Viridian Dreams Forum

Well, with less than 24 hours to go until the game goes live, anyone else looking forward to it?

Already got it pre-loaded.

Well, I have to give Bethesda some credit here. The world is beautifully imagined and done, the graphics are crisp, and there are even more horrors and nasties wandering around at times. On the other hand, the Commonwealth is certainly a less crapsack world. Still a crapsack world, but there is actually some optimism involved.

Well, that and the usual suspects who will start making things get worse as the game goes on.

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

I've beaten it once, so far, and...its a hell of a ride. A hell of an awesome ride that you can continue after completing the main story. That alone makes it worth it. Doesn't hurt that there's always more places to go, things to do, and epic enemies to kill. Seriously, even though I'm at the point where I can kill a regular deathclaw in, like...5 shots with my souped-up assault rifle (kept it semi-auto because full-auto just wastes ammo), they're still one of those "oh shit" enemies if they ever get the jump on you. Haven't found one of the chameleon deathclaws, yet, and don't know if I want to because that sounds HORRIFYING. And also awesome. I like most of the companions, so far, and the settlement building is freaking sweet. Partially because I'm anal and that pays off when you're first building in one, since cleaning up the debris nets you lots of resources. That, and I get so excited when my settlements get attacked, if only to watch my automated defenses absolutely RIP through the raider filth that dares attack my growing state.

PROTIP: The heavy (tier 2) machine gun turrets are BEASTLY. If you place them high up to where they have a good field of view, they can tear through enemies like they're made of wet paper. I've personally seen my guns that I put on the Castle decimate an army of mirelurks (including hunters and at least one king) in seconds. They also don't require power, meaning you can save on building generators, meaning you can use those resources to make EVEN MORE GUNS!

Oh, one final thing, stabbing people is a good way to kill, especially if you do lots drugs. Namely, med-x, psycho, buffout, and some whiskey. Apparently, being drunk, immune to pain, roided out, and insane with rage turns a combat knife into something out of a freaking horror movie, since you can cleave through friggin super mutants with ease.

We need a new fallout!

I'd say we need a new Fallout on a new engine. Fallout 4 looks good compared to games 5 years ago, imho.