So everyone knows it's the end of that time of year (the holidays). I don't know if any of you celebrate a holiday or if you celebrate the same holiday, but I got Fallout 4 on Xbox One for Christmas! Though it's not my preferable console (I own it solely for exclusives like Halo), I was still very excited as Fallout is a very enjoyable franchise that I love. My first game was Fallout 3, which I loved as a great Fallout game. I played the rest of the series as well, but (until now) Fallout 3 has always been my favorite.
Without further ado, however, the review. Note that the following is based on my first 3 hours with the game.
Without getting into spoilers, the beginning of the game starts you off peacefully as to not throw you into turmoil immediately. It walks you through simple game mechanics, the perk system, interacting with objects, etc. It's pretty straightforward stuff, but what I mainly liked was the amount of dialogue you're given by NPC's. Normally in games, you get 1-2 lines of dialogue before the NPC starts repeating itself. In the beginning of Fallout 4, however, you're given quite a good amount of dialogue (sometimes expository, sometimes amusing) before the NPC starts repeating itself. This stood out to me because I'm more of a story person but I still believe gameplay is important of course.
The character customization at the beginning is more free than Fallout 3, from my experience. It gives you a wide array of hairstyles to choose from, allows you to change a variety of features on your face and body. Something I found interesting after making multiple saves with different characters is that the baby you take care of in the beginning takes a different appearance based on the character/couple you make. It's always good to have dynamic elements!
Without getting too much into detail, events occur and you're eventually taken out of the tranquil place you originated from to be taken into a place called Vault 111. Though your time here is short-spent at the beginning, it's very successful at making you feel strange; as if you didn't belong there. The game teaches you about the Pip-Boy, terminal hacking, etc. in the Vault. As you progress, you can feel the character you created getting more "battle-hardened" or more tense. By the time you leave the Vault and enter the Wasteland, the world you lived in before and the world you live in now feel very different.
You eventually get used to the looting system and meet an old friend in the home you used to live in. Here, you get a more sufficient taste of combat and the companion aspect of the game, both of which feel fresh. Something I feel needs to be said is that the shooting in Fallout 4 is much more fluid and controllable than Fallout 3. (Shooting in Fallout 3 was an absolute nightmare, and you basically needed VATS for combat) VATS, instead of completely halting the world like in Fallout 3, slows down the combat and still gives the notion of danger instead of a safe haven.
VATS is a combat system that relies instead on distance, accuracy, and points called AP. The closer your enemy is and the more visible, the better chance you have of hitting that certain spot on the body that you wish to attack. However, if you have spent your AP (things like sprinting and using VATS spends AP), you cannot use VATS until it refills automatically over time.
By the time you get to the next area, you already have a fresh taste of combat giving you the chance to take out the enemies that the game throws at you without fail (unless, of course, you're new to the game and still don't know how to play). I was pleased to find that the game was not entirely a breeze, as even the most seasoned player could die easily if not properly equipped or too low of a level.
After you enter a certain building, you are once again treated to more combat until you get to your first batch of real NPC's.
These NPC's eventually pave the way to one of the most anticipated parts of the game: The Power Armor. Though I feel it's too early in the game to introduce such a powerful suit for you to use, I was pleased to see that you had a limited time to use the Power Armor and it was not indestructible. (The game proved this by sending a VERY powerful enemy your way after obtaining the armor) Though I have not played through much of the game after that, I did poke around doing quests here and there to get a better taste of the game. The quests are very straightforward and are very rewarding as they usually give you more levels and more perks to upgrade as you level up.
These perks would ultimately decide what kind of character you are and how skilled you are in certain areas of the game.
Although this isn't my most comprehensive review, I have been pleased with Fallout 4 thus far and would recommend this game to those who would like to try it.
