Fallout 4 is the followup to 2008's knockout open world game, Fallout 3. In this 1950's retro-future post-apocalyptic wonderland, you are allowed to totally customize your character and explore a highly detailed New England wasteland 200 years after the world was scoured in atomic fire, searching for your child that was ruthlessly stolen from you, and ultimately decided the fate of the Commonwealth Wasteland.
This will be a long review as I want to provide as much information as I can about the game so that I can help you make a more informed decision about buying this game. I'm going to start off with the few technical hiccups of the Xbox One version and move down the list.
By and large I absolutely loved this game, though not as much as I did Fallout 3, or The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim. While Fallout 4 makes incredible technical and graphical leaps forward for Bethesda, on the console the game still suffers from muddy (for this console generation) textures and a sometimes stuttering framerate when the action on screen is heavy and intense. Or whenever the game decides to drop a rainstorm on you. There is also the problem of NPC AI not being all that smart, blocking you from moving in tight spaces or bugging out entirely. Sometimes creatures, people and Companions will glitch through the world, or simply just disappear, making certain quests very hard or downright impossible to complete. While I was lucky enough not to run into any gamebreaking bugs (And indeed this has been the most stable Bethesda game I have ever played), I was unable to complete a certain quest the way the I would have preferred to complete it due to a character just taking off and walking away, making talking to him impossible and forcing me to complete the quest in a way that left me very dissatisfied.
As for the main gameplay, Fallout 4 relies heavily on you exploring the expansive world that Bethesda has dropped you into. From the thick woods of the Northern Commonwealth to the ruined urban expanses of Boston, through the southern suburbs of the city to the oppressive, deadly nuclear wastes of the Glowing Sea, the game contains so many hidden nooks and crannies to explore, kill, and ultimately loot. Bethseda's improved gunplay means that you no longer have to rely on the VATS targeting system to enjoy the combat of the game. Indeed, you can play Fallout 4 entirely like a normal first prson shooter game if you so desire. Going back to the VATS system, this system itself has received a small change that makes it more interesting and keeps it from becoming 'scan and shoot'. When you activate VATS, instead of completely stopping time, time now only slows down which forces you to make more time sensitive decisions on where to shoot your enemy if they're about to hit you.
Another major change in the gameplay is the streamlining of the leveling system. In Fallout 3, upon reaching a new level you were awarded stat points, which you then had to choose how to spend on a large number of different stats, such as health, charisma, agility, etc, and were occasionally awarded a perk point, a special ability which would alter combat, speech encounters, or normal gameplay in some way. In Fallout 4, the stat system is completely gone, replaced with an Skyrim-esque ability chart filled with many different perk columns, which determine your skills and abilities in the game. While it is somewhat frustrating to be limited in what you can do and no longer passively level up skills while doing things such as hacking or lockpicking, I did find this new system to be much less time consuming overall and allowed me to get to the more entertaining stuff far quicker than in previous Fallout games.
And unlike previous Fallout games, there is no hard level cap in Fallout 4. While most people will complete the game to their liking well beforehand, players now how the ability to completely fill out the Perk Chart by continually gaining experience.
Another gameplay change is the large difference in Power Armor compared to Fallout 3 and the older Fallout games. In Fallout 4, power armor greatly increases your weight carry limit, endurance, and defense and is highly customizable with different armor model types, different classes of armor, different modifications that allow your armor to perform new abilities (such as a electrical field or a jetpack) along with distinctive paint jobs. However the one large caveat to having such an amazing piece of technology is that the redesigned power armor requires a fuel source: Fusion Cores. Without a fusion core, your suit of power armor will not work, even if you remove every last bit of armor down to the frame itself. Fusion cores are scattered throughout the gameworld (much like random power armor suits are) and are far more rare than other items, which will force you to spend most of the game in normal armor. Which for me was both disappointing but completely fine, as it balances the overpowered nature of the power armor, but yet by the time you might actually need to use it, you may be able to simply trudge through using normal armor.
