Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

It's hard to believe I just said that, but there it is. Skyrim was inarguably one of the very best games of last generation, and I think Fallout 4 has topped it handily. That said, if you didn't like Skyrim or Fallout 3, you probably won't like this either. Also you are a terrible person. So yes, this game is amazing and as far as I'm concerned has lived up to the hype. But here's the thing: it didn't immediately suck me into its world the way Skyrim did. For me it wasn't until around 20 hours in that I started wanting to live in this world, but that's probably my own fault because that's when I really started working on the main questline. Up until that point I was basically doing relatively mundane side missions, building up my base, and tweaking my weapons. "This is pretty fun," I was thinking, "but where is that Bethesda magic?" Well yeah, me, it's down the main path. Duh. Bethesda magic in spades. Or some other card suit even better than spades. Not only is there a mindf*** post-apocalyptic cyberpunk neo-noir story that unfolds, but as you pick up missions from the various NPC's in the settlements you pass through, their stories and motivations tie into the plot in deep and convincing ways that make this virtual world spring believably to life. And I know at level 19 I'm still only scratching the surface. I played for 12 hours yesterday, and couldn't wait to wake up and do it again today. So, OK. Obviously I like it. But it is a Bethesda game, and believe me, it never lets you forget that. If you didn't know Fallout 4 was going to ship with some rough edges, well, have you played a Bethesda game before? They specialize in literally epic stories told in beautifully realized, massive-yet-intricate worlds, but it's all presented with OK graphics, hit-and-miss voice acting, long load times, and more than a little straight up bugginess. Ah, the bugginess... Let's talk about that, since that seems to be the big complaint. It's there, but in my opinion it's being overblown. Yes, there are times when the engine feels like it's held together with duct tape and Wonderglue. I've seen some characters stuck in game geometry, some hovering items, things like that, a chuckle and no big deal. The interface for interacting with NPC's and items feels a little sketchy. Sometimes I'll have to back away from a character and reapproach them because the menu won't pop up or may even disappear. The more I get used to it the less trouble I seem to have, but that's probably me adapting to the interface, and yeah, I shouldn't have to do that. The frame rate drops when a lot of things are exploding, but it's usually smooth enough. I haven't had any crashes or game-breaking glitches (knock on wood that I scrapped from a fallen telephone pole). Like I called them earlier, rough edges. Nothing I've found to be unbearable or unforgivable. I've seen professional reviewers practically throwing tantrums about the glitches, and I think they're so not worthy of that. Media got the game a week early, did they not have the 1.01 patch yet or something? The interface is the biggest annoyance to me by far, and I've figured out its idiosyncrasies by now. For the record, I'm describing my experience on PS4, this is probably the one area where the platform might make a difference. I love to read bad reviews of good games. I guess it's a guilty pleasure, but invariably 37 little trolls will all say "last gen graphics!!!" This is ridiculous. You remember those old games as looking better than they really did. Go load up New Vegas after a few hours in Fallout 4. Hell, just look up some screen shots. Fallout 4 is an order of magnitude more detailed. Does it have the best graphics of all games this generation? No. Neither did Skyrim. But the graphics are definitely acceptable. I think the environments are beautiful, and the art direction is superb, but the character models still have that weird marionette look. But have you ever said "gameplay over graphics!"? Well, suck it up fanboy, this is it. Load times. Yeah. They suck. I'd call them "a little better than PS3 Skyrim," but that's barely clearing a very low bar. The load screens have the rotate/move/zoom-the-character-model thing to play with and tips to read, which are actually pretty useful this time around. But there are load times. All of the bad can be summed up like this: the engine is showing its age. A lot has been added to these games over the years, so much that it's surprising the problems aren't even worse. A complete engine rewrite is probably in order, but man, ask any programmer you know what kind of undertaking that would be. Bottom line, nothing is bad enough to stop me from playing this game. Not even close. Alright, enough of the bad stuff. Let's talk about what's new and different. The crafting is crazy deep. Weapon and armor variations have about the same depth as what was in Skyrim, but the fact that you use all the garbage items found around the world as crafting components is brilliant. The base building is also surprisingly in-depth, and you can spend hours making Fallout dollhouses for all your fake people to inhabit. The roots of this were in the Skyrim Hearthfires expansion, but now you can put every wall and piece of furniture right where you want. OK, there's a bit of a learning curve to this, and the game doesn't really help you figure out all the nuances, but google if you're interested. None of it is required, but I think it's a really fun little diversion. Some people hate the perks system, but I'm OK with it. You get one point to spend each time you level up, and it can go into raising any of your SPECIAL stats or into a skill based on one of those stats. Some skills require a minimum stat for it's category (6 luck, etc.) and some have an overall level requirement. It's not very deep, but choosing where to put each point can be torturous. Early in the game there are so many perks you feel like you need that you really have to plan carefully. For me, this is a Good Thing. There are various items you can find that will either raise a stat or grant a perk, and this combined with your leveling starts to make perk points feel like less of a precious commodity around level 15 or so. Now, I still prefer the "level-skills-by-using-them" approach of the Elder Scrolls games, but those are different games. While Fallout and Elder Scrolls games have a lot in common, comparing their skills systems is like comparing mutfruit to snowberries. I've also heard complaints about the dialogue options, but again don't really get them. Instead of picking topics from a menu, you have four topics mapped to the face buttons. These will branch and change as you use them. You're basically doing all the same stuff you did in conversation in the older games, there's just a limit of four options per input. You can still ask for and receive too many details and too much backstory. You may not know the exact wording of everything your character is going to say (because hey, your character actually talks now) but you will know the gist, and that's all that matters. But it's different, and some people just don't like change. Oh, and the shooting in this game? So much improved. It feels like a proper FPS now. I've already gone on for way too long, but what the hell? Here's some tips for getting started. - Quicksave. Quicksave a lot. Just beat a tough enemy? Quicksave. Think there's danger up ahead? Quicksave. Quicksave, quicksave, quicksave. - Don't overuse your power armor. Fusion cores are tough to come by. There are times where power armor is pretty much a necessity, but if you use it when you don't need it, you may not have it when you do. - Pick up everything. You need it for crafting. Very few items in this game are really worthless (except maybe folders, unless they're for something later). You're especially going to need adhesive. Learn how to farm it. Literally. - Do the main quest. It's easy to get sidetracked with a thousand other things in this game, but doing the main quest will suck you into the story and take you through some amazing places. - The mobile companion app may seem silly, but you can have the map open on your phone or tablet and it will track your movement. That's pretty cool. OK, to finally sum it up, no question this gets five stars from me. Bethesda has done it again. It isn't perfect, but that's OK. The good is so good you can overlook the bad, and the bad isn't really all that bad. People just like to bitch. If you've ever loved a Bethesda game, there is no reason you won't love this. It would be nice to see some of the glitches get patched, and maybe we will, but this is still the most fun I've had with a game in a long time. Better than Metal Gear 5. Better than The Witcher 3. Better than Destiny: The Taken King. Better than...well, I'm not ready to say better than Bloodborne yet, but I think I might get there soon. And now I can't wait to see The Elder Scrolls 6.