Fallout 4: A fanboy’s op-ed review

When I finished Fallout 3, the game left me with one desire: please let there be another installment soon.

Fallout New Vegas tried to fill the need, but opinions among Fallout fans were split. Some loved "West CoastFallout," replete with motorcycle gangs, delusional wannabe Romans, and one super-depressed kid named Boxcars. Others hoped for something more evolutionary, something that didn't just add to the Fallout universe but deeply improved upon it. For that sort of game, fans had to wait for Fallout 4. So we waited... for more than half a decade. And the wait was indeed worth it.

We've already run our review of the new game, but I wanted to offer a slightly different perspective: howFallout 4 feels to someone who is deeplyINVESTED

in the Fallout universe. That is, how it feels to a Falloutfanboy—which I'm proud to be. As such, I will look at the game only as it relates to Fallout 3 and to New Vegas, with no regard for how it stacks up to other titles in the RPG genre.

Bottom line: if you did not like Fallout 3, you are not going to like Fallout 4. The two games are built around theFallout pillars of random wasteland events, wild side quests, challenging character development, and a wide-open post-nuclear apocalyptic world. But if you're a Fallout series fan, it's time to clear some serious space on your calendar.

A winner

Fallout 4 looks and plays significantly better than Fallout 3, which is not a knock on Fallout 3 (now seven years old). Playing on the Xbox One, I tested Fallout 4 on both a 48-inch HD Samsung TV (five years old) and a 78-inch 4K Samsung TV (brand new).

The overall environment looks terrific. Downtown Boston is more colorful than the Capitol Wasteland, and its outskirts have more foliage. The environment exhibits changing weather, from storms to fallout to fog. The visual glitches that pop up don't bother me much, in part because I expect they will be fixed quickly. As for what won't be changed, yes, some of the scenery is bland and some of it is repetitive. But I think that's an acceptable trade-off. I can't think of any game this packed with content that doesn't reuse textures and buildings to some degree, and I'd rather have 100+ hours of repeatable gameplay than a world constrained by new art.Performance is better than Fallout 3 was at its release, but Fallout 4 is not without its glitches, particularly in the clipping department. I was saved from being totally annihilated by a Sentry Bot simply because it got stuck on a rock and I ran away. Once, I got stuck in a pile of car parts while in Power Armor. I couldn't get out. Autosave to the rescue.

The world of Fallout 4 is massive compared to Fallout 3, and Fallout 3 was breathtaking in its expanse. I've read reviews that say that the new graphics are unacceptable, but I can't agree. The graphics could be better, sure, but nothing about the game's visual design has diminished my enjoyment.

About Post Author

Unknown

Morbi leo risus, porta ac consectetur ac, vestibulum at eros. Fusce dapibus, tellus ac cursus commodo, tortor mauris condimentum nibh, ut fermentum massa justo sit amet risus.

Techno Savvy Club