Tag Archives: Fallout

Fallout 4: Settle or Wander?

Oh, I’m the type the guy who’ll never settle down. I’m never in one place. I roam from town to town.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3IlHBBGCIw

Every time this commercial comes on, I find myself whistling the song from that point on. This advertisement has become iconic with the game, for good reason. It sets the mood with it’s older sense of style, contrasted with the bleakness of the Commonwealth.

What’s interesting though is that Fallout 4, more than any other entry in the series, gives an equal option to settle as well as wander.

Sure, every denizen of the Wasteland must scavenge to survive, picking up cans for their all too precious aluminum or lighters for the oil. However, the addition of the rather deep building mechanics gives players the option to make a home out of nothing. Whole towns can be constructed in many locations, complete with the ability to make truly unique light shows and defenses to keep invaders at bay.

With enough spit and grit, even the most run down areas can be called home.
With enough spit and grit, even the most run down areas can be called home.

Not only that, but the mobile game Fallout Shelter actually gives players a hint at the community building gameplay featured in Fallout 4, complete with similar assets. Settlers can move into a claimed area, needing resources to survive and weapons to defend themselves. It’s intriguing to see groups of people create a meager existence and manning their posts. Nothing gets me motivated like one of my settlements coming under attack. Sure, few of them have names or stories, but these are people who have trusted me as their leader, and I can’t let them down. The only complaint of this system is that it can be rough to manage several settlements at once.

Many of the players I know have spent many of their hours simply perfecting their home base. As soon as the mechanics are understood, it becomes an addiction similar to that found in Minecraft or Rust. Some players have even exploited the system to create stunning works, including a recent building of a Rubik’s Cube replica. Practical? Not really. Style? Absolutely. Super Mutants can surely see it from miles away.

For added style, this thing actually works! Image originally posted on VG247.com
For added style, this thing actually works! Image originally posted on VG247.com

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Making a home is a central theme to Fallout 4‘s design; its all about being taken out of one’s comfort zone. Everything these characters have known has been blasted by the nuclear weapons and further stripped away by the dangers of living in the Commonwealth. Any way to keep one’s mind off of the Deathclaws and Raiders is a powerful thing. Preston (one of the many companions), after getting close to the player, will reveal that finding such good company changes his outlook on his entire existence. It’s a truly humbling conversation that is comparable to many other characters and stories. Its easy to get attached to them.

It’s these moments of peace and revelation that makes Fallout 4 so powerful.

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I’ve spent whole evenings just discussing the layers of meaning after being blown away by a quest or dialogue.  Fallout as a series has always made players think well after the controller has been put down or the program is shut down. The latest installment does this in almost every moment, especially when confronted with the ideals of the Institute or the Brotherhood of Steel.

There’s so much more to Fallout 4 than I can relay with a single article. Imagining the things yet to be discovered and the extra content surely to come is mind blowing. And the mods! Surely, the homes players carve out of the dust will continue to become more elaborate when new pieces are inevitably added by Bethesda or the modding community.

I will be in the depths of this city for quite some time.
I will be in the depths of this city for quite some time.

Whether one’s settling down or wandering around, the wasteland is a challenging place, filled with possibilities. Fallout 4 is truly what you make of it, and it’s tools for doing just that are awesome.

Look forward to more Fallout content in the future, as its sure to be fired up on our consoles and PCs for quite some time.

Fallout 4’s Announcement Trailer is Lackluster

Before being treated for third degree burns from the flaming I’m going to get, let me lay out my thoughts. First off, I love the Fallout franchise and have even gone as far as to explore the series roots in the older PC titles. The series has had some fantastic writing over the years, with deep moral questions that hit players hard. Couple that with a post-apocalyptic setting, great humor, and references to pop-culture, Fallout is a series that will stand the test of time as a classic.

However, I will say that through the years there has been a lack of a truly unique experience from title to title. Sure, the gameplay mechanics changed drastically when Bethesda released Fallout 3, but the art direction of the game has barely budged over years of titles. This is horribly apparent when comparing Fallout: New Vegas to Fallout 3.

Each environment feels empty, barren, as they’re supposed to feel, but they also lack the depth the series so desperately needs. There was a nuclear war, there’s a monologue about the history so far, and a vault is seen closing. Each game is fundamentally similar. In fact, many assets were reused in New Vegas, which makes the trailer for Fallout 4 unsettling for me.

When I found the countdown on Bethesda’s site, I immediately set an alarm for the reveal. That morning, I sprang up, downed a cup of coffee, ate some Cocoa Wheats, and waited patiently. When the trailer finally started to play, I immediately asked, “Wait, are they re-releasing Fallout 3?” Even as I said that to myself, the chat on Twitch reflected my thoughts. Thousands immediately feared the same. While I wouldn’t say no to playing Fallout 3 again (in fact, shortly after the trailer I bought the complete edition on Steam), I was worried that after all this time there wasn’t going to be a new game.

At the end of the trailer the large font announced that what I had just saw was in fact Fallout 4. Not only was I not impressed, I was kind of peeved that I had woken up early for it. Needless to say, I went back to bed.

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After the trailer finished, I compared my feelings to that of a wandering Deathclaw.

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Another problem I had was the direction of the trailer. Instead of showcasing what gamers could expect for the new game, the trailer looked like a glorified Machinima project. Camera pans were jerky, animations lacked polish, and characters looked lifeless. The only saving grace for the trailer was the expanded color palette, which does bring some new layers to the Fallout formula.

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Notice the lack of a brown filter, boy?

Finally, the way the trailer was hyped didn’t match what was actually shown. The countdown promised something new, profound. Yet, many fans were left confused. I worry that this trailer may be what it is due to the leaking of information on the game. It feels like a rushed job in response to the leaks.

Bethesda
What other titles could Bethesda have in store?

While I was disappointed by this trailer, I do have hope for the game’s full release. Bethesda is having their own press event for E3 on June 14, 10 p.m. EST, which is great considering how much information is lacking for Fallout 4.

I will say that I would ignore my major complaints so far, as long as there is a plethora of game content on the way. Rumors have said that Massachusetts will be one of the largest maps seen in Fallout history. I’m hoping for more depth to each area, instead of more steps to take alone. There also has to be some new creations. Fallout has plenty of room to expand and evolve, Bethesda just needs to take some risks.

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Ah, mods. Breathing life into games since the early 80s.

Even though I’ve got a terrible taste in my mouth from the trailer, I can’t wait to see what Bethesda has in store for their press event. Here’s hoping the wasteland will be a bit more interesting this time around. Till then, I’ll be exploring the modding community. Maybe they have something new.