Unread postby jgkitarel » November 13th, 2015, 4:48 pm
Ok, after quite a bit of playing outside of my main commitments, here's my impressions.
Gameplay: If you've played Falliut 3 or Fallout: New Vegas, the gameplay is very familiar. The S.P.E.C.I.A.L setup provides tweaks for gameplay, but, and I have done the math for this, it would take over 250 levels to max out all of the perks. The V.A.T.S system has been tweaked a little, though still very much the same system as has been in place, but it works a bit more smoothly in my opinion. Considering how long it's been since I played Fallout 3, I can't remember how the weapon switching really worked and what limitations it had, but in this, you can have up to 12 weapons (or grenades, or health items) set to your controller for easy selection, if you're using a controller. Don't know about keyboard controls on this, yet.
Story: Being a sandbox, the story is fairly simple, with it basically being what you want it to be. Yes, you have the overarching plot to provide some direction, but the sidequests will keep you occupied nicely. Also, more than a few sidequests become mandatory to advance the story. Considering that a completionist is going to do them anyway, that's not a major problem. Still, it's not bad and you know that you will end up picking a side.
Note, the absence of a karma meter indicates that this game is going to be very morally grey, with every side having a legitimate point.
The Main Factions:
Commonwealth Minutemen - The first faction you are likely to run in to. These guys are basically a local militia that is being rebuilt. At the same time, they are your means to found settlements in The Commonwealth. In terms of firepower and influence, they are the weakest starting out, but you have a chance to build them up in strength and influence. Still, this being the world of Fallout, it is doubtful that they will ever amount to much, especially since the organization was in the process of disintegrating when you helped them get their act together. Unambiguously good guys.
Brotherhood of Steel - These guys again? Well, outside of a brief bit of the East Coast branch trying to moderate its views, they're not nice. Better than the West Coast Brotherhood, which got what it deserved, but still not nice. The Brotherhood of Steel in Fallout 4 is extremist, but is actually trying to do good. Frankly, this is the group I'm most likely to side with in the main game simply because of all the factions, they're the ones who are likely to have a lasting impact.
The Institute: Starting out, they're the bad guys. Haven't gotten them opened up yet, so I can't tell how morally grey they are without hunting for spoilers, but this being Fallout, they're a group you will have a chance to work with. Considering that they kidnapped our protagonist's son for as yet unexplained reasons, we're going to find out if the protagonist will even have a reason for that, besides us deciding to work with the "bad" guys. The absence of a karma meter indicates that they might not be as bad as the rest of the Commonwealth thinks. Well, I'm close to that point, so I will find out! :P
Also, I have to punch you, jgkitarel, because I spent a lot of time on the nanoha wiki trying to locate information on mages being trained due to being above a certain rank, only to remember and confirm that you were the one that came up with that. - Phht
Don't forget: Mass Effect is powered by magic space rocks. Evangelion is powered by Your Mom.
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Long Night of the Harvest
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Mystic Knight Online