I’m not done with Fallout 4 yet. I just want to be clear and upfront with you, readers. Honestly, when can a reviewer truly be done with a game of this scale? It’s a long burning question in the series. You certainly could count the main storyline as an alpha/omega deal, but those who adore this series fully understand this is more than just a campaign experience. I’m just at a stopping point where I can write a review. I get the structure of this latest Fallout game fully. I understand the complex elements that went into it to make it separate from its brethren. All of this, up to this point in the game, is understood.
But, I’m not done. Just so we’re clear before you start bitching for XYZ reasons.
Anyway, let’s begin.
The story is pretty straightforward and is similar to most of the Fallout series. Your family is selected to reside in a Vault while the big bang that goes boom destroys all of civilization topside. While waiting to get back to the surface, you’re cryogenically put to sleep. In the midst of the sleep, 200 years to be exact, you’re awoken by the untimely, murderous death of your wife and the theft of your young infant son, Shaun. Your quest in the game is to track down the a-holes who took Shaun and connect again with your son. Easier said that done, sadly.
Fallout 4’s story isn’t going to win any awards for ‘best writing ever’, but it will win for good motivation to search the wastelands of Boston for the sole reason your character still wishes to live. The powerful bond between father and son is a strong one. It’s believable from beginning to end. It’s good enough reason for your character to keep pushing along and causing massive amounts of havoc along the way, while staying alive by the skin of your teeth around every corner of the wastelands. And what a massive wasteland it is, folks.
Upping the ante for this Fallout game, Bethesda Studios has given you a huge amount of land to explore. In its current form, it quite possibly dwarfs Fallout 3. What’s even more impressive than Fallout 4’s huge tracts of land is the amount of details that come with it. While the PC elitist out there will scoff at the notion of detail, because they’ve been seeing this sort of detail for years in their games, Bethesda Studios seems to push the limits of the PlayStation 4 by making this God awful world as alive and kicking as humanly (or Super Mutantly) possible. You will have objects blowing in the wind, random storms cropping up, gassy dust storms blowing in and beautifully detailed textures on rocks, trees, rotting corpses and cars. Everything about how this place looks and feels puts you right into the heart of a dead land that is struggling to survive. The visuals push this theme hard and don’t let go of it through the majority of the game, even when you’re in a nice/safe place. Anyway, to add to that feeling, the draw distance, which is typically impressive in the Fallout series since Bethesda took over development duties, is gorgeous. You can see the details of the land from afar, which is new to the series because of the limitations that the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 had in the last generation. Seeing bridges, active locations and viewing all of this safely from a distance is such a nice option in this game. It not only allows you to take in the environment, but it helps to warn you about it when warnings are needed visually. It’s gorgeous stuff, though a bit creepy at times.
Speaking of gorgeous, and a bit creepy, the character models still have some leftover animation from last generation, though they do contain some improvements. For example, you’ll still get a lot of that ‘stiff handedness’ that you’re used to seeing from the last generation console systems. For the life of me, I can’t understand why the industry hasn’t figured out good hand movements, as the facial movements and body structures in general have improved over time in gaming, also this isn’t just a Bethesda thing (lots of developers seem to have this issue). Still, it’s prevalent in Fallout 4. Outside of petty complaints like that, the facial animations of the characters have improved, as there is a lot more detail in the faces and a lot more expressions that move beyond the dead-eye look. Character models overall have improved, though they still need some touching up.
Now, the reason I single out the character animations is because, as you probably have expected from games like these, you’re going to interact with a LOT of characters in this game (don’t even get me started on the dialogue, I can’t fathom how long it took to record). Plenty of dialogue, plenty of attitudes with unique animated reactions, all of this is what you should expect from the game and it’s backed up by the good animation. The animation is better than the usual animation you get from previous Bethesda Studio games, but, again, there could be some improvement in them.
There is a lot to love about the visual world that Bethesda put together for Fallout 4. The animation may not be perfect, but the environments built and the life that is teeming in them is pretty damn close to perfect. You’ll feel like you’re playing a better game than you have with previous Fallout titles, though you’ll still feel at home.
