Hello, Nerds!!!
Derek Jordan, here, taking a break from the wastes for a bit to give you my thoughts on Fallout 4. It is hard enough to take a break from the game in my free time, so do me a favor and appreciate this enormous sacrifice of mine. Cool? Great, then let's get started!!!
Background:
I am in no way a professional. I am just a guy like anyone else enjoying a game made by Bethesda. I played the original Fallout about a billion years ago, but since that only lasted about an hour, so I can’t really remember how that went. I played through Fallout 3, but I got it for Christmas and ran through the main story as quickly as I could. I had Fallout 4 to play, so I had get through it as fast as possible. Basically, this means that I knew practically nothing about the Fallout line of games when I started playing Fallout 3. Even then, I barely tapped into what it provided in playability.
I have now gone full force into Fallout 4. At this time, I have still not begun the main story quest. Now don’t worry, there won’t be any spoilers here, but I will say that I like how this game starts. I also want to be clear that I have also put in MANY hours of gameplay.
From here on out, I want to focus on a few aspects of the game and lay out my thoughts.
Graphics: [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10] (9/10)
My first point here is this: a good game does not need good graphics. That being said, Fallout 4 delivers them spectacularly. Keep in mind, I went directly from playing Fallout 3 to Fallout 4, so I had a drastic jump in quality. No matter how long I’ve been playing, when I open up the game I can get lost in the look and beauty of just the menu backdrop.
One of the things I find really cool about the look and feel of Fallout 4 is how it can be so desolate and broken, yet at the very same time capture an untold beauty. Just a proper mixing of pixels and coloring in the right moments slow me down in my game and force me to appreciate the scenery around my player character.
Gameplay: [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10] (9/10)
There are several factors in Gameplay that I just find to be spot on. These make the game enjoyable and, honestly, addicting to play.
Leveling System:
I found the leveling system in Fallout 3 to be slightly easier to understand than the one in Fallout 4. It was easy to understand the point system, which told you what level you needed to be at to achieve certain things. However, I think that without knowledge from Fallout 3, this system would have been easier to understand from the start. That might not make sense, but when you go from "you need a score of X in Y to do Z" to "I can't do that" you can see my difficulty in navigating the system.
The system still works with numbers, but said "numbers" are now stars. Each category of your S.P.E.C.I.A.L. can be increased, giving you access to differing perks. While I liked having almost full access to all possible perks based on my level, I find it makes more sense for the perks to be dictated by attributes. So, ultimately, I like the Fallout 4 leveling system better, even though it has a steeper learning curve.
If you plan on playing the game, I recommend finding a video or write-up of some kind so you can get a better understanding of how to use your perks. Once you know this, making decisions throughout the game are easier and clearer. Knowing where to start your character and how to level them as you progress will be extremely helpful.
Forgiveness:
There is a good degree of forgiveness built into the game, especially in the leveling system. You get a chance or two to change your attributes and you can also use your level increase to increase your attributes throughout the game.
When making choices, you can play them through a bit, keeping a save if you don't like the outcome of your choice. However, the truth is, you might not understand what your choice does until it is too late to go back, sticking you with that outcome. It honestly makes the game more compelling.
Playability:
I found movement, aiming, and just all around playability to be fairly standard. Usually smooth, it’s what you would expect from a first person view. You can toggle to third person view, but I have not played much at all from that standpoint. In my opinion, the third person view does not feel right for this game.
Adaptability:
Without have some kind of cursory knowledge of Fallout, you can certainly play the game. Yet without it, you may quickly make decisions you did not intend to and you will find that yourself in an unfortunate position of some kind. Most of this occurs in the leveling system, but things can crop up from decisions you make in interactions with NPCs.
The world will shift in degrees depending upon your choices. I could not tell you how much, mainly because nothing I have done seems to have changed anything drastically. I do know the way I have played has differed from my brother, but that is because of my focusing more on my settlements rather than the main game. I am sure that multiple playthroughs with differing choices can result in some differences in your game.
Settlement Building/Crafting:
I believe this is one of the biggest things that this game has in it. There is SOOOO much that you can do across the whole map, and with that you get even more access and control over settlements. You can do as much or as little as you like. You can make this work for you (which is my goal) or you can just be annoyed by the added "work" the game asks you do.
I really, really like this because you can focus on a settlement, build, and tweak it; yet still be leveling up. This is the same for crafting. Let me be clear on this; I HATE CRAFTING in most games. I find it annoying to have to try and figure out all the things you can make and what you need in order to do it. Case and point, I crafted one or two things in Fallout 3. First off, it took too long to get the "ability," and second it was pretty much useless.
In Fallout 4, one of the first things I did was craft and upgrade my gun. As soon as I saw that I gained experience points for doing so, I knew I would be doing it much more often. So, I try to upgrade all my weapons and my armor frequently. The other crafting I focus on is in the cooking station. I really enjoy being able to take the meats and such from defeated enemies and improve their quality in healing and aid, as well as gain experience points for each item cooked.
Rating: M for Mature
Now why is this?
Violence:
The game is crazy violent. They don't really hold back on that. There is an entire race of Super Mutants that basically eat humans. There literal sacks of gore laying around. I do wish for an option to turn off gore, but it would be an insane undertaking and re-haul of the game.
Using close quarter weapons can lead to a mess of gore as limbs and heads may come off as you fight. This also occurs when shooting shots, the worst being the head shot. Heads just pop right off. This is the way I play pretty much every game; headshot, headshot, headshot. So, I constantly have severed heads around in the game. Sadly, you won't avoid this if you don't play in this way. There are bodies all over because of the nature of the wasteland around you.
Language:
All NPCs pretty much have naughty mouths. Some more than others. I have been playing for hours and hours, and there are times I don't notice at all. Then someone attacks and says things that I certainly don't want to hear, and are certainly not fit for my kids. I, personally, like to play with a headset on so the kids don't hear much.
Drug Use:
This is a different one. I can't think of too many games that I have played in my life that have as much drug use as this one. I like the idea that you can get addicted to them, mainly because it throws a bit of real life into the mix. I do what I can to not use alcohol or many of the other drugs in the game. This is due to my personal beliefs (odd that I feel that way, but still will shoot or hit someone with a sword in the game), but mostly because becoming addicted to it in the game can be quite harmful.
Final Thoughts
Fallout 4 has amazing depth to it. If you don't enjoy getting totally caught up in all the extra stuff, then you still can play and blow through it. Yet if that is how you play, you are just not getting your money's worth. This game has more than it's fair share of content. If you are used to games with very linear storylines, then you will find yourself getting lost and wonder where you went wrong. The truth is, don't worry about getting lost. If you are 20 miles off your trail and exploring building after building, you are still playing the game the way it’s meant to be played. Just allow yourself to become immersed in it. This is what I enjoy most about Fallout 4. It can handle practically any play style, letting you make those choices in the way that you play. You are the one that make it fun.
So, have fun and game on, Nerds!
I give Fallout 4 a Talkin’ Nerdy rating of 9/10.
You can watch me live on Twitch : Openedeyes02
You can check out the full playthrough on Youtube : Openedeyes02
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