Fallout 4 Review

©BETHESDA SOFTWORKS LLC

Welcome Home! Bethesda's newest entry into the Fallout series delivers in lots of ways. Playing through the previous Fallout games was a lot of fun and after spending about a week and a half playing Fallout 4 I can honestly say it’s one of the best in the series. There is just so much to discover and explore that after beating the main missions it only makes me want to go back and complete them in as many different ways as I can. You can easily get lost in this world and if you aren't careful you can blink and suddenly realize that you’ve lost a lot of time doing side quests.
 
There were a few issues I had with the game however that do warrant a mention. First of all, the music. As much as I loved Fallout 3 and its soundtrack I do wonder why Bethesda decided to keep much of the same music in this new title. Don't get me wrong I love the music but after only hearing a few new songs things quickly start to get repetitive. The new songs are a welcome addition though and do a fantastic job keeping me entertained. Second, the building mode is a little difficult to get used to. Now this one could just be me but I really didn't like the building mode too much. It’s fun to build your own community and have a place you can call your own in the wasteland but making sure everything fits perfectly is a bit of a challenge. Often I found myself accidentally picking up walls and moving them or making duplicates of an item I didn’t intend to.

©BETHESDA SOFTWORKS LLC

Next up are the graphics. The game looks amazing especially on a monitor running it at 1080p.  There are instances though where textures won’t load properly and things don’t always look as sharp as they should. Frame rate also takes a dive when multiple enemies spawn in a room or in an enclosed space. Also, when an explosion happens there are moments where the screen goes choppy. Overall there weren’t many issues I had running it on my PlayStation 4, but these are worth mentioning.

©BETHESDA SOFTWORKS LLC

Missions randomly start depending on what you do. One moment you’re walking past someone and, after overhearing a conversation they are having, a quest starts. Others require finding a note or a hidden holo-log in order for it to begin. Characters can sometimes go up to you and ask for help and that’s a really great way to progress the stories within the game. In one instance I found a random note on the ground and suddenly found myself looking for weapons. While doing that I encountered an old man who wanted me to turn on some turrets for him while fighting off mirelurks which rewarded me with a very powerful sniper rifle.
 
Leveling up feels natural and there are tons of ways to earn xp as well as bonus xp. Your companions give you perks to help you along your way and make your gameplay easier. Once your relationships with certain companions reach their highest point, you have an opportunity to romance them and get addition bonus xp with the perk “lover’s embrace”. There are plenty of perks to cater to different play styles. If you want to be a brawler and beat up the creatures of the wasteland try maxing out the Iron Fist perk. Combine it with the Blacksmith perk to add more upgrades to your melee weapons. If you want to be stealthy try maxing out Sneak and combining it with Ninja to add more accuracy and damage to your sneak attacks.

©BETHESDA SOFTWORKS LLC

One of the things I enjoyed a lot was being able to see the world before the bombs fell. Walking around a perfect house and seeing everything shiny and new made me appreciate the art style of the game. All of a sudden you hear the announcement that bombs are beginning to fall and you get to walk out of your home and see the bright colors. Running to the shelter you see the beautiful colors of fall and how clean the water is and in that slow decent into the vault you know the world will never be the same again. The contrast between the living world and the cold dead wasteland is an amazing thing to experience and starts the game off very well. The story is a little slow at first and really tries its best to drag you along, but once you emerge from the vault things get interesting. You are immediately thrown into a fire fight all leading up to an epic battle with a vicious Deathclaw. If anything, this battle is a painful reminder as to why the Deathclaw is one of the deadliest enemies in the game. Eventually a few deaths later I found myself wanting more and so began my adventure in the wasteland.

©BETHESDA SOFTWORKS LLC

After about 100 or so hours into the game it is safe to say that I still have not even scratched the surface of all this game has to offer and it’s still proving to be a very enjoyable experience. I can’t wait to keep playing and exploring every single area that I’m able to go. There are a lot of ways I can play this game and I have no shame in pouring so many more hours into this game. In the end I would say that this game is an amazing one and is just shy of being perfect. Bethesda took the greatest parts of their previous entries and expanded on them and I would recommend this game to anyone who is looking for an amazing single player experience.
 
Note: This review is based on the PlayStation 4 version of Fallout 4. I have also played it on Xbox One and could not find any differences between the console versions. Feel free to play it on any platform you choose and have fun!

-Nestor

Graphics: Great
Sound: Great
Gameplay: Amazing
Value: Great
 
Overall: Amazing