Presentation aside, the gameplay has gotten deeper thanks to some additional pieces put into place, especially in the crafting department. At the last E3, Pete Hines and his crew announced the crafting abilities for weapons, armor and the creation of custom-built homesteads that any wasteland traveler could be proud of having. These were not afterthoughts or some random additions to the game for no good reason, rather they were reasons to turn over every single rock in the wasteland. Having had years of experience playing the Bethesda driven Fallout series, as well as obtaining massive amounts of cheese in Elder Scrolls for no good reason, collecting crap was mostly a pointless venture. You would see something and pick it up, it would weigh you down and then you would drop it like a rock. We’ve all been there. For example, you would think you needed that wrench you found in downtown Washington, D.C. in Fallout 3, but it turns out you didn’t really need it. You might think you want those random batteries/fuses in New Vegas, but putting them to good use was never in the cards. In Fallout 4, crafting changes a lot in terms of searching the wasteland and it puts value added into the adventure.
If you want to upgrade weapons and armor, you have to be on the look out for parts. Finding parts in abandoned warehouses, houses, diners and such are enough motivation to explore more than usual in this title. Taking those parts, making guns/armor more powerful through scavenging adds an element of depth to an already deep game. Having the ability to jump a simple handgun 10+ power points through crafting upgrades will give you enough reason to take chances when you probably shouldn’t. For example, there was a mission where I had a large beast to kill in a church. While I didn’t exactly have a lot of firepower to take said beast down immediately (it was gradual), running in and finding parts in the area, even weapons, was enough motivation to go against the odds. If I hadn’t done so, I would not have found a particular weapon (which I’m not mentioning to avoid spoilers), which helped a few missions later. That powerful weapon was upgraded shortly after mission completion, which meant I had even more of an advantage and a good tool to level up quickly. Crafting and exploring is such a huge part of the success rate in Fallout 4 that it’s unavoidable. And you honestly wouldn’t want to avoid doing that anyway because it’s easy and fun.
How it works, you gather parts (screws, metal, etc.), you take them back to a settlement (you have options and several settlements to choose from) that has a crafting station you’re allowed to use and you simply select what you want to upgrade on the weapon/armor. For example, I upgraded a laser rifle and I could add a scope, better handle, more accurate barrel and whatnot. There are several categories of upgrades you can choose from, so it’s not just simply cut and dry. The hardest part of this entire process is having enough parts to do the upgrades and finding the parts out in the wasteland. There’s a lot of different options and each results in a better experience (beginning/end) in the Boston wastelands. Let me just add, as a personal note, that I hate crafting in games. I think it’s such a waste of time, though I appreciate that more dedicated individuals out there engulf the idea. For a game like Fallout 4 to get me interested, if not close to addicted to crafting, that’s something special right there. It takes a lot folks and Fallout 4 gives me enough reason to enjoy crafting.
Outside of weapons/armor crafting, you can also upgrade settlements. While I’m still getting used to the settlement portion of it, I will admit to having some issues initially figuring out how to upgrade and protect settlements under my command. The initial concept is that you can put in radios/turrets/generators and set up shops for people to come by and trade wares. It’s a good idea that works sometimes, but tends to be a pain when required during missions. Granted, I am still getting used to the process, but it can be a huge pain in the ass during missions. For example, there is a mission where I had to bring power to a pre-existing radio tower to broadcast a message across the wasteland. It took me about an hour to figure out where to hook the generators up to (had to have multiples) and how to get the radio tower to work. Again, I think I might have been the problem, but the process is not immediately intuitive. For PC folks out there, this is probably going to be cheesecake. For us console folks out there, who aren’t use to modding, building and crafting, it’s a bit of an adjustment. When it works, though, it kicks some ass and adds depth to the game. I’m sure I will get used to it, but as of right now I cringe a bit when required to improve places to complete missions (haven’t run into a lot of these missions, but they exist) or I completely avoid the mission/process completely.
Having said all that gibberish, it’s nice being able to arm settlements and walk away from them knowing that a potential raid from raiders/mutants/whatever will give the settlement a fighting chance to survive. I can dig that with the crafting and improvements in Fallout 4. Again, they add depth to an already deep game. You have a right to be excited about this addition to the Fallout universe.
As for the actual gameplay itself, it plays a bit tighter and more forgiving than the past games.
Starting out with the one element that makes traditional/purist Fallout fans cringe, let’s discuss the V.A.T.S. a bit. The V.A.T.S. (Vault-Etc Assisted Targeting System) has improved a bit, as it’s more accurate to the battle situation than in previous iterations of Fallout. For example, when you are in the heat of battle, and you go into V.A.T.S., the enemies keep moving precisely towards you, quickly (they slow down, but not as slow as previous Fallout games), and keep the attack coming. While I understand that was the case in the past, the process seems far more accurate for battle and there is a real sense of impending danger if you don’t choose a limb to fire upon forthwith. In the past, it felt like a cheating move that gave you a clear advantage over your enemy. Now, it’s a move that helps you out a bit, but doesn’t put you over-the-top on your enemy in the moment of fighting. In short, it seems less cheap, though it doesn’t really give you a huge advantage as it did in previous Fallout games. I’m completely okay with that, as it forces you to strategize your plan of attack properly, as well as really putting a good amount of thought into your choice of weapon before you pull a trigger. It’s no longer a sampler when determining if you want to involve yourself in battle. I know a lot of friends who complained how cheap it was in Fallout 3 and New Vegas, but they should be happy with the V.A.T.S. slight revamp this time around.
