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 firstĀ 2 games in the series 2 of my favorite games of all time andĀ much prefer themĀ over the hybrid FPS/RPGs that Bethesda has turnedĀ 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.
Developed by:Ā Bethesda Game Studios
PublishedĀ by:Ā Bethesda Softworks
Release date: November 10th, 2015
Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, PC (Reviewed on PS4)
Launch Price: 59.99 USD
Fallout 4 is a great game. Considering the caliberĀ 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, givingĀ 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 narrativeĀ 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 elementsĀ 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 everythingĀ 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 ofĀ things I don’t like here, and oneĀ is that there only 1 or 2 colorĀ palates in the whole game. This isn’t unique to Fallout 4, but in a Wasteland decimated by nuclear warheads, I suppose oneĀ 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 thenĀ quite badĀ 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 shooterĀ 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 craftingĀ 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 entireĀ game, upgrading it as often asĀ 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 attackersĀ 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 fromĀ 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, foodĀ and waterĀ are handled differently and are SO, SO, SO much better. You actually feel the effects of radiation now, as it lowers your max health whileĀ 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,Ā I would likeĀ 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 veryĀ 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, thereĀ 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 immersesĀ 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 bringingĀ 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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11 responses to “Fallout 4 Reviewed”
It’s kind of like how in Fallout 3, you never had the option to have your companion who was immune to radiation active Project Purity, instead spouting some line about how it’s your destiny and you have ti be the one to sacrifice yourself, even though your companion would be totally unharmed and keep everyone alive.
Then they retconned the ending in the first dlc, because people complained (and the game was over after that quest).
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They’re muddy and make everything look like cheap plastic, and there’s a lot of crappy texture work in FO4. Everything is double the size it needs to be because of an apparently pointless transparency for starters, removing it was a significant FPS boost.
Except in the original Fallouts and NV made by Black Isle/obsidian (lots of the same people fyi) you can diplomatically solve almost everything. War never changes doesn’t translate to everybody always solves all their problems with war.
Also, you misinterpret him. The factions never make an attempt to solve anything diplomatically, that’s what’s odd. The Brotherhood would probably be happy to take over (rather than destroy) the institute and direct the advances in what they deem an acceptable direction. The Brotherhood would *love* to be able to teleport troops in and out of combat zones. The Railroad leadership doesn’t seem to give a crap about the Institute, they care about freeing synths. It stands to reason that if the Institute were made/convinced to free the gen3 synths and stop producing them the railroad no longer has a problem with them, ect. All endings involving the destruction of at least 2 factions doesn’t make much sense.
One of the few instances I’ve been genuinely glad that a developer has outsourced the gameplay. It’s a night and day difference in terms of quality from Fallout 3 and New Vegas.
“The beginning area of the game (pre bombs drop) and The Institute look like they were made on a PS2. They are that bad. “
That’s a bit of hyperbole don’t you think? They’re not really that bad. They’re using the same textures that the rest of the game is using. If anything that’s an art direction complaint.
“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.”
That’s actually the whole point of the Fallout ethos. “War, War never changes.” Being able to diplomatically solve every issue between the factions goes against this, and imo, makes the world feel much less immersive, because it would remove accountability from the faction’s actions. However I will point out that “wiping out every faction without even speaking to them” isn’t true. The game gives you every opportunity to explore each of the factions as you progress through the main quest. Half of the essential quests of one faction involve infiltrating another faction (and these DO impact dialogue later), and there are spoken dialogue scenes with most faction heads before you betray them or abandon their cause (Hint: Don’t bring enemy faction companions to their rival’s headquarters when you plan on betraying them.)
I had the same concerns over not being able to diplomatically solve differences, but after experiencing each faction’s ending, I came to realize there was no better way Bethesda could have done this without compromising the integrity of the world they created or the underlying principle of what makes a Fallout story. War never changes.
