/Weapon/Outfit/Worldspace/Companion
Original Creator: joey2176
Original Link: The Librarian - Orion's Gate
I already finished The Librarian quest mod 2 times in my lifetime (first time was back in 2013), but I have never tried to properly summarize why such a mod (even though, technically speaking, "unfinished") got me hooked every time when I wanted to return back in Fallout 3 modding terrain.
And maybe it's the right time to finally give my full impressions for new and returning Fallout 3 players.
The main "selling point" of The Librarian - Orion's Gate for me was and will be great novelty and unusual range of different locations which you will visit while going through the main quest. Everything feels fresh and new with The Librarian's new content. Especially after seeing and visiting all vanilla locations with familiar landscape of the Capital Wasteland
The Librarian quest mod isn't the best written type of story mod, which many times can be incoherent, not well-paced or even not "deep" enough.
But this mod brings a real sense of adventure and strong vibe of old action\adventure movies from 80's with unusual (even for Fallout 3 setting and lore) sci-fi elements in amazing mix of Stargate, Indiana Jones and other pop-culture references from good old days. So, from this point of view - The Librarian is a pretty good example of visual and gameplay experience which doesn't actually need huge, non-linear narrative ground.
Great variety in landscape types, enemies and characters helps overshadow all of the problems within the narrative of The Librarian - Orion's Gate. From Japanese/Samurai theme to tropical paradise of some sort, you can explore several absolutely non-identical biomes/locations and have a real sense of travelling through time and space.
And the special cherry (or maybe "cherries", huh?) on top of that cake is new unique female companions. They work like a standard followers in vanilla Fallout 3 with usual amount of settings and options to choose from. And also they don't have any deep backstory or optional quests connected to these ladies.
But the main reason to bring them back to the Capital Wasteland with you is the ability to give them many new outfits and accessories from The Librarian's main market location.
Of course, it would be inappropriate to left technical side of this quest untouched.
There are several consistent bugs and problems which you can encounter in the particular sequences of main story, mostly related to scripts. But, many thanks to strong community of Fallout 3 mod creators and users, most of them can be fixed or dealt with by following useful tips and suggestions in the comment section of this mod.
And, yes, like I already mentioned in the beginning of this review, The Librarian - Orion's Gate isn't properly finished quest mod. That's why your journey ends with reaching enormous City of Angels district and nothing else. It can be a bit unsatisfying after all that you have gone through but I understand that not every big mod project can be finished correctly (the main problem of Fallout 3 modding scene in general). We all have "real life", problems and lack of precious time to spend on our hobbies like modding or gaming in general. But looking through my last playthrough of this quest mod and collecting beautiful screenshots, the only thing that matters is, as they say, "Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened".
As for the main tradition in my reviews, I need to answer the final question -
Should you try this mod in 2023? Yes, even with all rough edges and not properly finished final stage, The Librarian - Orion's Gate can be your new unforgettable adventure in Fallout universe and one of the main reasons to return to Fallout 3 modding scene in 2023 and upcoming years.
Endorsement from me.
