Video Game Review: Fallout 4

War, war never... yeah, you know it, no point in repeating the phrase.

Fallout 4 is the fourth instalment in the Fallout universe, fifth if you count New Vegas which is Obsidian's and there was also Fallout Tactics. Sod it, there's a bloody lot of this intellectual property going about.

Fallout 4 is a game which introduces you to the world of Fallout, an alternate reality in which technological advances happened during the late millennium which led to technological advances such as cars with fission batteries, crazy laser guns, sci-fi appliances pioneered by nuclear technology for near unlimited power. However, this led to an all out war in 2077 with America getting nuked following the Americans nuking Hiroshima.

So it's an amalgamation of 1940's-1950's American mid-west with picket fences, sweater vests, do-wop, boxcars (albeit boxcars with tiny atomic reactors inside), ragtime music, hair bouffants and a crazy sci-fi future.

So the game begins with you in your suburban American home being told by a representative at Vault Tec informing you you've got a place registered inside a vault for you. Vaults are underground housing-estates people go in for in the event of total nuclear annihilation. Immediately after that you're informed via the TV that total nuclear annihilation is currently in progress.

With your wife clutching your infant son, you run for safety and barely scrape it, almost getting mown down by the detonation blast.

Unfortunately, things take a turn for the worst.

Fallout 4 utilises an engine called the Creation engine used to make The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, a remapped version of the Gamebryo engine that birthed Fallout 3 and Oblivion, predecessors to each franchise respectively.
You can notice the similarities. In facial animation, character gestures and the VATS targeting system, this game reminds you that it's akin to its elders, but still sets itself apart.

Everything asked or outright demanded from the fans has been appeased. The level cap has been entirely scrapped and the crafting system and housing system remodelled. You can mod weapons, armour and decorate "settlements", small bases you unlock as you progress through the game. Additionally, you can move and place items and decorations around your settlement within a small area by changing to a semi "developer mode", additionally letting you scrap any item or bit of hapless scenery nearby.

Let's go for comparisons with a final sentence of how it adds to the game.

In Fallout 3, player housing was rudimentary. You bought a house for say, 5000. Then you'd choose the option of "furnish a room" for 1000 with other smaller options as well. The weapon modification system was also cruder. If you had specific parts like "a car battery", "copper wiring" and "A vinyl pressing of Neil Diamond's Greatest Hits" you could make a Cattle Prod or Electric Knife.

In Fallout 4, if you have a broken typewriter, a hubcap and a lightbulb you do not just have a broken typewriter, a hubcap and a lightbulb. You could make a laser pistol using screws and metal from the broken typewriter and a filament from the lightbulb. You can make steel girder walls to add to your settlement on to add armour padding using steel from the hubcaps.

All items now have uses.

In Fallout 3, the level cap was 20, but could be expanded to 25 and 30 with multiple level packs. You received 15  character perks, one every two levels.

In Fallout 4, you can level up as much as you want. You also get a perk each level to keep progression at a flurry. All perks now have tiers, meaning you can get 7 perks of each group, leading to 70 perks. However, these are divided into ranks leading to 275 ranks.

You can level essentially forever.

That's all people wanted, really. The game plays much like Fallout with the addition of a character dialogue wheel, which doesn't really detract from the game or add to it (Although dialogue can sound a bit soft or mumbled by NPC's) and VATS (Basically bullet-time) no longer freezes time but slows it. This adds a little bit of extra challenge on, but isn't too much of a gigantic change.

It's more of the same Fallout, but with a fresher spin showcasing that Bethesda are listening to audience and adapting to market trends.

Would recommend.











Minor other points of interest for returning players, to people unfamiliar with the game I will sound insane:

Feral Ghouls are now bloody terrifying, and are now zombies that will sprint at you like crazed demons, rag dolling and flopping over anything in the way including their own feet.

You can play hilarious video games on your PipBoy by finding special holotapes.

Comic Books and collectible items have different effects. For example, you can pick up books that allow you to change your power armour to a new colour or ones that will unlock areas on your map for exploration within the game.

Stimpaks no longer restore health immediately but instead give a minor health boost and then restore health over time, same deal with food and drink.

The Mysterious Stranger perk is entirely overpowered.

Falling with Power Armor no longer hurts you. Power Armor acts like a tank, only you need fusion cores to stay in them for extended periods of time.