Azurephile gives this a solid "Rad" on the Ghost Scale
This is fun, with very few issues, and is well worth your time.
Azurephile gives this a "Rad" on the Ghost Scale
This is fun, with very few issues, and is well worth your time.
My experience included:

  • S.P.E.C.I.A.L. point allocation uncertainty

  • Limited ammo and use of melee weapons

  • Crafting, settlement building, and looting everything

  • Realizing it’s not necessary to give companions Stimpaks

  • Radiant quests

  • Factions and having to choose sides

  • Issue/bug with one mission

  • Available choices in how to go about a quest and dialogue

  • Starting a new game to choose a different path
Pre-loading:
I was aware of Fallout 4 about the time when Bethesda showed it off at E3. I liked what they showed. Since I enjoyed Fallout 3 and New Vegas, I was sure I'd enjoy 4, although I didn't get too excited about it. I did finally pre-order the game on Steam, but it wasn't until launch day or hours before that I realized it was ready for “pre-loading.” It took me a few hours to get it downloaded and installed, but once it was ready, I jumped in.

S.P.E.C.I.A.L. allocation: My beginning with it was full of anxiety. I had no idea how I wanted to allocate my S.P.E.C.I.A.L. points at the beginning. So, I decided to even them all out. I actually restarted my game quite a few times. One of the reasons was because it seemed too difficult for my taste. Luckily, Travis brought it to my attention that you can change the game's difficulty level (at any time) under the game's options, something I overlooked. I also decided to max out my Strength stat because I was looting everything and getting encumbered. Then, I found the perk that increases your carrying capacity. I also learned that companions have a limited amount of weight they can carry.

I also felt that ammo was too limited. So, I ended up trying to kill almost everything with a melee weapon. Speaking of weapons, I was also overwhelmed with how many are in the game, I wasn't sure which pistols or rifles to carry around. I ended up carrying around many more than I actually used. I also didn't even try to mod them. I only modded my armor a couple of times to help me carry more weight. The only other kind of crafting that I did was giving a few settlements things they needed like defense turrets and repairing my Power Armor when needed. I also did a lot of cooking. I ended up mostly relying on those items to restore my health. Travis helped me realize that even though you can use Stimpaks on your companions, you probably should save them for yourself. It doesn't seem as though companions can die, but they can become helpless during battle if they take too much damage, unless you give them a Stimpak.

Radiant quests: Travis also helped me realize that the game's quests are very much like Skyrim, that is many of them are “radiant” or, in other words, never-ending. So, I ended up searching on Google to find out which quests were radiant and I ignored them, because I got tired of doing them after a while. I did run into some non-radiant side quests. I was trying to focus on them while ignoring the main quest line. Eventually, I decided to just go for it.

This was about when the game started to focus more on factions. Siding with different factions helps you gain allies, but it also creates enemies. This intensified later because I found out that two factions wanted the same thing from one location and the game forces you to decide which side to take. So you were given a choice as to go on to the mission or inform the other side. If you use the transportation provided by either side it will tell you that you will become an enemy of the other.

The only major technical issue I had with the game was when I got lost on a particular mission. I took an elevator back to the top of a building, because the game had me going around in circles. When I got to the top, the screen was totally black after it loaded that area. A few seconds later, I could see the world around me, but I fell to my death when I tried to move. So, I had to revert to a previous save which cost me a few hours of game play. In the end, I realized that I was supposed to be with someone on that mission, someone who wasn't there the first time I tried. I also forced this person to follow me by coaxing them into an elevator by moving in front of them, because I wasn't sure if the person would follow me to a lower floor.

Choices: I noticed other instances in which the game gave you the option of how to handle a situation, which could turn out in your favor or against you. During one in particular, I chose a path that didn't end very well, so I tried it again another way, which gave me a good result. Another mission started off badly if I didn't successfully convince another faction of my good intentions. A little later in the mission, I had to try to convince someone to join me, which failed every time until I decided to suit up in some clothing that increased my Charisma stat.

Eventually I became more comfortable with the game and how I was progressing as a player. After a while, I stopped looting everything, for instance. In conclusion, I think the game is good. I definitely recommend it for anyone who's played even a little bit of Fallout 3 and/or New Vegas and enjoyed it. In the end, the game forces you to choose sides, which can be a tough decision, but I think that just adds to the game's replay value.

I know I did not discover every place and I'm sure there's plenty that I missed, but I felt like I “finished” the game. However, since I picked one side and went with it, I decided to start a new game so I could play a bit differently and go along with the other side. One of the other main differences in this new game play is that I maxed out my Intelligence stat right away so I could get the most EXP possible right away. I think that will help me out greatly with leveling up and selecting the perks I want.

Travis   Admin wrote on 12/09/2015 at 10:33pm

" I took an elevator back to the top of a building, because the game had me going around in circles."

That was Hub 360 wasn't it? I hate that place. The markers never point you in the right direction.

Azurephile   Super Member   Post Author wrote on 12/10/2015 at 12:35am

No, the Mass Fusion building.

Azurephile   Super Member   Post Author wrote on 12/17/2015 at 09:55pm

I just want to correct myself very slightly on this post. "Radiant" quests don't necessarily mean "never-ending." They pretty much mean that they have some degree of randomness such as locations. However, as mentioned in Travis's review, there are some never-ending quests, which gets a bit old after while.

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