Fallout 4 Review
...The game is utilizing a heavily modified Creation Engine, previously used for Skyrim, which is apparent as soon as the game starts. In fact, it’s easy to claim that Fallout 4 is to Skyrim what Fallout 3 was to Oblivion, but I feel that’s only partially true, as I never felt Fallout 3 really was “Oblivion with guns”. Fallout 3 had a different, more mature tone and an emphasis on roleplaying, allowing players to solve quests in different ways, which also forced them to take the consequences of their actions. There were no voice changes in the middle of conversations (that I can recall). Also, the level scaling was quite different, meaning that high level enemies would stomp anyone into the ground if encountered too early. All this was then present in Skyrim, and it is in Fallout 4 as well.
...Shooting: The shooting mechanic has received an overhaul, and now works significantly better than it did in
Fallout 3.
Character development: SPECIAL is still present, but the perk system has been altered. You now get one point per level, and can use it to boost either one of your SPECIAL attributes or one of the perks you meet the requirements for. Requirements are related to character level and SPECIAL attribute level (for example hacking master terminals requires 4 Intelligence + character level 21). The system itself works well enough, but it sometimes feels a bit too incremental, as in upgrades often feel insignificant. This is probably related to the whole the removal of the level cap, which did not affect me as I have no intention of grinding monsters for experience points.
...The story itself is more interesting than it was in
Fallout 3 by a fair margin, as are the characters, both in terms of companions and the people you meet in the world. There’s more substance and better writing, and I hope they continue improving. There’s still quite a gap between Fallout 4 and The Witcher 3, but it’s a vast improvement over previous titles in my opinion.
...There are a lot of quests like that: Where players have to make choices and live with the consequences. It’s no secret that I like that a lot. Both the game quest and side quests can be solved in various ways, which adds a lot of replay value and makes roleplaying much more interesting. There’s even a surprising amount of Charisma checks throughout the game, something Bethesda isn’t exactly known for. I was surprised, in a very good way, by how often I came across such checks. Unfortunately for me, I was expecting a regular Bethesda game, where Charisma can basically be used as a dump stat, so I’ll have to focus on that with my next character. I’m looking forward to seeing many of the scenes I now experienced unfold in a different manner.
I’m also looking forward to how the main story plays out if certain choices are made. Factions play an important role, and are mutually exclusive in a similar way to
Morrowind. This is something I’ve truly missed, because it never felt right to me to become the master of everything, so I’m really enjoying the approach in
Fallout 4. The only drawback is that I had a hard time finding a faction whose opinions I shared. They all seemed a bit fanatical to me; absolute in their point of view. It was all a bit too black and white for my taste, but still enjoyable.
Verdict
I’m fairly certain
Fallout 4 will divide opinions. On the one hand, it’s a fantastic game for anyone who enjoys exploring for the sake of exploring. On the other, it has frustrating moments, technical issues and a cumbersome interface. Overall, it’s an excellent game for me personally, as I have a fairly high tolerance for glitches and what not if the content is good enough, but I fully understand people who want to wait a bit until certain things are fixed. It really does boil down to how much you enjoyed the predecessors, as the formula is almost identical.
Pros
- Massive world filled with content
- Improved combat system and character development
- Good crafting system
- Better writing overall, including choices and consequences
- Excellent atmosphere, very immersive
Cons
- It appears a bit dated already, despite Ultra settings
- Quite a few technical issues
- Cumbersome PC interface
- Lack of variety, especially in terms of enemies
- Inventory management can be frustrating
4/5
http://www.rpgwatch.com/articles/fallout-4-review-356.html
