I grew up playing Fallout 1 and Fallout 2 and I’ve always had sort of a bittersweet relationship with Fallout 3 and New Vegas. I consider the first 2 games in the series 2 of my favorite games of all time and much prefer them over the hybrid FPS/RPGs that Bethesda has turned the franchise into. Now I don’t know if that’s simply because of nostalgia, or simply because the first 2 games were better (or both), but it puts me in a rather tight spot when writing a review. However, having acknowledged my bias, with a clear head I will compare Fallout 4 with its predecessor only.

Fallout 4 is a great game. Considering the caliber of games that it is competing with this year (namely Bloodborne and The Witcher 3), it will have its hands full winning game of the year for an RPG, but it deserves to be in the conversation. The size of the world, the weapon modifications, the addition of Settlements, and the different build potentials with the new Perk system, makes playing this game a couple of times through a likelihood for many players, giving it a leg up on The Witcher 3 and Bloodborne. Having platinumed the game a few days back on PS4, I still feel the game calling to me to, even though I have done nearly everything you can do in the game. It’s an itch I must scratch, and when games give you that feeling (and it’s rare when they do), you know you’ve got a damn good product in your hands.

Story

The story of the game is probably its weakest point. You, as expected, play the role of a survivor of nuclear fallout in the world. Your son was kidnapped and you are on a mission to find him…sort of. I say sort of because your character doesn’t really seem to give much of a shit about him, or at least that’s how it comes across through his dialogue, and by the fact that he seemingly takes on other quests to help people without giving a thought to his missing son. He seems far more concerned with other people’s problems then his own, and it really takes the tension that was built fairly well in the opening scene right out of the game.

Beyond the overarching plot, the main Factions of Fallout 4 are at odds with one another, but they seem to have very similar goals in mind, with a couple of exceptions. In an odd bit of narrative you must completely wipe out every other Faction, without ever speaking with them and trying to come to some sort of arrangement to work together even once (like any political power would do for the past 100 years or so), since there can only be one (sort of like Highlander). I constantly found myself wondering why things were so black and white in this regard, in a world where nothing else is. Given the amount of negotiation dialogue options you have in one on one conversations, it feels unrealistic to not have an opportunity to resolve things amongst the factions diplomatically. If you are playing Fallout 4 (or any Fallout game to date for that matter) for the story, you will be severely disappointed. If you want a story shooter, go play Mass Effect.

Setting

The setting of Fallout has always been post nuclear war America, or at least, what’s left of it. This time you are in the Boston portion of the US and you will spend most of your time in areas that will be recognizable if you are at all familiar with American history. I feel that they did a really good job with this, and it is one of the better elements of the game. The world feels empty, yet alive at the same time. It’s something that’s hard to describe really, but you feel alone out in the Wasteland, until suddenly you aren’t and there are just enemies everywhere. There are scavengers that will attack you if they feel threatened, mines on the road to keep people out and nuclear storms that irradiate everything in the area. Bethesda was much more creative with their Wasteland this time around and have Settlements on half sunken boats, Vaults within Vaults (yeah you read that right), and people living in stadiums and historic forts from the Revolutionary War.

There are a couple of things I don’t like here, and one is that there only 1 or 2 color palates in the whole game. This isn’t unique to Fallout 4, but in a Wasteland decimated by nuclear warheads, I suppose one really can’t expect much more than a brown landscape with a lot of death strewn about right? However, the graphics are extremely good in some places and then quite bad in others. There doesn’t seem to be any consistency whatsoever to it. What the hell Bethesda?

Gameplay

In my opinion, this is where the game really shines. Gameplay means everything to me (if you’ve read any of my other reviews you’ll start to notice this), and Fallout 4 delivers that in spades. The gunplay is much improved over Fallout 3 and New Vegas and almost feels like a natural, fluid shooter which is fantastic. The weapon and armor modifications add so much depth to the gear that you obtain that you can spend hours just farming components and crafting without getting bored. The min/maxer in me absolutely loved that part of the game and I found myself falling in love with my chosen gun because I used it nearly the entire game, upgrading it as often as I could. It became a part of me, and it was glorious!

