Image source: http://www.idigitaltimes.com/fallout-4-concept-beginner-guide-basic-game-details-why-everyone-obsessed-491424
Ok ok, I know that its a bit late for this one especially considering that Fallout 4 has been out for a few months and that everyone from the most humble YouTuber with a mere 40-60 subscribers to the biggest corporate game website has reviewed this game from the ends of the earth and back. Therefore, if some of you think that this review is a bit irrelevant. well...that's understandable but I care about as little about said critique as Mel Gibson does about his public image.
So to put it short and sweet for the introductory summary? I fucking love this game like the cliff-racers from The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind (2002) love being annoying, swarm-mentality zerg-rushers. This is probably my favourite Bethesda game to date and call me bias all you want but keep in mind that I don't like quite a few Bethesda games and with particular regard to the previous Fallout games (1997-present). I never really got into the previous Fallout games for a few reasons that I'll shortly get into but I want to say this before I do; Falllout 4 is objectively not the best RPG, adventure or shooting game of all time and when people say that this is either their least favourite game in the Fallout series or just an average shooter/adventure title with some decent crafting systems then I absolutely understand.
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I was talking about this with my friend Pujge on skype recently and we both agreed that there is no such thing as a perfect game and nor will there ever be and even though I might love the shit out of Fallout 4, I can see why people have been lambasting it here and there, all within proportion of course though.
So, of course the plot in this one as in the previous Fallout games is pretty light and left to your volition to find and fulfil. Add in some bath salt-smelling mad side-quests with an overlaying sense of apocalyptic gloom and BOOM! you have yourself a Fallout setting. In Fallout 4 we follow the same basic criterion for setting up the main story as in Fallout 3 wherein we see the main character start out their life bright and full of modest hope and prosperity. However, while I do think that the intro to Fallout 3 is masterful in showing the infant death of your mother and growing up in the confines of an underground vault before going initially-blinded out into the post-apocalypse of Washington DC, I think that the intro of Fallout 4, while practically less immersive is still a bit more investing. This might sound a bit contradictory and I apologise if this does seem the case but for me I really was drawn more in seeing the life of the main character in the clean and happy world of pre-apocalypse Massachusetts on a bright and happy October day before Halloween planning to go to the park and enjoying the calm life of American suburbia. Only then, for this all to be smashed apart by the jarring explosion of a nuclear bomb on the horizon that then forms the basis not only for the underlay of the whole narrative of the game but also for a large section of the in-game map later on. After seeing a great personal tragedy in the confines of a cryo-chamber (which I won't spoil here, go play the game for yourself), you then set out to hunt down the people who wronged you and take back what is yours in a post-apocalyptic world that you barely recognise. On top of this, some have criticised the game for being less batshit mental than previous Fallout games but if I was in a post-nuclear apocalypse in semi-urban America I'd expect things to be a bit more nuanced and grey.
So that's the narrative and honestly its pretty easy to follow once you get into it and while a bit cliché at points is still very much engaging later on down the line. Similarly, the gameplay is also pretty easy to follow as Fallout 4 is much more of an action/adventure game rather than a strict and traditional RPG as compared to the previous games in this series. This is probably the biggest critique aimed at Fallout 4 and while it isn't the biggest for me, I understand that a big appeal of the previous games was how they blended an attractive mix of sparse and reasonably realistic shooting with the in-depth roleplaying of a specialised survivor in a post-apocalyptic world. It does admittedly seem like this has been streamlined allot more in Fallout 4 but oddly enough, this is one of the things that really drew me into the game. Its also part of the reason why I never really got hugely into games like Fallout 3, Fallout (1997) and The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (2006). Call me mainstream but I didn't like those aforementioned games because they just struck me as too in-depth and stoic in terms of gameplay. Yes I know this is a big plus for a great many people and really that should be what people request for their RPG's and games in general. Some games like your everyday shooter or puzzle game can afford a bit of streamlining and simplicity here and there but I will admit that while I like the streamlining of Fallout 4, I think that it might not be the best route for the series to take while paradoxically being the main thing that drew me into the game. And keep in mind that this is the guy who throws a spitting fit of rage whenever a new RTS is streamlined and minimalized in terms of customisation and in-game depth.
I suppose then that the other main criticism of the game would be its dialogue system. It sucks. It sucks more than a stock M3 Lee medium tank on World of Tanks (2010), it sucks more than virtually every bit of artwork every produced by Tracy Emin and it sucks about as much as when they removed the machine for House of the Dead 3 (2002) from my local bowling alley when I was 12. I have NEVER liked the wheel-of-misfortune-style of dialogue selection as seen in the much vaunted Mass Effect series (2007-present) and when I saw it was being implemented into Fallout 4, I was indeed sceptical but decided to give the game the benefit of the doubt in order to give it a fair chance. I found that while this system was nowhere near as badly implemented as in the Mass Effect games or Dragon Age 2 (2011), it still sucked succubus pus through a razor-wire straw and looked about as bad too. I know it might seem like I hate the game more than I really do but while that isn't true I'll just mention one more major criticism. This is probably some of the worst graphics for the context of the gaming era in which a game is made that Bethesda have ever produced. Human models are unnaturally glossy particularly with the eyes and texture pop-ins, while thankfully rare, are want to happen when a big explosion happens to you albeit not all of the time. Admittedly, it would be hard to make a game of the sheer size and scope of Fallout 4 look as beautiful as a tapestry done by Vincent Van Gogh, Picasso and Leonardo Da Vinci but even still, Bethesda really missed the mark on the specified graphics here.
