Fallout 4 Review

     If you were to make a list of the most beloved video game franchises, the "Fallout" series would be towards the top. The first game in the series was released in 1997; an open world RPG, the game became an instant hit among fans and critics and has been listed among some of the best RPGs of all time. Over the next seven years three more games were released, most of which were met with highly positive reviews. But somewhere along the line the series developer Bethesda decided to change up the franchise. In 2008 "Fallout 3" was released, it moved away from the classic top-down RPG style of the previous games and became a first/third person action-shooter with RPG elements. The title was met with wide acclaim and was named one of the best games of the year by many critics and publications. Even though the style of the game was changed almost completely, many fans still believe it to be the best in the series. Two years later "Fallout: New Vegas" released, a successor to "Fallout 3" but not as much of a major installment in the series. While "New Vegas" was met with positive reviews, it was harshly criticized for not being a huge leap forward like its predecessor. The game ran on the same engine as "Fallout 3" and only included some minor improvements, the only major changes would be the new map and story. Since then fans have been waiting for a true sequel to "Fallout 3," and for years they heard nothing but rumors. But early this year Bethesda confirmed that "Fallout 4" was in the works, and just a few weeks after that at the video game convention E3 they announced that the game would be released in November of 2015. Considering many games are announced years before their release, it was surprising that we would get to explore the wasteland once again before the year’s end. So after seven years of waiting fans finally get the game they've been asking for, but is it the game they wanted?

     "Fallout 4" starts off in 2077, where you either take control of a husband or wife. On a day like any other you are just enjoying your morning, when all of a sudden you hear a report on the TV. Apparently nuclear arsenals all around the world have been launched, already decimating parts of the United States. You, your spouse, and you baby leave the house and run to a nearby bunker named Vault 111; the Vaults were supposed to act as shelters in case of a nuclear attack, but in reality their creators designed them with much more cruel intentions. Upon arriving, your family is quickly brought in and placed into decontamination pods. But in reality, you are placed into cryogenic pods and frozen. Instead of keeping the inhabitants and alive and safe, the vault was designed to see the effects of being frozen for long periods of time would have on a person. After being frozen for an untold amount of time, you wake to see your wife spouse murdered and son kidnapped. And for some reason, they just freeze you again. Sometime later you awake once more, this time you are free. You emerge from the vault in Boston, two hundred years after the bombs fall. You then set out upon the Commonwealth to find your son and avenge your spouse. And nothing will stand in your way of doing so.

