CT Phipps
Carbon Dated and Proud
I gave Fallout 4 a ten out of ten but I was grading on the curve. I enjoyed it and Dragon Age: Inquisition enough to play it 40+ hours (and ended up playing both 120+) but neither gave really felt as awesome as the Fallout 3, New Vegas, or Dragon Age: Origins which rank among my favorite video games of all time. Removed from the context of, "I enjoyed this more than most games by X margin" I'd like to discuss what I like and dislike about the game.
Pros
Companions: Fallout: New Vegas was a massive step forward in terms of Companions from Fallout 3 and I think they did a fantastic job with them here. Piper, Cait, Curie, Danse, Nick Valentine, and even Preston to some degree are all people I loved travelling with. Unfortunately, I feel like the game overstepped itself and it would have benefited from dialing it back a bit. More focus on a small cast of characters and you can garner a lot of good will.
Romances: Not a big deal for me but I did like it. I just felt it would have been better to have a lot more dialogue for them related to the fact the protagonist is a widower or widow. Then again, that plays into one of the biggest cons.
Fixing the Brotherhood of Steel: I very much enjoyed Elder Lyons Brotherhood of Steel but I think it makes the story retroactively better to have his character become a tragic reformer who, after his death, had everything good about his actions washed away by those who just saw the potential for power. Arthur Maxon being promoted to villain also makes his short appearance in Fallout 3 more interesting.
Destroying the Brotherhood of Steel: This is something which I felt is probably going to be controversial but I find the Brotherhood of Steel as antagonists much more effective than the Institute. They are capable, intelligent, and you understand exactly what they're going to be. I wish they had pressed this button harder but either way, the conflict with the BoS is the most intensive and enjoyable part of the game.
The Glowing Sea: Easily the best location in the entire vanilla game, the Glowing Sea is an enjoyable location to visit and the first place which actually feels like its as dangerous and magnificent as the Capital Wasteland. It's like visiting hell when you first go in and I could have done with a lot more there.
Diamond City: Is a good central hub location and I have to say that it stands up with Megaton and Rivet City. One of the thing I love about Bethesda is, even when they're doing really bad writing, they manage to come up with some visually stunning locales. Which is part of the problem with the game as they have a few gems in this game but they're drowned out in the larger pile of coal.
Vault 81: I can't help but wonder if they should have just skipped all the Buck Rogers nonsense and just had you come from here. The whole idea of a fully functioning idealized 1950s Vault which survives to this day (and still has minor Pre-War problems like adultery and sickness) works wonderfully.
Far Harbor: I really enjoyed this particular DLC for its writing but it suffers the opposite problem of Nuka World in that it is a bit of a boring setting with good writing. Still, again, I felt it had a lot more personality than the overworld of Fallout 4. Still, it becomes troublesome when you realize the Children of the Atom, Harbormen, and Arcadians have more personality than most of the main faction.
Nuka World: This is just a magical playground and I probably had more fun here than in the entirety of Fallout 4 as a hole. It's a beautifully designed visual treat and full of wonders and joys for exploration. Unfortunately, Nuka World just underscores how drab and dreary the main overworld is.
Humanized Raiders: One of the elements I disliked about Fallout 3 was the Raiders were treated as generic enemies. I love killing Raiders don't get me wrong. I'm fully 100% in support of Fallout the post-apocalyptic murder-simulator but I prefer when they have backstory. Having them have terminals talking about missing loved ones, power-structures, and hearing about the destruction of other gangs was a step in the right direction. Albeit, I was very annoyed by Talon Company Redux in the Gunners. They had a backstory but I wanted to join them in raiding the Commonwealth.
Neutral
Settlement Construction, Crafting, and Modding: I admit I had fun constructing Sanctuary Hills and my Red Rocket mansion but after that, I never wanted to touch anything ever again but there were dozens of settlements in front of me. I'm not a man interested in building Fallout legoes and it felt like the catering to this element took up massive amounts of the game. Modding armor, weapons, robots, and settlements is not what I came to Fallout for. I came to shoot some ghouls, dammit! Also, roleplay and explore!
I know people love this but it's just not my bag.
Minutemen: Rebuilding the Minutemen is actually fun until the retaking of the Fort from Dagon (err, sorry, the Mirelurk Queen) is over. After you do that, there's really just an endless series of Radiant quests and I can't help but dislike that. The fact Preston used to be my go-to companion but he started loading me down with Radiant quests didn't help matters either. I'm not against them but I think it should have been a "one and done" thing with another quest-giver than Garvy after you rebuild the Minutemen.
Travis: Just...Travis.
Power Armor Reimagined: I don't dislike making Power Armor into the hugely powerful bulky stuff which the original Fallout had it as being but the problem is that it suddenly felt way more complex than it should be after that. It fell into the pattern of modding and crafting with you needing to take it all the way back to your home versus having the Repair Skill and one click of a button. The fact it broke so much lore in the process didn't help matters either.