Also the fact that your power armor can also be stolen by NPCs or enemies is amusing, but also annoying and lends to you locking your precious walking tanks up in a secure facility before wandering out into the wastes.
One last major change to the series is the removal of the in-depth dialogue options. In previous Fallout games, in speech encounters you could, if you had high enough points in certain stats, talk your way into receiving larger rewards, lower vendor prices, completely bypassing difficult quests or even turning enemies against each other. In Fallout 4, one of the best features of the previous Fallout games is removed in favor of a Mass Effect style dialogue wheel, in which only the charisma stat truly matters. And even then, it is largely limited to haggling for better reward money; using your charisma stat in quests is a uncommon occurrence. This is, for me, the most negative change in the gameplay for me, as it changes the formerly complex character interactions into little more than a Yes/No choice.
The inclusion of the settlement crafting system is admirable, though not what I was interested in. In Fallout 4 you are given the option to rebuild settlements and fill them with civilian traders, thus improving the game world, along with crafting new items for your weapons and armor. However all of this requires gathering resources from the Commonwealth Wasteland, which has felt like an artificial lengthening of the game. While still very much playable, here are some problems I experienced. During crafting and storing items, should you have too many Legendary weapons ion one container the console will lag, and moving in and out of workbenches is not as quick and smooth as you'd expect. Field repairing armor and items has been removed, but so has item and armor durability (aside from Power Armor). While I see this overall as a positive change for the series, I feel that at a certain point the lack of needing to constantly keep your items in good repair eventually undermines the combat in the game as now these enemy combatants are just in your way, as opposed to having resources you need. IT also creates the problem of being able to continually farm enemies and sell their loot to vendors, creating a 'infinite caps' problem that removes further difficulty from the game.
The constant need to save scrap also presents a problem of tedium and artificially lengthening the game, as you'll need to grab every piece of scrap and junk that you can to turn into usable resources for building materials. That means that once you complete and clear an area you'll spend almost the same amount of time or more combing the area for junk items, as well as looting bodies for their scrappable items. This means that you'll be pressured to put your leveling points into improving your carry weight and not the more entertaining perks, and making many trips to your base to unload these resources.
However I did greatly enjoy item and armor customization, even if I felt the options were limited in what I could create. Any weapon or piece of armor can be upgraded either via building upgrades (which relies on selecting the appropriate perk abilities) or stripping looted weapons of their parts. While each option requires resources, I found it far quicker to simply strip enemy weapons for mod parts. As for armor, you can use stripped or created mods to improve your survivability against radiation, energy weapons, or overall damage as well as improve your carrying capacity.
One thing however that I did feel was missing from the crafting element of the game was the inability to create my own ammunition for my weapons. This was something that was available in previous Fallout games, and I sorely missed it in Fallout 4 as it prevented me from using the weapons I wanted to use in the early game. Although lack of ammo quickly becomes a non0issue, I still felt that the inability to craft our own was a bit of a bummer.
And although I never used the settlement crafting system to build my own towns or homes(check out videos on Youtube for this), what little I did use I found to be clunky and definitely not designed for use by a console controller, which lacks the precision of a PC mouse.
You also have to defend settlements, which will require you to stop what you are doing and go defend them from enemies, which I eventually ceased doing as I found it really annoying.
One last thing about the gameplay of Fallout 4 on the Xbox One: As the Xbox One is a console and not a PC, there is currently no way to modify your game to add different features, or access console commands to revive NPCs that accidentally died, reset NPCs that bug out, or just spawn whatever items or monsters that you want. This is all my own educated guess and is in no way official, but there is expected to be a supported modding tool for both the PC and console versions of Fallout 4 some time in 2016, though unlike PC I do expect console mods to work very differently than how PC mods will. These differences could include only a limited amount of mods running at one time to having to pay small fees in order to use them.
