Game Name: Fallout 4

Developer: Bathesda Game Studios

Publisher: Bathesda Softworks

Platforms: Xbox One, Playstation 4 and PC

Release Date: November 10th, 2015

Price: 79.99$ CAD (XBOX One)

Distribution: Downloadable or Physical Blu-Ray Disc

Introduction

Many players are looking to the new Fallout game coming this November. Many players are replaying through Fallout 3, Fallout: New Vegas and Fallout 4, to get back in the mood. I have started playing Fallout 3 myself to get a feel of how far we have come from that version to Fallout 4. Here is my review of Fallout 4.

Plot

The game starts pre-war and you are having a regular day. There is a salesman that comes to your door and tries to sell one of the last spots in what would become Vault 111. After the sales pitch, you agree and soon after there is an emergency and the emergency bells ring and you need to rush to the Vault. Once there, you are frozen along with your wife and your child Shaun.

After what is 200 years, you are thawed and while that you are thawing, you see your wife get shot in the head and your son is taken away. Your goal in this game is to get back your son Shaun.

Gameplay

If you have played previous Fallout games you will be familiar with the gameplay here. Once again you have your Pip-Boy and you use it in order to manage your inventory, see your quests and listen to the radio, amongst other uses.

As I mentioned in my previous post, there is an accompanying app for the Pip-Boy. At first I was not sold on it, however, I find it very useful for one main reason, the map. When you have the map opened while you walk in the Wasteland, you can actually see where you are going without pressing a button in the middle just to see if you are going in the right direction.

I really like the fact that you can have many different sidekicks. One of them is Dogmeat. Although he is a regular dog, he cannot die which is sweet. He is very good with the Feral Ghouls. It is nice to play with a companion and not be alone in the Wasteland. During the gameplay, you can play with other sidekicks as well, your robot servant Wadsworth for example.

The map is vast. There are so many places to visit and side quests to do, it is insane.

The controls are the same or similar as before. Nothing really to say here. Same old, same old.

A part of the game that I really love is the customization. You can customize your character to the look that you want. The choices are pretty much limitless. You can also name your character which is cool. It is not just for show as well. As you play other characters and robots will call you by your name which adds that little extra something. There are videos on YouTube about people creating foul language names and it is hilarious.

Along the same vein as the customization, is the building aspect. You can create settlements now and create anything that your heart desires. It is a nice addition to the game. If you have played Fallout: Shelter, you will be familiar with this. You can build your settlements and have your community grow and their happiness is in relation to how your build what the settlement needs. It adds another dimension to the game. You can spend a few nights just building your settlements. Some people have already gone bonkers.

Making, modding and updated your weapons is really well done here. It is clear what you need in order to make certain special weapons. This part I believe is the most improved.

Sample Settlements

Various Names

Mods

Mods are a big part of the game as well. You can create weapon mods, create funky vegetation and so one. The below video shows what you can do with the Mod functionality.

Glitches

There are many glitches with this game. They vary from system to system. It was expected. However I think this time around I have had more glitches in the little while that I have played than in previous games.

Glitch 1: When I first started the game, I had an issue with the audio. In order to hear the dialog I had to pause the game. Then when I would go back to the game, I would hear no sound but see only lips moving.

Glitch 2: There was instances when you walk into a building and Dogmeat seems to get stuck in the actual door. This happens quite often and you would figure that they would fix that. I guess it is in the nature of the game.

Glitch 3: At one point I loaded my saved game and I spawned in between the water and what would be the land. I guess that this

Glitch 3 Video

These are only a few but there are many many more, I am sure of it. If you have a glitch that you would like to share, send it to me vide Twitter or Facebook and I will share it on my feed.

Suggestions

As I mentioned above, you have sidekicks that can help you along the way. This could easily be a co-op game where you go through the game as 2 or more. I think that it would add a new dynamic to the game while keeping in the spirit of the single player mode. You can even add missions if you play co-op or quests that can only be played in CO-OP.

Although this game is fun to play, there are a lot of glitches which forces the player to constantly save. It is kind of annoying as I should not have to save every 3 seconds, wondering if the game will crash on me. I have seen game crashes a lot on Twitch Streams that I follow. It seems to happen a lot more on PC but that may be just me. They need to get those out and make the polish of the game better.

Another suggestion could be to look up other player settlements and download them. That could be fun.

Sample Gameplay

Bottomline

This game is fun. If you like storyline based games then this game is a treat for you. It is familiar enough for old friends of the franchise but I think they added just enough new features to keep players interested. But like all these types of games, it is not one that will take 5 minutes to finish. This should take me at least to the spring before I finish all the side quests.

I think that wondering through the Wasteland is as fun as ever, even with the glitches and the many save states. I think new players will be happy with this game as there is always something to do.

I think it is worth the pick up, especially since there are good deals with all the DLC now. There is no reason that you could not pick it up now and play.

What are your thoughts. You can leave a comment on my twitter or facebook page. The coordinates are below.

Rating: 9 Vault Dwellers out of 10

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