So I’ve been enjoying the HELL out of Fallout 4. For all the shit it’s gotten from some groups, it’s a fantastic game. It takes the best stuff from Fallout 3/NV while removing some of the things that were a pain in the ass to be honest. Remember having to carry around three or more of the same weapon so you could repair it, gone! Screw that mechanic in any game.. I hated having a weapon break on me after barely using it. I can understand it’s realistic to have a chance of a weapon breaking, but those guns wore out fast.
The VATS system has changed a bit, and I didn’t like the change at first. It no longer stops time. This is not ideal when the enemy you’re trying to target is right next to you. However, it REALLY does add to the emotions you’ll feel when playing. VATS now causes a ‘bullet time’ effect where time slows down when activated. So you can watch the Fat Man round slowly creeping up on your crotch. Yes, you can die a bit easier with the new system. Although, It is pretty exciting to see the the danger coming your way. A good game will provoke you in some way. Fallout 4 sure does that in the right ways.
*ProTip – use vats to shoot enemy moltovs being thrown at you. They will explode if you hit them.
Another new system has been added to Fallout 4 in the form of crafting. If one wished, you could even craft whole buildings or towns. Personally, I have enjoyed fussing with some town building, but the weapons mods are where it’s at. You can really do some amazing stuff to customize your weapons. You are free to blur and cross the lines between the types of firearms. So your semi automatic pistol can become a revolver if wish and have the scrap.
The new crafting has changed the way I might play an earlier Fallout game in terms of bottlecaps. You are no longer collecting junk to sell for the most part. You’re mostly going to be using that junk to help craft and mod things. You might need to save up the caps if you wish to buy a legendary item off of a trader. However, I’ve found that modded guns can be just as effective to get you through the game.
Foodies can rejoice in being after to craft your own meals now. And while that’s a bad joke, the in game food crafting is not. You can make some seriously stat boosting food items in game now. Damage resistance, damage boosts, extra carry weight, and extra XP food items can be made. You can save your stimpacks for serious injury and save lots of caps by not having to buy healthpacks all the time. It’s great!
The story. Eh, nothing really groundbreaking so far. It works, but really brings nothing new to the table. Although I’ve found the little side interactions to be more entertaining. I guess I’ve been more focused on the gameplay and beefing my character up, I have not done much of the main quest. Hmm, I do that a lot in Bethesda games, and that’s not a bad thing. The world is more fun then following the main quest.
Bugs? The giant bugs are a joy to gibb in the game. As for the nastier kind that are hard to beat without a patch? I’ve had it crash on me once in about 48hrs of play. Although the game REALLY hates to be alt-tabbed. The worst glitches appear after an alt-tab and require a game restart to remove. Other then that, the bugs I’ve found have been hilarious. Plant life ‘buzzing’ at an unnatural frequency, cars vibrating across an area, and people being launched into a low earth orbit upon death. I like these bugs. I’d like to see MORE of these bugs. However, I’ve only seen each of them once in my gameplay.
The graphics have improved a bit, but the damage model seems like a throwback at times. The people in Fallout 4 are much improved, but when things go south and you get your critical headshot, the Gibs seem like stuff straight from Fallout 3. Eh, they are still effective, they just do not seem as improved as the rest of the graphics. I should note that the landscapes are beautiful by the way.
So, should you get it? I would recommend it. I feel like you’ll get $60 in gameplay out of it. Although, it will probably go on sale soon enough. I know I paid less then $60 using Greenman gaming. I’m happy with my purchase so far.
Good luck Vault Dwellers.