Fallout 4 – Game Review

War never changes…

A bit late, but one must take one’s time when roaming through a Bethesda game, and at a 73 hour game-play mark, I think it’s about time we give the verdict. Is Fallout 4 good?

YES. It’s expansive, and in-depth, with quests and side missions galore. It’s a gorgeous game (even though the engine looks a little outdated), and everything works.

The gun-play is considerably better, as Fallout has often been scrutinized for its gun-play, and lack thereof. Fallout 4 is a new look at how you use your guns, with a large selection of weaponry at hand, from simple pipe pistols to your high tech plasma repeaters. With a massive amount of customization for each weapon in the game, you really can make a weapon that’s unique to your play style.

Armour works differently too. Power armour is now an expendable resource, and you have to keep each part maintained (arms, legs, torso etc.), and can attach various mods to improve certain traits. For example, you can create an armour that gives you bonuses to your strength or your charisma when wearing it. It really adds a different dynamic to the game.

While it may be a very solid title, there are a few things that bug this reviewer…

I am not normally a stickler for graphics… but the engine is outdated. Running the game on ultra looks amazing, definitely… but when we compare that to games like The Witcher 3 and other games that came out this year, it begs the question, why does it look so dated already? Plus, the bugs are blatantly obvious, and while there is the argument that it is a large game, again, The Witcher is larger, and there are very few bugs I have encountered. Fallout had a massive team of over 100 people, and the lovely people over at CD Projeckt Red had a much smaller team, and a significantly smaller budget.

Another thing that is kind of a nuisance is the new speech system. Instead of being given exactly what you will say, you are given four options, and it’s a guessing game as to what you’ll say. This, along with the removal of the karma system, makes everything a bit more grey in terms of morality, which upset a great many players. What’s the point in laying waste to a settlement if no one tells you you’re a bad guy for doing it?

But, while I may rip into the game a bit, it is still very enjoyable. The massive expanse of apocalyptic Boston is a fantastic backdrop to the Fallout series. They even added colour, instead of a bland colour pallet like the other games. The pallet in this game is beautiful. From vibrant greens, to lush reds, there is a massive improvement in colour and presentation.

To cut it short, this is like other Fallout titles, but much more polished, and with better gun-play.