But do these problems detract from the overall enjoyment of the game itself? Well for me, not so much really as they're annoying and do get in the way but I never really felt that they were together or singularly problematic enough to constitute that kind of issue. What really won me over was, as mentioned earlier, the great action/adventure gameplay where customisation of one's weapons and armour has taken untold importance in this game as a humble 10mm pistol now has infinitely more options to turn it into a hand-cannon of fiery death. With at least 2 modifications for each module on each weapon in the game there is more than enough modding of weapons and armour to be done and while it isn't imperative to completing the game, it is nice to know that there is some variety and option there. This does mean that you might lug around tonnes of guns and unwanted armour to scrap for screws and scraps of leather and glass but you can easily find enough scrap if you adventure around enough.
This scrap and forging system plays nicely into my other favourite part about the game which is the settlement building function which I have already sunk many, many hours into. True, it can be very fiddly with where you put constructions like beds, guard posts and generators but aside from that, the settlement system gives you something to work towards when the side-quests are tiring you out or the main quest is pissing you off for some reason. It is hard work once you have at least a dozen settlements across the state of Massachusetts but I kind of felt like I was actually working towards something bigger than myself aside from the odd side-quest or main-quest. It perhaps isn't the most impactful system of its type ever in gaming but I found it truly enthralling to establish well-defended settlements where I saw NPC's begin their lives anew in admittedly dusty and rusty little havens.
Image source: http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2015/06/14/fallout-4-gives-voice-to-vault-survivor.aspx
But do these problems detract from the overall enjoyment of the game itself? Well for me, not so much really as they're annoying and do get in the way but I never really felt that they were together or singularly problematic enough to constitute that kind of issue. What really won me over was, as mentioned earlier, the great action/adventure gameplay where customisation of one's weapons and armour has taken untold importance in this game as a humble 10mm pistol now has infinitely more options to turn it into a hand-cannon of fiery death. With at least 2 modifications for each module on each weapon in the game there is more than enough modding of weapons and armour to be done and while it isn't imperative to completing the game, it is nice to know that there is some variety and option there. This does mean that you might lug around tonnes of guns and unwanted armour to scrap for screws and scraps of leather and glass but you can easily find enough scrap if you adventure around enough.
This scrap and forging system plays nicely into my other favourite part about the game which is the settlement building function which I have already sunk many, many hours into. True, it can be very fiddly with where you put constructions like beds, guard posts and generators but aside from that, the settlement system gives you something to work towards when the side-quests are tiring you out or the main quest is pissing you off for some reason. It is hard work once you have at least a dozen settlements across the state of Massachusetts but I kind of felt like I was actually working towards something bigger than myself aside from the odd side-quest or main-quest. It perhaps isn't the most impactful system of its type ever in gaming but I found it truly enthralling to establish well-defended settlements where I saw NPC's begin their lives anew in admittedly dusty and rusty little havens.
Image source: http://fextralife.com/beginners-guide-settlement-building-fallout-4/
By the way that link just beneath the above picture is a good little guide to building a nice and solid settlement so maybe check it out if you're new to the game.
On top of this, I have to mention that aside from the games' crafting systems and combat being top notch, so too is the voice acting. Some of the writing is a bit cliché and run of the mill and like I said, the dialogue wheel is about as much use as a poo-flavoured cold & flu tablet. However, some of the lines particularly if you choose the female as the main character are superb with easily the best voice acting seen thus far in the Fallout series. I find it weird though that people critique this game for not having very many voice actors when having an abundance of voice actors has never been the case in ANY Bethesda game. I mean, have you even listened to some of the dialogue in Fallout 3 or The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion? The writing isn't bad but the repetition of some of the voice actors in these older games is sometimes downright insulting and the fact that people then go on to critique The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (2011) and Fallout 4 for not having enough voice actors makes me absolutely baffled and perplexed. Maybe its a bit of a nit-pick about the criticisms aimed at this game but its been something really bothering me over the last few months since the game came out.
Just before I cap off this review I must praise one more major thing about the game. While the main story is certainly enthralling, engaging and genuinely dark at points, the companion characters provide more than enough extra story muscle to the meat of the games' internal narrative. These individual character stories could be told slightly better and some of the writing at certain points in some of them is a bit iffy but they provide some of the most profound dialogue exchanges I've ever heard in a Bethesda game not to mention some pretty decent side-quests with the reporter Piper being my favourite in terms of her personality and Nick Valentine easily having the best dialogue and individual, personal quest. The moments when you get your selected companion to like you more and more are easily among the most engaging moments in the entire game and while perhaps not the best written all of the time, easily convey for the most part how these different people interact with the world they find themselves in. Except dogmeat, he just acts as a pack animal being cute and running through minefields to fight one radroach like an adorably furry fucking idiot.
Image source: http://wccftech.com/fallout-4-official-direct-feed-1080p-screenshots/
So in conclusion, would I recommend Fallout 4? Well overall I would but to fans of the franchise itself I would recommend taking it with a shaker-full of salt and be wary that allot of things have indeed been streamlined down from previous entries into the series and thus may not be what you look for from a Fallout game so do be wary about that. Even despite that though, I would still recommend this game with gusto. It isn't great as an RPG and the graphics and dialogue system are pretty naff but on the whole it easily makes up for one of my favourite games released in 2015 and easily my favourite game thus far in the Fallout series so whether or not you want to see what the series has just produced or are looking for a new shooting experience with some crafting and exploration added on then I'd give this a massive thumbs up.
And of course, until next time, have fun with whatever you're playing, stay safe and take care!
Graphics: 5/10
Optimisation/FPS: 8.75/10
Internal game content: 8.5/10
Gameplay: 8.75/10
Design: 8/10
Writing: 7.5/10
Voice acting: 9/10
Story: 8.5/10
OVERALL RATING: Great bit of pub grub pie and chips with a cold pint but not quite a top quality medium rare steak with dauphenoise potatoes and pan-fried asparagus.
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