Cons
Poor Dialogue Writing and Acting for the Protagonist: Perhaps the worst element of the game is the fact the protagonists have one of the blandest portrayals I've ever seen. If they're going to voice the character then you should at least have them have some emotion to their lines. I think there's like three moments you have the option of expressing outrage or anger and those feel like fun. I remember I knew this game was screwed in terms of voicework when the writing had our hero talk about how he loved newspapers. I think the Silver Shroud is horribly written but it and sarcasm at least have emotion for what is a seriously ****ed up set of circumstances.
Linearity trumps all: I actually don't think the Fallout games have THAT much choice but at least you have the option of choosing how you react to things and people reacting to that. This game has 90% of the lines you make have almost no effect on events. The papers line is especially noticeable because no matter what you say, the Mayor and Piper will react identically.
There's only one real choice in the game, two if you count murdering the Commie Submarine Captain, and that's the choice of faction. The game didn't need choices in terms of being able to effect things, really, but at least you should be able to control your own character. Call Arthur Maxson a Nazi, try to offer peace with the Brotherhood w/ the Institute or Railroad even if they reject it, call out Shaun for its atrocities, or become a murdering Bandit.
Eeesh.
The Commonwealth: The Commonwealth feels like a gigantic radioactive swamp. Diamond City, the Glowing Sea, and the Institute are the only memorable locations I can really think of in the game. Sanctuary Hills was fine as a burnt-out suburban dream but large portions of the game are just repetitions of "farmers, grass, and barns." I hated the underground tunnels of the Capital Wasteland but at least they conjured a proper feeling of terror and uncertainty. It's why I'm such a big fan of Nuka World because it's such a hugely different sort of place.
The Bland Villainy of the Institute: The Institute feels a bit like Father Elijah in that they have a banal sort of evil to them in that they do horrible unimaginable things but don't really seem to register any of it. In a series which is all about wacky mad science, I was expecting scientists out to rule the world and instead I got the kind of doddering academics I worked with at Marshall University. I really wish they'd made Shaun out to be a proper Emperor Scientist or had the Institute have some sort of consistent vision as they're clearly incompetent in this reality and that being something of the point doesn't make it better.
The Railroad is fun but doesn't feel like an actual faction: It's been commented repeatedly the Railroad has no vision for the Commonwealth, which isn't their bag so it's not really a flaw, but their prominence next to the other factions feels confusing as a result. I also feel like there's a disconnect between their devotion and the prominence of Synths in the Commonwealth. How did they get so big? Why do they focus on Synths over helping people in general? How did everyone get recruited? I feel like we needed a backstory like the Railroad being made primarily of ex-Institute personnel exiled after a conflict of some kind or that they'd be a much smaller Atom Cats-like group.
Pros
Companions: Fallout: New Vegas was a massive step forward in terms of Companions from Fallout 3 and I think they did a fantastic job with them here. Piper, Cait, Curie, Danse, Nick Valentine, and even Preston to some degree are all people I loved travelling with. Unfortunately, I feel like the game overstepped itself and it would have benefited from dialing it back a bit. More focus on a small cast of characters and you can garner a lot of good will.
Romances: Not a big deal for me but I did like it. I just felt it would have been better to have a lot more dialogue for them related to the fact the protagonist is a widower or widow. Then again, that plays into one of the biggest cons.
Fixing the Brotherhood of Steel: I very much enjoyed Elder Lyons Brotherhood of Steel but I think it makes the story retroactively better to have his character become a tragic reformer who, after his death, had everything good about his actions washed away by those who just saw the potential for power. Arthur Maxon being promoted to villain also makes his short appearance in Fallout 3 more interesting.
Destroying the Brotherhood of Steel: This is something which I felt is probably going to be controversial but I find the Brotherhood of Steel as antagonists much more effective than the Institute. They are capable, intelligent, and you understand exactly what they're going to be. I wish they had pressed this button harder but either way, the conflict with the BoS is the most intensive and enjoyable part of the game.
The Glowing Sea: Easily the best location in the entire vanilla game, the Glowing Sea is an enjoyable location to visit and the first place which actually feels like its as dangerous and magnificent as the Capital Wasteland. It's like visiting hell when you first go in and I could have done with a lot more there.
Diamond City: Is a good central hub location and I have to say that it stands up with Megaton and Rivet City. One of the thing I love about Bethesda is, even when they're doing really bad writing, they manage to come up with some visually stunning locales. Which is part of the problem with the game as they have a few gems in this game but they're drowned out in the larger pile of coal.
Vault 81: I can't help but wonder if they should have just skipped all the Buck Rogers nonsense and just had you come from here. The whole idea of a fully functioning idealized 1950s Vault which survives to this day (and still has minor Pre-War problems like adultery and sickness) works wonderfully.
Far Harbor: I really enjoyed this particular DLC for its writing but it suffers the opposite problem of Nuka World in that it is a bit of a boring setting with good writing. Still, again, I felt it had a lot more personality than the overworld of Fallout 4. Still, it becomes troublesome when you realize the Children of the Atom, Harbormen, and Arcadians have more personality than most of the main faction.
