Fallout 4: delusion or great game?

[cossayos]

Ok folks, i'm opening this topic, because i want to made a serious question: is Fallout 4 a delusion or a great game for you?

 

I guess you mean disappointment. Delusion is kind of funny, but I certainly don't hope it is one.

 

No, FO4 is in the same range as every previous Bethesda game. Meh in certain aspects but, although I get bored pretty often and move on the play different games, I always come back. What disappoints me a bit is that Bethesda hasn't moved one yard in the last 14 years, when it comes to storytelling or a really reactive world. Yes, people have their day and night cycle by now, their business schedule, but without mods, this game is as bland as Oblivion or Morrowind. The only difference being that with Morrowind the whole open world concept was a novelty. That hooked me to it. Not anymore.

 

So, I would say, FO4 is somewhere in the middle. As opposed as some still listening to the inevitable hype before release, I made a conscious choice in buying FO4. I expected a Bethesda game and I got one. That's about all there is to be said.

[twizzOr]

631 hours so i can't say i haven't gotten my money's worth, but at this point I enjoy tweaking the game via Mods more than i do actually playing it:

 

1. The main quest-line is weak and railroads you into it (if you are trying to RP it). i also felt that just flipping the basis of FO3 (where the child seeks the parent) was a lazy choice. Having the four basic outcomes is not the same as having a dynamic world where choices you make impact the game world at large. Having a game point out that if you make this choice then this faction is forever closed to you is a tell-tale sign of bad story design.

 

1a. Rather than encourage character development for the player, the game just wants to tun you into a bad version of a Tarantino character. Sure you can choose how to develop your character's skills, but in the end, you become just a empty mass murderer on a quest for vengeance.

 

2. Settlements/workshops: could care less about these. Some people really enjoy the sandboxing, but to me, it wasted development time that could have been spent in other ways.

 

3. The game feels unfinished, example: The Gunners. Why do they hate you? Why are they there in the first place? Why isn't there a showdown with them if you play the minutemen quest-line? Also, survival mode makes the game mechanics make much more sense. Why wasn't it included int the initial release? The Triggermen: for "the mob" they sure seem weak, ineffectual and mostly just window dressing.

 

4. Enemies are repetitive and boring after you've reached the mid-game.

 

That's not to say that there aren't some really good things in the game, and i obviously enjoy playing it, but at this point it feels well worn to me., I think most of the companions are interesting and fun to quest with; and the game is stable (for me at least). There are interesting encounters and locations, but too few. FH was great. Nuka World could be too. OTOH, the game lacks the surprise, discovery and wonder factors that Beth did so well in Skyrim...I feel the game isn't really a step forward for Beth.

I mostly just tweak the game via mods now, keeping an eye out for ones that fix the above issues. Essentially I'm waiting for a meaningful and interesting play-through. Could be a year or more before that happens.

[cossayos]

 

2. Settlements/workshops: could care less about these. Some people really enjoy the sandboxing, but to me, it wasted development time that could have been spent in other ways.

 

I'm among the ones caring for this aspect of the game. It was one of the reasons why I bought it in the first place. I'm not really sure if I had bothered with yet another Bethesda Fallout if this hadn't been part of the deal. And I find myself spending more time in it than I spend exploring, fighting or what they call doing quests, which is just more fighting.

[twizzOr]

 

 

2. Settlements/workshops: could care less about these. Some people really enjoy the sandboxing, but to me, it wasted development time that could have been spent in other ways.

 

I'm among the ones caring for this aspect of the game. It was one of the reasons why I bought it in the first place. I'm not really sure if I had bothered with yet another Bethesda Fallout if this hadn't been part of the deal. And I find myself spending more time in it than I spend exploring, fighting or what they call doing quests, which is just more fighting.

 

 

To each his own right? There's nothing wrong with that and I'm glad people do enjoy the game mechanic. Having successful settlements impact the game world (say through interesting settlers with quests that show up (hmm...mod idea?) or social-issues to deal with or even just expansion into mini-metropolises that really do change the world for the better) would make me more interested in the process.

[bobofudd]

In its vanilla state, the game needs to be put back in the oven to bake a little longer. It was a good start with a good foundation but we just ended up getting a cake with no icing. Bethesda had a lot of great ideas with this game but everything from the story to the building pieces in the workshop seemed to be only partially executed.

 

I think we all agree the story fell flat. They just didn't address it enough to make it interesting. I found myself not even caring about trying to find my kid once I got out of vault 111. Once you meet the minutemen and start the settlement building, it's all about keeping those settlements going. And if you are one of the people who didn't like the building, then you find out that this game doesn't have much else to offer.