I give this game a:
9.2/10
+ More fluid combat
+ NPC's are more interactive
+ Character customization gives you wide array of choices
+ VATS is improved
- Very early introduction of an item that took much of Fallout 3 to obtain
So everyone knows it's the end of that time of year (the holidays). I don't know if any of you celebrate a holiday or if you celebrate the same holiday, but I got Fallout 4 on Xbox One for Christmas! Though it's not my preferable console (I own it solely for exclusives like Halo), I was still very excited as Fallout is a very enjoyable franchise that I love. My first game was Fallout 3, which I loved as a great Fallout game. I played the rest of the series as well, but (until now) Fallout 3 has always been my favorite.
Without further ado, however, the review. Note that the following is based on my first 3 hours with the game.
Without getting into spoilers, the beginning of the game starts you off peacefully as to not throw you into turmoil immediately. It walks you through simple game mechanics, the perk system, interacting with objects, etc. It's pretty straightforward stuff, but what I mainly liked was the amount of dialogue you're given by NPC's. Normally in games, you get 1-2 lines of dialogue before the NPC starts repeating itself. In the beginning of Fallout 4, however, you're given quite a good amount of dialogue (sometimes expository, sometimes amusing) before the NPC starts repeating itself. This stood out to me because I'm more of a story person but I still believe gameplay is important of course.
The character customization at the beginning is more free than Fallout 3, from my experience. It gives you a wide array of hairstyles to choose from, allows you to change a variety of features on your face and body. Something I found interesting after making multiple saves with different characters is that the baby you take care of in the beginning takes a different appearance based on the character/couple you make. It's always good to have dynamic elements!
Without getting too much into detail, events occur and you're eventually taken out of the tranquil place you originated from to be taken into a place called Vault 111. Though your time here is short-spent at the beginning, it's very successful at making you feel strange; as if you didn't belong there. The game teaches you about the Pip-Boy, terminal hacking, etc. in the Vault. As you progress, you can feel the character you created getting more "battle-hardened" or more tense. By the time you leave the Vault and enter the Wasteland, the world you lived in before and the world you live in now feel very different.
You eventually get used to the looting system and meet an old friend in the home you used to live in. Here, you get a more sufficient taste of combat and the companion aspect of the game, both of which feel fresh. Something I feel needs to be said is that the shooting in Fallout 4 is much more fluid and controllable than Fallout 3. (Shooting in Fallout 3 was an absolute nightmare, and you basically needed VATS for combat) VATS, instead of completely halting the world like in Fallout 3, slows down the combat and still gives the notion of danger instead of a safe haven.
VATS is a combat system that relies instead on distance, accuracy, and points called AP. The closer your enemy is and the more visible, the better chance you have of hitting that certain spot on the body that you wish to attack. However, if you have spent your AP (things like sprinting and using VATS spends AP), you cannot use VATS until it refills automatically over time.
By the time you get to the next area, you already have a fresh taste of combat giving you the chance to take out the enemies that the game throws at you without fail (unless, of course, you're new to the game and still don't know how to play). I was pleased to find that the game was not entirely a breeze, as even the most seasoned player could die easily if not properly equipped or too low of a level.
After you enter a certain building, you are once again treated to more combat until you get to your first batch of real NPC's.
These NPC's eventually pave the way to one of the most anticipated parts of the game: The Power Armor. Though I feel it's too early in the game to introduce such a powerful suit for you to use, I was pleased to see that you had a limited time to use the Power Armor and it was not indestructible. (The game proved this by sending a VERY powerful enemy your way after obtaining the armor) Though I have not played through much of the game after that, I did poke around doing quests here and there to get a better taste of the game. The quests are very straightforward and are very rewarding as they usually give you more levels and more perks to upgrade as you level up.
These perks would ultimately decide what kind of character you are and how skilled you are in certain areas of the game.
Although this isn't my most comprehensive review, I have been pleased with Fallout 4 thus far and would recommend this game to those who would like to try it.
I give this game a:
9.2/10
+ More fluid combat
+ NPC's are more interactive
+ Character customization gives you wide array of choices
+ VATS is improved
- Very early introduction of an item that took much of Fallout 3 to obtain
- I did run into some glitches, but not too many