Nuka World: This is just a magical playground and I probably had more fun here than in the entirety of Fallout 4 as a hole. It's a beautifully designed visual treat and full of wonders and joys for exploration. Unfortunately, Nuka World just underscores how drab and dreary the main overworld is.
Humanized Raiders: One of the elements I disliked about Fallout 3 was the Raiders were treated as generic enemies. I love killing Raiders don't get me wrong. I'm fully 100% in support of Fallout the post-apocalyptic murder-simulator but I prefer when they have backstory. Having them have terminals talking about missing loved ones, power-structures, and hearing about the destruction of other gangs was a step in the right direction. Albeit, I was very annoyed by Talon Company Redux in the Gunners. They had a backstory but I wanted to join them in raiding the Commonwealth.
Neutral
Settlement Construction, Crafting, and Modding: I admit I had fun constructing Sanctuary Hills and my Red Rocket mansion but after that, I never wanted to touch anything ever again but there were dozens of settlements in front of me. I'm not a man interested in building Fallout legoes and it felt like the catering to this element took up massive amounts of the game. Modding armor, weapons, robots, and settlements is not what I came to Fallout for. I came to shoot some ghouls, dammit! Also, roleplay and explore!
I know people love this but it's just not my bag.
Minutemen: Rebuilding the Minutemen is actually fun until the retaking of the Fort from Dagon (err, sorry, the Mirelurk Queen) is over. After you do that, there's really just an endless series of Radiant quests and I can't help but dislike that. The fact Preston used to be my go-to companion but he started loading me down with Radiant quests didn't help matters either. I'm not against them but I think it should have been a "one and done" thing with another quest-giver than Garvy after you rebuild the Minutemen.
Travis: Just...Travis.
Power Armor Reimagined: I don't dislike making Power Armor into the hugely powerful bulky stuff which the original Fallout had it as being but the problem is that it suddenly felt way more complex than it should be after that. It fell into the pattern of modding and crafting with you needing to take it all the way back to your home versus having the Repair Skill and one click of a button. The fact it broke so much lore in the process didn't help matters either.
Cons
Poor Dialogue Writing and Acting for the Protagonist: Perhaps the worst element of the game is the fact the protagonists have one of the blandest portrayals I've ever seen. If they're going to voice the character then you should at least have them have some emotion to their lines. I think there's like three moments you have the option of expressing outrage or anger and those feel like fun. I remember I knew this game was screwed in terms of voicework when the writing had our hero talk about how he loved newspapers. I think the Silver Shroud is horribly written but it and sarcasm at least have emotion for what is a seriously ****ed up set of circumstances.
Linearity trumps all: I actually don't think the Fallout games have THAT much choice but at least you have the option of choosing how you react to things and people reacting to that. This game has 90% of the lines you make have almost no effect on events. The papers line is especially noticeable because no matter what you say, the Mayor and Piper will react identically.
There's only one real choice in the game, two if you count murdering the Commie Submarine Captain, and that's the choice of faction. The game didn't need choices in terms of being able to effect things, really, but at least you should be able to control your own character. Call Arthur Maxson a Nazi, try to offer peace with the Brotherhood w/ the Institute or Railroad even if they reject it, call out Shaun for its atrocities, or become a murdering Bandit.
Eeesh.
The Commonwealth: The Commonwealth feels like a gigantic radioactive swamp. Diamond City, the Glowing Sea, and the Institute are the only memorable locations I can really think of in the game. Sanctuary Hills was fine as a burnt-out suburban dream but large portions of the game are just repetitions of "farmers, grass, and barns." I hated the underground tunnels of the Capital Wasteland but at least they conjured a proper feeling of terror and uncertainty. It's why I'm such a big fan of Nuka World because it's such a hugely different sort of place.
The Bland Villainy of the Institute: The Institute feels a bit like Father Elijah in that they have a banal sort of evil to them in that they do horrible unimaginable things but don't really seem to register any of it. In a series which is all about wacky mad science, I was expecting scientists out to rule the world and instead I got the kind of doddering academics I worked with at Marshall University. I really wish they'd made Shaun out to be a proper Emperor Scientist or had the Institute have some sort of consistent vision as they're clearly incompetent in this reality and that being something of the point doesn't make it better.
The Railroad is fun but doesn't feel like an actual faction: It's been commented repeatedly the Railroad has no vision for the Commonwealth, which isn't their bag so it's not really a flaw, but their prominence next to the other factions feels confusing as a result. I also feel like there's a disconnect between their devotion and the prominence of Synths in the Commonwealth. How did they get so big? Why do they focus on Synths over helping people in general? How did everyone get recruited? I feel like we needed a backstory like the Railroad being made primarily of ex-Institute personnel exiled after a conflict of some kind or that they'd be a much smaller Atom Cats-like group.
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