 

The factions didn't really draw me in either. Right from the beginning, you're introduced to the Minutemen. They are the only group that has a true mission related to game play....rebuilding the Commonwealth. Anything past that I felt the choices were just dumped on you when you haven't had any real emotional experiences to draw you in and help you choose a side.

 

The workshop was a great idea. It was risky to base the game on something people are either going to love or hate but for what it is, I think they succeeded in introducing a new mechanic that shows a lot of promise. In its vanilla state however, I'm puzzled at how they went about choosing what pieces to give you to build with. Too many times have I tried to build something that I couldn't complete because that last piece you need doesn't exist (see my mod request thread about the missing barn roof piece to get my point) or certain pieces that only snap together one way. It was as if they built something to how they see it, then deconstructed it and gave you all the pieces. But all those pieces we got end up building the same thing again and a again.

 

Maybe the building aspect took them by surprise. I've seen progress in quality with each workshop released but if you spent so long planning your game to be based around building, how could you not include a buffet of pieces that all interact with each other from the beginning? Did all of the testers over the years end up building the same thing? Because we certainly did. I certainly would have liked to have seen a little more thought put into the building side of things. They could have even worked that more into the main story and made building more important with an actual effect on the outcome of the game.

 

That being said, I do have about 950 hours into the game. That's more than I had in Skyrim and I haven't even finished the main story line yet. I love the building aspect of the game because I'm naturally a creative person. Some of my biggest settlements are starting to rival Diamond City. But this couldn't have happened without mods. I just added Singing Settlers the other day and now I'm back into the settlements rebuilding and designing and installing concert venues. This kind of material should have been in the game from the start.

 

Is this game a delusion? No, certainly not. It's a fun game that has a lot of potential with the right mods. Is it a great game? I wouldn't exactly say great. It's a good game. I just expected a little more out of Bethesda this time and they didn't quite get there. The game definitely has more potential then what they cared to achieve.

[void666]

I've known bethesda since oblivion. And i know what to expect from them.

Fallout 4 is a mediocre rpg and a good open world fps. The shooting mechanics are solid.

Bethesda's games are usually shallow, the writing and quests are s#*!. And i doubt this will ever change.

 

There's some potential that can only be unlocked by mods.

[barrettsfloyd]

I'd call it mediocre as well. I'd give a higher rating had it been a little more original. The main quest bears a striking resemblance to another Fallout game: "Have you seen my son? Little squirt about a year old, looks like me"? Okay, so they never say that in game, but really, that's about the size of it.

 

And then there's Point Lookout...errm I mean Far Lookout...ummm, I mean Point Harbor. Oh crap, now I can't remember the name of it. At any rate, while it looked great, there wasn't much original in that DLC. It simply looked and felt a little too much like Point Lookout.

 

Basically, Fallout 4 suffers from a real lack of original creative thinking. They are simply rehashing previous ideas. It's grown old. Time for some fresh ideas, and if that means cleaning house at BGS, so be it. The status quo just isn't quite cutting it anymore.

 

Oh, and don't even get me started on the over emphasis on settlement building and managing. 'Help me, my wife/husband/son/daughter just got kidnapped for the 3,000th time, please help us. For crying out loud Mr. Abernathy, move to a safer locale

 

 

Don't get me wrong, there's been real improvements with their games, but they seem overshadowed by the creative void they continue to live in.

[cossayos]

I've known bethesda since oblivion. And i know what to expect from them.

Fallout 4 is a mediocre rpg and a good open world fps. The shooting mechanics are solid.

Bethesda's games are usually shallow, the writing and quests are s***. And i doubt this will ever change.

 

There's some potential that can only be unlocked by mods.

 

Since I'm with them since Morrowind - 14 years by now - I'm sure, this will never change. Their games are fun, but not something to remember. If it wasn't for the excellent modding community, I doubt I would bother at all. As i said, no disappointment here, since I knew what to expect

[Billy1969]

I played Bethesda games since their very first one, Arena. Fallout 4 is the worst game they ever published in my opinion. Bob The Builder vs voiced protagonist vs console dialogue vs no RPG, no choices, nothing. I hate it, seriously.

[cossayos]

I played Bethesda games since their very first one, Arena. Fallout 4 is the worst game they ever published in my opinion. Bob The Builder vs voiced protagonist vs console dialogue vs no RPG, no choices, nothing. I hate it, seriously.

 

What exactly turned out to be worse? It's no better or worse than previous Beth games. My major gripe is with them not actually improving since Morrowind, which was the first game I played. Everything else is been there, done that. Not in a better or worse way. Their stories were always meh and their quests always fetch and carry or kill. So, nothing really changed. Choices? Which were the choices in previous games, apart from joining several factions simultaneously to be still treated like dirt under the nails when making head of them.

 

Beth games always offered a rather lifeless and unreactive world to explore. So, nothing new under the sun.