That is quite the layered review. A good read and a good glimpse into how fans of the original series may adapt. It brings in some of the discussion from the previous thread we had about bethesdas direction, and I would agree that it’s a good game but not the Omagad best game evaaarhhh that the hype may have sold
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Long versionGotta point out, “progression” doesn’t mean a complete abandonment of the original form. Shadowrun Returns (which stole and modified XCom combat) is a logical progressions of the genre, it’s combat mechanics (with different abilities to fit the theme obviously) would work fantastic in Fallout, just as Valkyria Chronicals is a logical progressions of turn based strategy (and also has combat mechanics that could be modified and successfully applied to Fallout without completely switching genres.) Am I against the genre switch of FO3? Not really, NV proves handily that oldschool fallout can more or less survive the transition to the FPS format. Unless all you cared about was the combat of the old games, it can work, but it isn’t progression. It’s moving sideways, not forward.
Embracing progression also doesn’t mean being onboard with what FO4 does. While some people certainly are hating on it just for not being FO1/2/3/NV (depending on while stripe of fanboy you’re talking to, it’s safe to ignore all of them) there are a ton of completely legitimate complaints involving the direction FO3/FO4 have taken the series and how basically the only thing it shares with 1/2/NV are the lore and open world. Lore is nice, but I’d hazard a guess that it really isn’t why diehard Fallout fans played Fallout. Having the reason you played a series torn out of said series is one of those legitimate complaints I was talking about.
I like Fallout 4, I like it a lot, but if a fan of the originals and/or NV hates it for embodying few-if-any of the reasons they played in the first place, it’s not rejecting progression. It’s rejecting sideways movement into different genres and narrative styles with completely different priorities and or the poor execution of numerous aspects.
Short version:
As a disclaimer, and as I’ve said before; I like FO4. It’s far more than the sum of it’s pats and I wouldn’t have played so long or complained so much if I didn’t think so because it wouldn’t be worth it. That said, this is me saying a great many of the complaints are perfectly valid. Despite a vocal minority of fanboys, chances are old school Fallout fans probably aren’t asking for a simple copy of oldschool fallout, they’re asking for a return to the design philosophies and priorities (none of which FO4 shares) that created oldschool Fallout, wether it’s an isometric RPG *or* a shooter (and switching from one to the other isn’t progress.) I’m sure they have a preference, but I’m equally sure many/most are fine either way. FONVs relative popularity among the old guard and the fact that it was made by many of the original creators, as well as the almost immediate clammering on forums for another Obsidian entry, should highlight this fairly well.
I more or less agree with the review. I’d be quick to call it a good and highly absorbing game. If they want to make Fallout flavored Bethesda Borderlands that’s fine, it obviously worked (though I’d prefer they study Borderlands more closely if that’s what they’re going to do.) At the same time, really not what I was hoping for. If I hadn’t played Shadowrun Returns and Shadowrun: Dragonfall right before FO4, I’d probably have been really upset.
Awesome, multi-perspective review, Cas.
Really appreciate that you saw the game for what it is and instead of giving it crap for favoring Shooter elements, you’ve embraced its positives and negatives.
I personally never played the older Fallout games, but from what I see, I do appreciate what they did for their time. I’m happy that you’re able to accept progression.
Honestly, as long as the franchise evolves while still maintaining the Fallout atmosphere and lore, I’m happy.
I really appreciate that you pulled in the original Fallout games. I’m playing Wasteland 2, and it’s really taking me back. That said, I’m always in favour of a franchise evolving. Fallout 4 seems to have evolved to a good place. I’m more motivated to play this after reading your review. Thanks for taking the time to write about your experience.
I played on Normal and it was quite difficult early on and extremely easy late game. As I was trying to finish the game and get my Platinum trophy I didn’t really care that it was easy towards the end xD.
I agree totally about Mods. I can’t wait to come back to my workbench after a series of quests to see what I can make now. The feeling of progression is awesome and the mods really do some cool things. I like being able to tweak the guns to suit my playstyle. I also agree about settlements. They have great potential, and just feel unfinished in their present state. I do enjoy the water purification and cooking that you can do at them, it’s really been a life saver for me. Literally.
Cas, just out of curiosity, what difficulty did you play most of the game on? I had it set on Normal for my first 40 levels, and found it getting a bit too easy. I decided to bump it up to Survivor and see how that was. Really enjoyed the slow healing part, but unfortunately, most of the enemies became bullet sponges in the same way they are in Destiny. Instead I’m just going put it back to Normal, but gimp myself in other ways, like wearing less armor.
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