Fallout 4 outshines predecessors

From the studio that brought us the life-consuming, relationship-destroying, and social-life-erasing world of Skyrim, comes Bethesda’s long-anticipated Fallout 4. It’s been just over seven years since the release of its predecessor, and the improvements and additions made to the game are significant, to say the least.

The game begins in a new, but familiar, pre-war Boston in the retro-futuristic year of 2077. A reminiscent threat of an atomic bomb is upon the human race, where the only hope of survival is ducking down into a safety bunker called Vault 111. Unlike in Fallout 3, the overall time spent in the vault is kept to a minimum, and the story’s character is brought to the beloved sandbox world to begin exploring and looting within the first hour of playing. The new world is packed with a staggering attention to detail; there are even beautiful, blue skies now and then to enjoy. Every single surface in the game is given a personality, it seems, and even the raindrops on the windows are an appreciated touch.

During the earliest enemy encounters, a friendly reunion with the “Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System” (VATS) comes into play. It’s easy to get carried away using this feature, so it’s nice to see that shooting enemies without it has gotten significantly more streamlined and much more interactive than it was in previous games.

One of the more involved changes is the addition of workbenches, where players can use almost anything they find in the field to upgrade their weapons and armor. Everything from pencils to duct tape are worth their weight in gold for weapon customizing, which inevitably leads to agonizing decisions that determine what stays and what goes.

Probably the most influential difference is the addition of companions. They are useful in battle, especially low-level combat, providing somewhat of an easier time defeating some of the early enemies. There are several companions encountered throughout the game, and all come along with their own pros and cons (some even have quest-altering perks to them).

Having only the most minor of drawbacks – the realism of the characters still needs some work, for instance – Bethesda’s newest creation is wonderfully executed, and fans will spend hours upon endless hours playing this game. It is filled with every bit of charm that made Fallout 3 a critical success, and has all of the potential to replace its predecessor as the Fallout game of choice.

Advocate Staff