REVIEW

Fallout 4 Review

by Dominic Coles, December 2nd, 2015

The world of Fallout has been growing larger and larger with every iteration. Whether you’re climbing out of Vault 13 in search for a water chip or emerging from Vault 101 in search of your father, the experiences are immense with the landscapes, characters and action that inhibits the wasteland. Now we go to a new location in the franchise, Boston, as we explore the commonwealth for another family search.

The story of Fallout 4 involves your beloved family living their lives after the events of the war. After signing on to become a part of Vault Techs new Vault initiative, the sirens of the town of Sanctuary Hills go off and your family are forced to run for Vault 111. What happens next I will leave for you to find out as I don’t want to spoil one of the major plot points of the game in this review. But you can bet you have a mission of dire importance once you have access to the wastelands.

Does this feel a lot like Fallout 3? Sadly yes, at least on paper. The development of the story however is constructed differently enough to Fallout 3 that you will not be linking the two together for very long. The main story itself can get quite fascinating with some great twists that get thrown your way and leave you surprised. Of course, the main storyline of a Fallout game is just the icing on the cake. All the side quests and miscellaneous quests that pop up on your adventures have their own mini-stories and intertwining narratives to help the world feel larger and also assist with you forgetting about your Mel Gibson mission. Not that the main story on its own doesn’t hold up. Although it can be slow at the beginning, the core elements of the quest line become really deep and engaging. Especially when a specific twist occurs about 60% into the story. Some of these quests are funny, others are dark and then a couple are darn right badass, all coming with great rewards and potential encounters that you must experience.

Settlement creation is the new mechanic that I hope stays for both Fallout and Elder Scrolls.

Fallout 4’s quests are only as good as their characters and enemies and boy has this game got some colourful characters this time around. Thirteen companions can accompany you on your adventure all with their own likes and dislikes. Some of the companions are some of the best I have personally seen in ages including Nick Valentine the Synth Detective, Cait the drug filled Irish queen of destruction and Strong, the Super Mutant searching for the milk of human kindness. These characters all have some hilarious dialogue as you’re exploring the wasteland and have their own developing relationships with the main character as you perform acts that they like or dislike. Along with these new companions comes new enemies such as the Stingwings and Radstags as well as legendary enemies. These new super powered variants of humans and beasts add a challenging development to the game as you explore and progress. Upon defeating these tougher opponents you are rewarded with legendary equipment that will have unique stats such as a faster reload rate, extra damage versus certain enemies or slowing down time when near death.

How you perform in combat however is down to the newly revised set of perks on the S.P.E.C.I.A.L perk tree. Instead of earning a new perk every other level like in Fallout 3 and New Vegas, now every level gives you a point to put into a perk of your choosing or into a S.P.E.C.I.A.L stat. This means that your initial starting point allocations can change as soon as you start gaining some levels and with no level cap you can truly unlock everything the game has to offer and turn into the ultimate wanderer. After multiple playthroughs you will start to point out the more essential perks in the game to get as soon as possible, whilst realising which ones may not cater to your playstyle. With the new system in place, Charisma is more important than ever if you wish to construct bustling settlements whilst perks like Agility and Perception are left more for specific acts of gun play and stealth.

Home is where the heat is, or in this case where my Power Armour is.

Speaking of settlements, one of the biggest additions into the game is the settlement construction system. In this you are be able to reconstruct and even build from scratch many locations in the wasteland, turning them into towns with their own food, water, power and trading supplies. This entire mechanic can be put to one side if you want more of a traditional playthrough, or you can embrace this to create tree houses, hotels or tightly built cities. It finally gives a purpose to all the junk you gather in the previous games that you mostly used for selling fodder. Now substances such as copper, adhesive, steel and aluminium become valuable pieces to gain as you explore new areas to create something as simple as a bed or something as intricate as a Vault Boy light box set-up. Definitely one of the best new mechanics in the game and must be embraced by your creative mind at some point during your multiple sessions.

So everything about the commonwealth in Fallout 4 seems great right? Well at first glance yes. But there are small concerns that stop the game from being completely perfect. First off is the games optimisation on consoles and PC. Many loading screens take much longer than anticipated compared to The Witcher III and Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain which has no need for lengthy waiting times. Glitches and sometimes game breaking bugs can seem funny at first but when they corrupt your game saves or crash the game entirely, the laughs stop and concerns rise. On top of that, the AI of settlers, companions and other NPCs can get very patchy especially when they are still blocking doorways, not responding to your chat requests or simply stand around like village idiots. But probably the most concerning point with Fallout 4, at least in its current state, is the ending of the main quest line.

Dark, brooding, ominous and yet also beautiful.

In previous Fallout titles, after the completion of the main quest you will get an overview of your achievements, conclusions to individual characters storylines and get a feeling of satisfaction when you are left with what happens next. In Fallout 4 however things have changed for the worst as you no longer get any of that satisfaction. Very slight changes to end game dialogue as the still images roll in are your reward for completing your core adventure and it leaves you feeling empty and awaiting more. Where is the conclusion to Preston Garvey and the reconstruction of the Minutemen? Where is the ending to Piper’s journey to become a respected journalist? Or most importantly, what is the true effect of your choices in the world as a whole? Nothing seems changed, impacted or at least nudged by what you have achieved, leaving you feel as if all this effort and action lead up to something truly lack lustre. A true shame to see but this may be because of the lack of level cap as well as being able to continue your adventure after the ending occurs. Defiantly a missed opportunity to do something great like in New Vegas or Fallout 3.

Fallout 4 and the journey through the commonwealth is a great adventure and by far is worth every penny. The large world will give you plenty of hours of exploration and action based combat whilst the stories will keep you encompassed into the lives and people of Boston. With some glitches here and there, an ending that leaves you wanting more and some AI problems, the game is bar far not the perfect experience we were hoping for,but that does not mean you should not pick this up for yourself. It is one of the best upgrades to the series to date and it leaves us in perfect wait for what the DLC will be bringing to the table in 2016.

Are you enjoying Fallout 4? Had some epic or hilarious moments happen to you in the commonwealth already? Share your experiences and let us know what you think about the game in the comments below.