2015 left us with some amazing releases and even more anticipation for games to be released in 2016 (No Man’s Sky, I’m looking at you!). However, one of the most anticipated games of 2015 was Bethesda’s RPG-shooter, Fallout 4. It seems in the gaming community as of late, that it has fallen off the face of the planet nearly. Let’s first go back and talk about November 10, 2015.
Day 1: Steam users have pre-downloaded the 28 GB of curiosity. Those who prefer the hard copies have lined up at Gamestop or any other local store of your choosing. Leaks are coming in from all over! The first glitch is found with the S.P.E.C.I.A.L. book, and people are sending in criticisms before getting 5 hours into the game. I’ve sent emails to all my professors reading, “I’m sorry I cannot attend class for the remainder of the week, I will be out of town.”
Oh and was I ever. When the game released, it was an all out splurge from every gamer who could dedicate as much time as possible to the game. Transporting us all the post-nuclear Boston, we were long gone from society.
Target released a small line of Fallout merch, including a beanie, trucker hat, mystery figurines, and the coveted Nuka-cola Quantum; which is only a rebranded Jones Berry Lemonade. Those sodas, by the way, will cost you around 50 dollars a bottle now, seeing as they sold out within an hour at every Target in the US.
After participating in your shopping frenzy and staying up until midnight to get the game, we started to learn some things about the game. It’s a little more…shooter. Rather than RPG. Don’t get me wrong, it’s great, but compared to Bethesda’s last major hit, Skyrim, I feel the constant need to engage in combat and level my Vault Dweller and grind before it became easy to explore and learn about the lore and history of Boston. If you can get aside that, the next hurdle is gonna be how graphically…boring…the game is. The vanilla textures look completely the same on Medium to Ultra graphics. Considering this is a consumer pleasing game, they chose to pander to a wider audience, allowing gamers of varying rigs and budgets to afford the game.
As for big nuisances, that’s honestly about it. The game packs a very charming system and color scheme. The dialogue, although not as funny for low intelligence builds anymore, is fantastic, and the introduction of voices, including a female Vault Dweller, has been astronomical for the outreach of the game. Some main personalities you will encounter are your trusty Mr. Handy, Codsworth. My personal favorite is going to be Nick Valentine, even though he is unbelievably judgmental. As we all have experienced, our interaction with survivors leads us to the leader of the Minutemen, Preston Garvey. There has never been someone I avoid actively in a video game, like I do Preston. I would rather encounter a Deathclaw randomly every 15 minutes than be constantly sent out to help new settlements. Thankfully, someone has made a mod for that. Leaving spoilers aside, there’s a tone to explore on the slightly small, yet, JAM PACKED map.
After 2 playthroughs of about 80 hours each, I decided to put the game down a bit and wait for more mods and DLC to come out. In 2016 we have a lot to look forward to in the development of Fallout 4. The creation kit will be around shortly, but as of now, the Nexus Mods website has seen quite the progress in mods. from a Randy Savage deathclaw, to the 4k Pip-Boy retextures, there is nothing this community wants that it won’t make. The landscape overhauls and tweaks to interface are going to be the most revolutionizing in order to make the experience go from an 8 to a 10. DLC for Fallout 4 is still unreleased, but we feel the storm a-brewing, Bethesda.
Do I think this will stand the test of time like Skyrim did? Absolutely. Both games have elements giving high replay values, and the relatability from Fallout 4 and the charm give it a characteristic that pulls on the survivalist in all of us.
Extra credit: This soundtrack, even though half recycled from the previous Fallout, is great, yet repetitive. It’s perfect for the tone of the game, and nothing could compare. Diamond City Radio, you stole my heart, now just to work on Travis’ DJ skills…
TL;DR: Fallout 4 was a very hyped game, met expectations for a short while, now we are all waiting for the creations and mods to come out and revamp the game, giving it more life in different ways the base game couldn’t.
