Yep, you read the headline right. Fallout 4 is an utter failure when compared to both of its predecessors (I'm even including New Vegas). Now the caveat is that the preceding statement is only true when critiquing it as an RPG. When considering it as a general sandbox game similar to the ilk of Minecraft, you might find it to be an exceptional game. One of the most common type of praise I hear about Fallout 4 is that x feature could be an entire game on its own. Which is fine, when the game itself delivers on what gamers expect from it. It's little consolation when I play fallout for fallout just to be given a shoddy doppelganger of fallout with a mine craft mini-game embedded inside. At this point of the review, I'm going to warn you that there will be spoilers. Meaning if you don't want anything ruined don't read any further past this point.
What makes Fallout memorable?
Before we talk about why Fallout 4 was horrible let's think back to Fallout 3 and NV and ask ourselves what made those games memorable. I don't like reducing games to particular dimensions, but for the sake of pointing out glaring flaws in Fallout 4, the two dimensions I want to focus on are rich narrative story telling and complex world building. Fallout 3 and NV did exceptionally well at both of these dimensions and one will find when they analyze the games, both dimensions go hand in hand. Rich narrative story telling allows the game to better build a complex world with customs and understandings. This is what creates immersion in a game. A lost in another world feeling came from the story lines and general rules and interactions of the wasteland that made both games so compelling. Fallout 4 does little work in establishing that feeling, assuming that since "it looks like post apocalyptic Boston" and " it sounds like post apocalyptic Boston". therefore it must be a post apocalyptic setting. What they don't understand is that we the gamer do not know what that's supposed to look like. The notion that we fill in the blanks is absolutely ridiculous. In the real world we don't go to another country and predetermine what culture and other aspects of the world should be. They're told to us and we're forced to negotiate through them our locus of control. Fallout 4 shamelessly says here's a world do what you want to it, but it isn't giving us a world. It gives us cardboard cutouts of a world we were once familiar with.
Introductions are key
The introduction to Fallout 3 is possibly one of the best, if not the best, introduction in an RPG ever made. Every second the introduction is devoted to teaching the player how to play game, while simultaneously informing the player about the plot and relationships that should matter to them. Progressing through the annals of time was a risky move that goes against the typical in media res mindset often found in video games, but it works perfectly. I'd compare it most to the story of UP, which had a micro love story in the beginning of the movie that perfectly encapsulated the sheer power and effect a relationship had in a matter of minutes. Fallout 3 does the same by building the relationship the main character had with the vault to the ultimate climatic escape which ushers you into the bulk of the game out in the wasteland. At that moment we feel like a vault dweller with our eyes opened up for the first time. New Vegas decided to go in media res, which was perfectly fine seeing that the residual effect of Fallout 3 would have diminished any attempt at recreating that fish out of water feeling.
Fallout 4's introduction comes off as misguided and contrived. Every line of dialogue seems forced and out of place. First we need to establish that the husband and wife love each other so they'll say cheesy love lines to each other. Now we need to establish that they care about their child, so let's have them play with the child through aimless clicking. Oh did you see that the child laughed, it should melt the player's heart to have this heartfelt moment with their child. Now let's foreshadow the impending doom with an annoying vault salesman because we don't have time to waste. There are two ways to fix the introduction in Fallout 4: either get rid of it and just start the player in the vault ice bath seeing his wife get killed or truly commit to developing the sense of family that was supposed to be established by having them go through the community untouched. In fact, the latter option would have really served a profound effect. Whereas Fallout 3 was about the rehabilitation of the world, Fallout 4 seems to be more about the destruction of it. The issue is how am I supposed to even care about a suburb I hardly got see. If they had me do some menial tasks (e.g. talk to neighbor x, help child y,) I may have grown attached to the city and felt some sort of emotional connection when I realize all of those wonderful individuals are dead. This harrowing feeling will really hold weight as I sift through their wreckage to rebuild Sanctuary. A part of them remains in the town. This is how you create worlds. The devil is in the details.
Even after the initial introduction we find Fallout 4 isn't about hand holding and honestly that's a bad thing. In Fallout 3 you will eventually wander right in Megaton and if you play your cards right someone will point you to Moira Brown. Moira Brown is essentially the tutorial guide for playing Fallout 3, hidden in plain sight as you make a tutorial guide for other wastelanders to use. Her quests are sometimes repetitive and dull, but her wacky and naive personality makes up for the fact that she's essentially telling you to do stupid shit. Also, if you want to be a jerk face you can scam her, immediately introducing you to the moral schema of Fallout. New Vegas had a very linear mission path line which I felt was a weaker aspect of New Vegas. It didn't really encourage full blown exploration till you reached the strip and by then you've seen most of what needs to be seen.
