Bethesda Softworks proved themselves a powerhouse of videogaming in the PS3/Xbox 360 era with such hit games as Fallout 3, Fallout: New Vegas and Skyrim. So with this being said, the world and I were eager to see what they had in store for the next gen consoles. Finally, in 2015, our collective anticipation was confronted by Bethesda’s new game, Fallout 4. The big question however is: was it worth the hype? The answer, for me personally, is a rather meek yes. Fallout 4 contains everything you loved about the Fallout series; unfortunately, it also features much of what frustrated you as well.
In classic Bethesda fashion, you begin by customizing you character; however this time you are one half of an American suburban married couple raising a baby boy called Shaun. One day a man knocks on your door with an announcement. Your family has been selected for a place in Vault-Tec’s brand-new Vault, number 111. Suddenly, a nuclear weapon is set to be detonated close by. You and your family are rushed to the Vault and get underground just in the Knick of time. Once inside, your family are guided towards a cryo-chamber for deep sleep. You enter one chamber, your partner and Shaun enter the other and you’re all put into a deep sleep, however, after not too long, you are mysteriously awoken.
From the confines of your chamber, you witness two strangers approach your partner’s chamber, referring to your family as “specimens.” Suddenly, they open your partner’s chamber and grab Shaun. Your partner fights back until, BANG, they’re shot dead, Shaun is taken and eventually, long after the murdering kidnappers are gone, your cryo-chamber finally opens. Hell-bent on finding your child and avenging your partner, you exit Vault 111 and embark on a rescue mission, only to find that the world you knew has long gone, two hundred years gone to be exact. Perhaps the highest praise I can give Fallout 4 is that the main story is utterly compelling, beautifully interactive and features the best twist I’ve seen since Denis Villeneuve’s Arrival. If you’ve seen Arrival you know that’s no small thing to say and if you haven’t… What are you doing? Seriously? Go watch it. Now!
As for the gameplay, Fallout 4 maintains the same recognizable mechanics of Fallout 3 and New Vegas, but this time there are two notable changes. Firstly, Fallout 4 gives you control over how your character interacts with other NPC’s by providing you with 4 different choices to respond with. Not only that, but these decisions have consequences which shape the trajectory of your story, whilst giving the game extensive replay value. In this way Fallout 4 gives you way more freedom than any Fallout game before it. Secondly, the game follows popular gaming trends by adding a Minecraft element to the game. Fallout 4 allows you build, develop and maintain different settlements across the wasteland and whilst building and developing is cool, the maintaining element becomes very tiresome after a while. Of course this is my opinion and I must stress that none of the new elements are actually bad. I may feel that certain elements don’t add much, but people with a more strategic gaming style should absolutely love this game. But, I must warn that Fallout 4 is just as fragile as 3 and New Vegas. The game freezes, lags and glitches frequently and considering it came out seven years after Fallout 3, five years after New Vegas and was released on Xbox One and Play Station 4, these things really should be ironed out by now. This is easily the worst part of the entire game, but as long as you manually save regularly, because yes the saving mechanics are the same too, then you should have only a mildly frustrating time with this game.
Overall, Fallout 4 is the same game you know and love, but this time boasting a captivating main story, endearing new characters, stunning lighting effects and interactivity on a scale that the Fallout series has never seen before. Although the graphics haven’t progressed by a lot and some of the new features may not have worked for me, nonetheless, Fallout 4 is as absorbing as Bethesda gets. The game will certainly satisfy lovers of role play games and Bethesda games, whether they are Fallout fans, or simply waiting for Elder Scrolls 6. Speaking of Elder Scrolls 6, we’re waiting Bethesda, patiently and eagerly waiting…
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