I found settlements refreshing, but at the same time, I felt like they could have done so much more with it. I like that they didn’t make it mandatory to complete the game, but there doesn’t seem to be a real “reason” to build stuff. It doesn’t matter if your settlers are unhappy, leave or catch pneumonia and just drop dead. There is simply no consequence (or not enough to notice). You can also build defenses for your Settlements (which hardly ever get attacked), but there is no real threat, as you can just port there and kill the attackers in 20 seconds. I hope they carry this system over to the next Fallout, but expand upon its concepts and make it feel more consequential. Perhaps a DLC will add more (I would love to see a Horde Mode, where you have to defend your Settlement against unending waves of enemies).

Power Armor is a bit of a mixed bag. While I am a huge fan of Power Armor in general, it was a bit of a let down for me in Fallout 4. Firstly, you get it nearly immediately in the game, which is a departure from every other Fallout to date. Secondly, once the novelty of the suit wears off, each Power Armor is pretty much the same. You move awkwardly, are slower, and you can just walk up to anything and tank hits to the face as if your foes were shooting pellets at you. Equipping, storing and powering them are also a bit cumbersome which made using it more of a hassle than it was worth. But hey, at least at looks great set up in those power armor stations! I hope Power Armor is improved in DLC or with a patch. It’s not a game breaker (I didn’t use them and I was fine), but nonetheless something that was a downer.

V.A.T.S. is about the same as it’s always been, with a few minor changes. In Fallout 3 I found myself turning off the slow motion while using V.A.T.S. but in Fallout 4, it just never got old. Blowing someone’s brains all over the place from point blank or long range was just awesome! They absolutely nailed that and I love the way your crit meter builds up as you damage enemies. It was a nice change.

Radiation, food and water are handled differently and are SO, SO, SO much better. You actually feel the effects of radiation now, as it lowers your max health while it builds up. You will actually use food and water now (they aren’t just for Survival mode anymore!) because you will need them to heal you. In previous Fallouts you only really used them in Survival Mode (there isn’t one in Fallout 4), but now they are super helpful and I found myself using them constantly. It was a much needed improvement.

Design

Finally, I would like to talk about the technical aspects of the game. I can only speak for my experience on PS4, so forgive me if PC players have a different opinion. I said it a bit earlier, but the graphics quality of the game are simply inconsistent at best. The beginning area of the game (pre bombs drop) and The Institute look like they were made on a PS2. They are that bad. But, then you get out into the Wasteland and the graphics are actually pretty nice. The Witcher 3 blows them away, but they are still decent. I did have some frame rate issues on PS4, but not bad enough to be a problem.

The character models are very outdated and look last gen. It feels like Bethesda considered them unimportant in the grand scheme of things and simply didn’t put much effort into them. It’s not the biggest issue in the world, but is definitely noticeable. If you look at games like Elder Scrolls Online, there is just no comparison…

The sound is phenomenal. It really blew me away. The very first time I fired my gun in the Wasteland I could hear the echo of the gun shot all around me (like you would in real life), and hearing that sound never gets old. The explosions from Mini Nukes detonating and Molotovs hitting the ground all sound so real and fantastic. It enhances the experience of the game by truck loads. The music is also exceptional, and that is something I never expected in a Fallout game. The score sets the mood and immerses you into the game. It’s not The Witcher 3 or Bloodborne, but again, it’s right up there with those 2 in terms of quality.

Verdict

After playing Fallout 4 a good 80 hours or so, it’s clear to me that Bethesda is heading in a new direction with Fallout, and I for one, welcome that. They are bringing the gameplay to the mainstream and making something for everyone within this RPG franchise by enticing the fans of traditional shooters. This is not the Fallout that I remember, but it is more of the type of game I would play compared to Fallout 3. The much improved gunplay trumps the lack of RPG elements and mild graphical issues within the game. The game has very mixed reviews from player to player, so I’ll just say this: If you think of the game as just an RPG Shooter you will love this game. If you think of it as a sequel to Fallout 3, you will be disappointed.

I have always hoped that Fallout would always return to the isometric/turn-based game that I fell in love with when I was 14, but if that is never going to happen, I think Bethesda is doing the next best thing. I can’t wait to see what DLC they make for the game, and, it will be the first Fallout DLC that I’ve ever played.

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