In Fallout 4, a longstanding tradition of both the Fallout series and Bethesda games returns: Companions. At certain moments in the game you will discover NPC characters that can be hired or convinced to follow you throughout the game, providing you with help in combat and carrying items. In Fallout 4, Companions are far more interesting as they have their own plots and personal quests, and in the case of certain companions, the main plot can actually involve them. They also provide their own commentary on events in the Commonwealth, and have their own moral alignment. If you make decisions that run counter to these characters, they can and will leave you if their approval of you gets too low. On the flipside, companions that you impress enough will unlock special hidden abilities on top of a unique dialogue encounter.
I myself however, found it far more enjoyable to play through the game alone as I felt the companion AI still lacked good AI, and would often get in my way, attract enemies when I really didn't want to fight them, or do things that would end with me dead because of their error.
As for voice acting, these NPCs have a much larger variety of voice compared to other Bethesda games, and this applies to the game overall. In Fallout 3 and Skyrim, there was a definite problem of there only being a handful of actors playing multiple roles across the game. While there certainly are cases of repating voices in Fallout 4, Bethesda has hired enough actors that it's no longer an immersion breaking problem; indeed there are plenty of characters that pull off a convincing Bostonian accent. The companion voices are all distinct, and with the personal exception of two, don't have voices that annoyed me.
Environment wise, the Commonwealth is a much more interesting place than the Capital Wasteland of Fallout 3, or the disappointingly small and drab map of Fallout New Vegas. While not as large as the world map of Skyrim (nor as visually arresting), the Commonwealth still provides a well needed injection of color into the typical post-apocalypse. The map, while still predominantly different shades of brown, has plenty of blues, greens and various other colors that help the world feel much more alive than in Fallout 3, though there are only so many ways to do this particular genre.
In regards to enemies, there isn't much of a change in enemy types from Fallout 3. You still have mutated wildlife, raiders, super mutants, ghouls and robots (on top of the faction enemies), and these enemies will scale to match your level as you grow more powerful in the game. The main difference is that the game will spawn 'Legendary' enemies, which have much higher health and do more damage, but always drop powerful unique weapons or armor upon death. Aside from Legendary enemies, not much has changed from Fallout 3, aside from molerats and radscorpions being able to burrow underground and quickly pop up next to you, changing those encounters from annoying and backpedalling to more intense mobile fights.
Storywise, while I will avoid spoilers, the story of Fallout 4 is easily superior to Fallout 3. With more fleshed out factions and characters, along with the voiced player character, Fallout 4's succeeds in pulling you in and making you care about the conflict taking place in the Commonwealth. the game allows you to fully customize what your character looks like in appearance and allows you to be either male or female. Bethesda also went the extra mile and hired voice actors for both genders, and each provides their own take on the same dialogue (aside from the rare gender specific moments). The game's story also cleverly disguises it's tutorial mode in a look at the 'pre-war' civilization of America, all of which is done in a 'retro-future' design that harkens back to the science fiction of the 1950s. During the introductory sequence you get to see what life was like only moments before the nuclear apocalypse and (perhaps) form a bond with your spouse and newborn son, Shaun. While the game quickly shifts away from that and delves right into the apocalypse, it did find it really cool to see the world as we had never seen it before, though previous experience with the Fallout games did lessen the impact of returning to the wasteland after the tutorial section was over. Needless to say that the search for your son quickly turns into a plot that involves the four major factions of the Commonwealth. Detailing these factions would only spoiler the story, but rest assured that while two factions are certainly more favored in the story department, the lesser two factions have their own charms. Each faction also comes with a unique bonus ability that can change hostile encounters in the game, either directly or indirectly, but I largely ignored these in favor of finishing these fights myself.
At a certain point in the game you will be faced with a decision on which faction you want to fight for into the endgame. This choice is not reversible and will make two/three of the factions in the game hostile towards you, so choose carefully.
Overall I was satisfied with the story, though I wouldn't rank it as the best I've ever seen in a video game.