Fallout 4 has one of the most confusing tutorial towns I've ever seen. You enter Lexington and you're immediately confronted with a horde of raiders. Now for anyone not baptized in the way of V.A.T.S. this could prove to be an incredibly frustrating encounter. Fortunately I dispatched them with ease, rattling off head shots left and right, while chugging down the occasional stimpack when finding my health low. Then I entered the main building to find the leader of the supposed minutemen. He was with a ragtag group of people who I thought were also minutemen (hint: they aren't) and they needed my help because those raiders are annoying. As far as difficulty goes this part is pretty easy. Go down stairs. Unlock the door. Get the shit they need. Go back to them. This is where the entire encounter doesn't make any sense. They then proceed to tell you to go into a suit of power armor (by the way, power armor no long functions as armor, but mainly as a vehicle a move I find annoying, but can see how it creates complex gaming situations) and go down there to take care of business with the raiders Only issue is, the raiders aren't the main bad guy. Instead a Deathclaw, the single most powerful creature in the game, is waiting for you. I died a few times, but eventually armed with power armor and a gattling gun, I was able to bring it down. And I thought to myself: roll credits. What's the point of playing the rest of the game if I was able to dispatch the single most powerful creature in the game with the addition of power armor and a gattling gun. Both of which I get to keep. Sure they'll eventually run out of ammo, but not before I could reach a few towns and do a few missions. This was a confusing move on Bethesda's part. RPGs are supposed to give you a sense of accomplishment. I should be able to look at where I started and compare it to where I currently am and think to myself, " wow I've gotten much stronger." I'm around 10 hours into the game and I've only just returned back to the power I previously had in the first 20 minutes of the game. Talk about regression.
Fallout 3 had a similar situation in its game, but went about it in a completely different manner. For the lucky few who have played Fallout several times (I'm talking 10 to 15 times), you may have encountered a moment in the beginning of the game where you go to SuperDuper Mart and you stumble upon a deathclaw. The deathclaw in this situation is at about 1/3 health and he's already injured. Experienced players would know to go for its leg, successfully crippling it and then widdling it away with a kiting motion. New players foolishly face it head on and get their shit wrecked. The deathclaw serves as a teaser for the player, an indicator that there are far more powerful things out there in the wasteland and if you hope to survive them you need to start bulking up. This creates a sense of urgency, whereas Fallout 4 creates a sense of complacency. Oh I'm already strong enough to take on a full blown Deathclaw? Cool, no point in playing anymore.
There is more to come. I am going to write tons on this topic. For now I'll leave it at this.
Sidebar: Now I'm not firmly against the removal of the karma system in Fallout 4. However, since the missions so far have lacked moral consequence it honestly hasn't mattered. Fallout 3 could have been completely stripped of its karma system and it still would have been compelling to play. Fallout NV did not even need a karma system because companions served as an indicator of karma. Fallout 4 desperately needs a karma system because it's often not clear what's good and what is bad. Hell it's not clear what will piss someone off half the time. Here I am trying to get Piper to like me and she takes issue with random shit I say. The point is that karma systems are necessary when there are good stories. Karma systems are necessary when a story is non-existent.
What makes Fallout memorable?
Before we talk about why Fallout 4 was horrible let's think back to Fallout 3 and NV and ask ourselves what made those games memorable. I don't like reducing games to particular dimensions, but for the sake of pointing out glaring flaws in Fallout 4, the two dimensions I want to focus on are rich narrative story telling and complex world building. Fallout 3 and NV did exceptionally well at both of these dimensions and one will find when they analyze the games, both dimensions go hand in hand. Rich narrative story telling allows the game to better build a complex world with customs and understandings. This is what creates immersion in a game. A lost in another world feeling came from the story lines and general rules and interactions of the wasteland that made both games so compelling. Fallout 4 does little work in establishing that feeling, assuming that since "it looks like post apocalyptic Boston" and " it sounds like post apocalyptic Boston". therefore it must be a post apocalyptic setting. What they don't understand is that we the gamer do not know what that's supposed to look like. The notion that we fill in the blanks is absolutely ridiculous. In the real world we don't go to another country and predetermine what culture and other aspects of the world should be. They're told to us and we're forced to negotiate through them our locus of control. Fallout 4 shamelessly says here's a world do what you want to it, but it isn't giving us a world. It gives us cardboard cutouts of a world we were once familiar with.
Introductions are key
The introduction to Fallout 3 is possibly one of the best, if not the best, introduction in an RPG ever made. Every second the introduction is devoted to teaching the player how to play game, while simultaneously informing the player about the plot and relationships that should matter to them. Progressing through the annals of time was a risky move that goes against the typical in media res mindset often found in video games, but it works perfectly. I'd compare it most to the story of UP, which had a micro love story in the beginning of the movie that perfectly encapsulated the sheer power and effect a relationship had in a matter of minutes. Fallout 3 does the same by building the relationship the main character had with the vault to the ultimate climatic escape which ushers you into the bulk of the game out in the wasteland. At that moment we feel like a vault dweller with our eyes opened up for the first time. New Vegas decided to go in media res, which was perfectly fine seeing that the residual effect of Fallout 3 would have diminished any attempt at recreating that fish out of water feeling.