     The only game I can think of in recent years that has had this much hype and anticipation around it would have to be "Grand Theft Auto 5;" and even that game might not be at the level of "Fallout 4." And after putting many hours of my life into this game, I can safely say that it might be my favorite game of the year. I'll even go a step further and say that it's one of the year's best. What was going to make or break this game was how much it improved upon its predecessors. "Fallout 3" and "New Vegas" are great games, but stumble in many areas. Probably the most notable improvement would have to be how much better the combat is. It won't be winning any "shooter of the year" awards, but it is a huge step forward. The weapons have weight behind them, and the whole system feels less "floaty" than the previous games. I also have to mention the weapons; you are given a lot of options. There are tons of weapons in the game, and something new to the series you are able to heavily mod your weapons. In previous games you were able to attach an upgrade or two to specific weapons, but with this one you can extensively change each weapon to your play style; the same can be said about your armor, there is tons of variety, that offer you options with special boosts attached to certain pieces. Accompanied by plenty of enemy variety and a new perk system that works well, you have what is easily the best combat in the franchise; and it allows you to play many different ways. The only real problem I had with combat would be the NPCs. Both friendly and enemy characters can be rather dumb, and look out of place (especially in combat). They'll try and go somewhere but get stuck, they'll fire their weapon at their opponent but be off by a mile, or even stand out in the open and not even try for cover. They work fine most of the time, but on more than a few occasions I looked at game controlled characters and just rolled my eyes. The game also looks much better that the previous two titles in the series. On a technical level "Fallout 3," which came out in 2008, was not even a good looking game for its time. And "New Vegas" just two years later looked exactly the same, and was put to shame by other games that came out that year. "Fallout 4" is a huge step forward, but at the same time it's unimpressive. This year we've seen some games with truly impressive graphics, such as "The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt" and "Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain." Compared to them, "Fallout 4" looks like it was released two years ago. The open world is big and beautiful, with colorful art design and an impressive level of detail; but on a technical level, the graphics are subpar. Another problem regarding the look of the game would have to be its characters. Unlike the previous two games, in this one when characters have conversations they move and have more elaborate animations. The problem is that they don't look very good. To be honest, they often just look kind of wonky with bad lip syncing. It kind of takes you out of it when you’re watching a character and it's just jarring to see them walk and talk. When it comes to building worlds, Bethesda is one of the best in the business. The world of "Fallout 4" is impressive to say the least; there is an ungodly amount of stuff you can do, and the map is massive to say the least. I'm not sure on the exact size, but I think it's safe to say that it's larger than "Skyrim." I had a blast just traveling through the Commonwealth, all while enjoying one of the best video game soundtracks of the year. And there is no shortage of stuff that you can do in "Fallout 4," after my first play though I feel like I've barely scratched the surface. You'll find dozens upon dozens of missions to complete that could keep you satisfied forever. But some of the missions do feel repetitive, often involving you traveling to a location and just killing a bunch of enemies. But if doing mission after mission isn't your thing, one of the more interesting new features would be base building. Throughout the world you'll be able to establish bases, once there you can build houses, security defenses, and other structures to improve the lives of your followers. You don't have use this feature though, it’s entirely optional. During my run I only used it to complete a few missions, but my roommate loved it and put a ton of time into it. So while not mandatory, it is a neat new mechanic to play around with. But with a world like this, the game encounters more than a few problems; mostly technical ones. Bethesda has never been known for their polish; with some of their games they were essentially unplayable at launch. During my play through, I rarely experienced any major issues; but the game certainly had problems. I did experience a good number of minor glitches, things like a body falling through the floor or an item floating above the table. There were also issues with the frame rate, at random times the fps would just drop for no reason. The problem would be fixed quickly, but they were annoying and happened more than they should. The only really major technical issue I faced was that the game once shut down on itself. Fortunately I saved not long before that, but it was quite an annoyance. From what I've heard, I experienced fewer problems than many. Some have reported serious issues with the game, while my roommate was playing a character glitched that actually prevented him from completing a side quest. I'm sure that these issues will eventually be solved with patches, but for now it’s important to know that the game is having problems. If I had to guess what people loved most about the "Fallout” series, I would have to be the story behind the world. The way that the world evolved since the end of World War 2, the series is rich in lore that covers a few hundred years. The series has also been known for its compelling stories, and "Fallout 4" is no different. I was invested in the games plot pretty quickly, and really wanted to see how the story would end. And like its predecessors, this game has many interesting and memorable charters. Now since I had started playing, there was something that was bugging me that I quite couldn't put my finger on. Something that really bothered me, that detracted from the game in a way that didn't impact its predecessors. Then it hit me, the dialog. The dialog isn't bad, in some ways it feels much more organic than "Fallout 3" or "New Vegas." But the dialog feels much more limited. For example, in "New Vegas" you could be talking to someone and if you had a trait (such as medicine or explosives) high enough, you could actually unlock unique dialog options. "Fallout 4" still has these speech checks, but they've been simplified and lack the variety of these unique options. In what feels like an attempt by Bethesda to make the game friendlier to new players of the series, they removed one of the best features of the series. If anything, that is my biggest issue with the game. So let's be honest, "Fallout 4" isn't perfect. It is plagued by problems that do detract from the experience; problems that could have been avoided. But I can forgive its problems, because the game is just plain fun. This is one of the most thoroughly enjoyable games I've played this year. So while it's not perfect, it is still great. It may not be the masterpiece that everyone was hoping for, but it is enough to satisfy anyone interested. And with DLC packs on the way, the adventure has only just begun.

Pros: Greatly improved combat over predecessors, improved graphics, big and beautiful open world, great world design with impressive level of detail, colorful art design, new perk system works well, fantastic soundtrack, captivating story, several interesting and memorable characters, rich lore, tons or weapons/armor and customization options, base building is neat new feature, ungodly amount of stuff you can do, lots of enemy variety, let's you play many different ways, just plain fun.

Cons: Improved but unimpressive graphics, friendly and enemy NPCs can be dumb, various technical issues, issues with lip syncing, character animations sometimes look wonky, dialog options have been simplified, some missions feel repetitive.

4/5 Stars