By Robb Dolen – Columnist
One of the most anticipated games of this year, “Fallout 4,” is a great successor to the previous “Fallout” game.
“Fallout 4” is an open-world, post-apocalyptic role-playing game. The player is a survivor living in the 200-year aftermath of a nuclear explosion in a place called the Commonwealth of Boston, a retrofuture inspired by 1960s style.
The story begins on a normal day turned horrible in the year 2077 after a barrage of nuclear explosions hit the United States. The player, who can be man or woman depending on the player’s choice, awakens from an experimental cryogenics-induced coma in an underground vault. The player has to escape the vault to rescue their son, who is taken from a cryogenic pod by raiders as the spouse is killed.
This would be the setup for an interesting storyline but, like other entries in the series, “Fallout 4” encourages the exploration of its massive world and side quests but fails to gather enough interest for the main quest line to take the spotlight.
The side quests are varied and interesting, exemplifying the many different post-apocalyptic mindsets that result from the end of civilization.
Most would see this as a misstep in game development, but the world of “Fallout 4” capitalizes on the desire for exploration with an immense and delicately-crafted nuclear wasteland.
The attention to detail is amazing; the bombed-out towns, rotted forests, irradiated rivers and lakes, abandoned “Vault-Tec” fallout shelters, makeshift cities and so much more feel unique with each area filled with resources and the remnants of civilization.
Within the wasteland there are many enemies. There are raiders, scavengers, mutated animals or humans and even bigger, unique monsters. There are legendary versions of enemies as well that are more powerful and have a special mutation mechanic that regenerates their health once per battle, making them even harder to kill.
The gunplay in “Fallout 4” is a huge upgrade from its predecessors. In contrast, guns in “Fallout 3” felt stiff and relied heavily on the Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System (VATS), which slows down time and pinpoints weaknesses on the enemy’s body that the player could exploit. VATS is still present in “Fallout 4,” but normal shooting is a much more viable option now because the guns feel more responsive and have natural feedback when aiming and firing.
“Fallout 4” has an enormous list of items like resources, armor and weapons that all serve a different purpose. The player uses the Pip-Boy, a bulky retro wristwatch that acts as a portable computer and tracks items and information, although the menus are a little clunky and unnecessarily complicated. You can also use the Pip-Boy to view the world map, check radio frequencies and keep track of various quests.
There are many options in “Fallout 4” to make it your own individual experience – weapon-crafting and modification, armor-crafting and modification and the brand-new settlement building system.
Weapon- and armor-crafting systems are robust and tactical, giving you many options while also weighing them with other factors such as weapon damage, weight, accuracy, power and more. The building system allows you to create a settlement and manage a group of survivors, but sometimes making a structure can be tedious and finicky.
“Fallout 4” is a superb successor to the previous entries that, despite some minor quirks, feels like a properly fleshed out post-apocalyptic survival RPG. This game is very addicting and will capture your attention for several months for sure.