Fallout 4's introduction comes off as misguided and contrived. Every line of dialogue seems forced and out of place. First we need to establish that the husband and wife love each other so they'll say cheesy love lines to each other. Now we need to establish that they care about their child, so let's have them play with the child through aimless clicking. Oh did you see that the child laughed, it should melt the player's heart to have this heartfelt moment with their child. Now let's foreshadow the impending doom with an annoying vault salesman because we don't have time to waste. There are two ways to fix the introduction in Fallout 4: either get rid of it and just start the player in the vault ice bath seeing his wife get killed or truly commit to developing the sense of family that was supposed to be established by having them go through the community untouched. In fact, the latter option would have really served a profound effect. Whereas Fallout 3 was about the rehabilitation of the world, Fallout 4 seems to be more about the destruction of it. The issue is how am I supposed to even care about a suburb I hardly got see. If they had me do some menial tasks (e.g. talk to neighbor x, help child y,) I may have grown attached to the city and felt some sort of emotional connection when I realize all of those wonderful individuals are dead. This harrowing feeling will really hold weight as I sift through their wreckage to rebuild Sanctuary. A part of them remains in the town. This is how you create worlds. The devil is in the details.
Even after the initial introduction we find Fallout 4 isn't about hand holding and honestly that's a bad thing. In Fallout 3 you will eventually wander right in Megaton and if you play your cards right someone will point you to Moira Brown. Moira Brown is essentially the tutorial guide for playing Fallout 3, hidden in plain sight as you make a tutorial guide for other wastelanders to use. Her quests are sometimes repetitive and dull, but her wacky and naive personality makes up for the fact that she's essentially telling you to do stupid shit. Also, if you want to be a jerk face you can scam her, immediately introducing you to the moral schema of Fallout. New Vegas had a very linear mission path line which I felt was a weaker aspect of New Vegas. It didn't really encourage full blown exploration till you reached the strip and by then you've seen most of what needs to be seen.
Fallout 4 has one of the most confusing tutorial towns I've ever seen. You enter Lexington and you're immediately confronted with a horde of raiders. Now for anyone not baptized in the way of V.A.T.S. this could prove to be an incredibly frustrating encounter. Fortunately I dispatched them with ease, rattling off head shots left and right, while chugging down the occasional stimpack when finding my health low. Then I entered the main building to find the leader of the supposed minutemen. He was with a ragtag group of people who I thought were also minutemen (hint: they aren't) and they needed my help because those raiders are annoying. As far as difficulty goes this part is pretty easy. Go down stairs. Unlock the door. Get the shit they need. Go back to them. This is where the entire encounter doesn't make any sense. They then proceed to tell you to go into a suit of power armor (by the way, power armor no long functions as armor, but mainly as a vehicle a move I find annoying, but can see how it creates complex gaming situations) and go down there to take care of business with the raiders Only issue is, the raiders aren't the main bad guy. Instead a Deathclaw, the single most powerful creature in the game, is waiting for you. I died a few times, but eventually armed with power armor and a gattling gun, I was able to bring it down. And I thought to myself: roll credits. What's the point of playing the rest of the game if I was able to dispatch the single most powerful creature in the game with the addition of power armor and a gattling gun. Both of which I get to keep. Sure they'll eventually run out of ammo, but not before I could reach a few towns and do a few missions. This was a confusing move on Bethesda's part. RPGs are supposed to give you a sense of accomplishment. I should be able to look at where I started and compare it to where I currently am and think to myself, " wow I've gotten much stronger." I'm around 10 hours into the game and I've only just returned back to the power I previously had in the first 20 minutes of the game. Talk about regression.
Fallout 3 had a similar situation in its game, but went about it in a completely different manner. For the lucky few who have played Fallout several times (I'm talking 10 to 15 times), you may have encountered a moment in the beginning of the game where you go to SuperDuper Mart and you stumble upon a deathclaw. The deathclaw in this situation is at about 1/3 health and he's already injured. Experienced players would know to go for its leg, successfully crippling it and then widdling it away with a kiting motion. New players foolishly face it head on and get their shit wrecked. The deathclaw serves as a teaser for the player, an indicator that there are far more powerful things out there in the wasteland and if you hope to survive them you need to start bulking up. This creates a sense of urgency, whereas Fallout 4 creates a sense of complacency. Oh I'm already strong enough to take on a full blown Deathclaw? Cool, no point in playing anymore.
 |
| this happens in the beginning of the game |
There is more to come. I am going to write tons on this topic. For now I'll leave it at this.
Sidebar: Now I'm not firmly against the removal of the karma system in Fallout 4. However, since the missions so far have lacked moral consequence it honestly hasn't mattered. Fallout 3 could have been completely stripped of its karma system and it still would have been compelling to play. Fallout NV did not even need a karma system because companions served as an indicator of karma. Fallout 4 desperately needs a karma system because it's often not clear what's good and what is bad. Hell it's not clear what will piss someone off half the time. Here I am trying to get Piper to like me and she takes issue with random shit I say. The point is that karma systems are necessary when there are good stories. Karma systems are necessary when a story is non-existent.