Other elements of impressiveness in this title include the difficulty and the enemy artificial intelligence.
Starting with the first part, the difficulty of the game has been upped considerably. Going into the game I was under the impression that I would run into some strong resistance at the beginning of the game before things started to smooth out a bit. I knew that in past Fallout titles, it would take at least a day to get things the way they needed to get on both the defensive and offensive side of the game for my traveler. I was emotionally prepared to keep the curse words back, as I knew sometime after the rough waters of the game subsided at the beginning that there would be smooth sailing to do what I wanted, how I wanted. I mean, Bethesda Studios did it this way for both Fallout and Elder Scrolls, so it was expected to be the same, right? Yeah, the difficulty seemed (as I perceived it) to fluctuate with the tides and kept up with my Jones’, so to speak. As I got stronger, the game seemed to have kept up with me. Granted by the fifth or sixth day with the game, I started to see a little bit of advantage swing my way, but the difficulty arc added some caution to my gameplay, though my strategy was always trial and error — regardless of deaths. Expect a more even player/NPC difficulty than in previous Fallout titles, which will add some uphill difficulty level to the entire process. Trust me, you’ll appreciate it. Just earmuff your kids a bit.
Related to the difficulty in the game is the more strategized and viciousness of the enemy A.I. during battle. Those bastards do their best to make your life hell, as well as preserve their own existence in the game. There were dozens of times where raiders would openly seek shelter during battle, as well as change their position when they thought my guy was getting too easy of an attack. It was impressive to watch enemies shift, though frustrating as hell when ammunition was wasted in the process. For example, there is a mission where you have to clear out a certain area (not saying which) and a few enemies were getting dinged in the head by me. Instead of typically sticking their heads out to get smacked a few times, I witnessed several NPC change positions and pop out in a different ways to avoid my player’s settled crosshairs. It was amazing to see in action, but frustrating. Delightfully frustrating.
Staying with the idea of missions in the game, you’ve got a lot of options heading your way for side quests. They can be as simple as going to clear out a particular area (you get that a lot at the beginning), as complicated as fighting huge bosses for the betterment of the clan you might be in (they exist) or as nasty as a rescue mission. All of them, outside of the main story, are completely random. Some of them will take you hours to get through, while others will take you minutes to accomplish. Regardless of time, you have a bevy of missions to go on that will keep the value added of this game through the roof. That was the real charm of the entire series starting with Fallout 3 and it doesn’t disappoint in Fallout 4.
What also doesn’t disappoint, though it’s far from perfect, is the game’s stability right out of the gate. While I will admit that Fallout 3 came out really smooth, I remember having a large amount of issues with New Vegas right from the get-go. I remember times where the game would randomly go black on me or where my character’s weapons would disappear (in my hands) or times where the game would just freeze and I would have to restart. Most of that irritation is gone with the Fallout 4 release. Granted, there were about three times in the last week where the game would unexpectedly quit on me, but beyond that it didn’t really give me much grief. I don’t know officially, but I’m sure there will be a patch or something in the near future.
Related, I would like to add that the save files for this game are huge. I was thinking about that tonight a lot and wondering why in the hell a single save file would be 10.63mb big. As I am not a programmer, just a logical lad, I have come to the conclusion that a random game like this has no clear way of saving the moment for you without saving the actual ‘moment’ you’re in. Since this game is huge and the very definition of sandbox, I can’t fathom Bethesda going along and predicting every little possible save point a gamer would be at to save their game. There is so much to take into account (player, inventory, leveling, etc.) that capturing that moment and essentially caching it would probably drive someone to the point of quitting. It seems logically sound the way saves are done in Fallout 4, though they are limited (yes, I pushed that limit). Depending on what type of gamer you are in the Fallout series, you will eventually not be able to save the game as it literally has a particular limit. I would suspect that it’s a 100 saves (yep, I’m that gamer), though I haven’t counted officially. Regardless, the file sizes are huge per save, but understandably so.
Enough of my rambling! I have more Fallout 4 gameplay to attend to, so onto the summary!