In closing again I loved Fallout 4, though I did have some complaints against it. The game does have some technical problems but was the most solid Bethesda game that I have ever played. In terms of graphics it is also the prettiest Bethesda game I've played. Gameplay wise the game runs very smooth and I have no real complaints against the gunplay, though I do feel settlement building could be more engaging and precise, along with the item and armor crafting. Companion AI is still a bit of a letdown, though the variety of different characters almost makes up for it. And the story is definitely one of the most engaging of the Bethesda games.
All in all, if you need something to scratch that open world itch and either don't have access to Skyrim or simply want something new, Fallout 4 is your game. You'll be massively entertained and kept busy doing things to complete the main quests, the hundreds of side quests and just exploring and leveling your character for weeks of real life time.
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From the manufacturer
About This Game:
Bethesda Game Studios, the award-winning creators of Fallout 3 and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, welcome you to the world of Fallout 4 – their most ambitious game ever, and the next generation of open-world gaming.
As the sole survivor of Vault 111, you enter a world destroyed by nuclear war. Every second is a fight for survival, and every choice is yours. Only you can rebuild and determine the fate of the Wasteland. Welcome home
Key Features:
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Freedom And LibertyDo whatever you want in a massive open world with hundreds of locations, characters, and quests. Join multiple factions vying for power or go it alone, the choices are all yours. |
Collect And BuildCollect, upgrade, and build thousands of items in the most advanced crafting system ever. Weapons, armor, chemicals, and food are just the beginning - you can even build and manage entire settlements. |
Super Deluxe PixelsAn all-new next generation graphics and lighting engine brings to life the world of Fallout like never before. From the blasted forests of the Commonwealth to the ruins of Boston, every location is packed with dynamic detail. |
Violence And V.A.T.S.Intense first or third person combat can also be slowed down with the new dynamic Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System (V.A.T.S) that lets you choose your attacks and enjoy cinematic carnage. |
Tips From The Vault:
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Adapting To The OutsideYou've Left The Vault. Now What? The moment you exit the vault, you will notice a piercing bright light. Like a creature of the night, your eyes are not accustomed to the bare sun. Make sure to shield the retinas with tinted goggles. |
Radiation And YouBeware The Silent Killer: While some harmful radiation should have dissipated years ago, lingering radiation will remain. In the Wasteland, ceaseless radioactive bombardment will attack your body without warning until it’s too late and you begin to suffer the debilitating effects of its poisoning. This will be a real threat to your survival. Use your Vault-Tec assigned Pip-Boy to monitor radiation levels at all times. |
Don't Forget!Order your copy of Fallout 4 today. Available for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. |
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Game discs might be purchased in bulk from different regions and repackaged!
Reviewed in the United States on April 9, 2017
When I received the item, it was completely sealed and had the certificate of authenticity on the opening edge of the game's case, as you would expect a new game to have. But once I opened it, I immediately noticed something was very off. The game only came with 2 pieces of printed documentation. The first was the Fallout 3 code, which looked like it was ripped out of a Spanish manual (the attached image is a picture of the side without the key). The second was a poster. The text on the game's disc was in Spanish. The cover artwork on the case itself looked like it had been photocopied. Despite the fact that these should have been red flags for me that the game might be counterfeit, I went ahead and installed the game and redeemed the key. Everything worked just fine! Fallout 4 installed and plays in English despite the game disc's text being in Spanish. Fallout 3 redeemed with no issues and also installed in English.Still weirded out by the whole thing, I contacted Xbox support and got a very helpful representative who said her personal opinion of the situation was that the seller (in my case Golden Century Deals) most likely bought game discs in bulk at an auction or something like that from several different regions, then repackaged them in just an odd way. Because the game installed fine and the code redeemed,she felt as though the game is completely legit. She even mentioned she knows people who do this sort of practice.Overall, if you buy from this seller and your game comes in looking like mine did, check if the disc's case had the certificate of authenticity and if the disc itself has the Xbox hologram on the front and back. More than likely, your disc is legit but purchased in bulk and repackaged.
Reviewed in the United States on April 9, 2017
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