I know this might be a bit late, but I had to play the game a lot to make this review happen. Some of the game was bit of a mystery to me even after playing it for the first time. And how the game was a gigantic field of awesome memories, but I'm getting off the point!
The game was said that it was dumb'd down because the skill tree was too simplistic, the dialog being confusing and the leveling system very hard to ignore, but to me these things made the game have you think instead of having go head first into a one dialog option. Every option could have you kill someone. And if you play your cards right, you can have someone kill them self! And the skills were a step up if you think about it. I mean the skills selected in Fallout 3 were randomized in your level. You might be saying what the hell am are you talking about!? Well, to be clear, the skills in Fallout 3 were piled up instead of an orderly set. You got what was in your level and you worked from there. In the new installment, it was in order and the game had you work you S.P.E.C.I.A.L. up in a very perfect fashion.
To lead off of the common complaint, lets talk about the game itself. The game has a better system of how V.A.T.S. worked. Yes, it's hard to find the differences between the two games, but there was a delay in 3 where the enemy had a very slow action to defend themselves. In 4 the V.A.T.S had you think on how you should execute it, because the enemies were slowed, but still able to hurt you with great power. You were lucky if you killed the guy before he shot that Fatman at you.
The enemies on the other hand, were harder if you look at it. I mean the game had you think like a REAL gamer and it had you actually ducking in cover at the difficulty of normal! And that's a default setting! The game opens you up as if these were actual players trying to kill you! That is a smart AI.
Now to the part I want to talk about. All you people that haven't played the entire story, better go back and watch that episode of Walking Dead you haven't seen, because I'm not holding back! Gone? No? Okay, here we go!
Now the game has a lot thinking while playing and the game achieves that in a very hidden way, and the story did as well. I went with the Institute because the game had me think I should go neutral. Why? I just thought I should do that one first. After hearing that the Institute was a cult of assassins and cold, hearted killers, I want to see what would happen if I went to see what they had in store with the Minutemen. After seeing that the Institute was a community of scientists that wishes nothing else, but help shape this awfully new future. Also knowing that the leader was your 64 years old son.
After witnessing some misleading rumors about them, I wanted to see what would happen if you chose the other "factions" as I call them. Each faction has an act of how the people look at you, the raiders, survivors, even your companions. And you had to think on the outcomes and the actions in each faction: the Brotherhood of Steel wanted to secure all technology and kill who ever want to misuse it. They thought the Institute wanted to kill with the new tech they had developed. They want to destroy them as they were only scientist with nothing, but the synths to protect them.And to top that, you are feared beyond the wasteland and not seen as a savior.
The Railroad, as I call the neutral faction, only want to tame the technology of today, but they were blind how they would do this and didn't understand what the synths could do. Synths, as said in one side quest in the Institute, the synths can go crazy and forget they were a robot or android. Some would go rampage and become a raider with higher skill and strength. What I'm trying to say is that the synths are very emotional. They have the emotion of a regular human, but imagine if you were born as an adult with the your knowledge now, you would be very scared and afraid to live! That's why infants have very little intelligence when they're born. To not experience life so quickly. And they're very strong, imagine fist fighting with a robot.
And the institute is a route to achieve world's best goals of saving mankind, but no one will notice it. We know the game takes place ten or twenty years in the future of Fallout 3, so the Brotherhood achieved a live defining event of cleaning all the water with the EDAN project, and yet there is little change in the world. If you notice this in the game as you help the Institute go further with their technology to help the world above them, they are barely accepted by the societies and communities left on American soil. Nuclear soil that is.
The game is trying to give you life choices that have bad outcomes that can affect you emotionally or physically. The game was trying send you a meaning of Lone Wanderer. That this lonely hero needs no family to change his life. You can runaway from the choices, but that just leaves you filled with mystery. Anyways, the game has you think on all ends to combat, dialog, and the story. After noticing this, it really got my mind open. And the game still welcomes me home.
Did you like what I had to say?
I knew you would say that!
'Til next time...
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