Fallout 4 is an incredibly well game as you may see from my previous review here, from the visuals, to the combat system, to the sheer volume of content, there are plenty of reasons why Bethesda's post-apocalyptic, open world, action-RPG is considered to be a major fan favourite among gamers.
But it still has its flaws - the story tends to meander with little details that fail to give the player any real sense of importance or urgency. The dealing with the different factions of the game gives the player hardly any sense of belonging, and hardly any of them are truly appealing to join. It may stay be a long time before Bethesda finally churns out a sequel, but there is no harm in hoping.
Factions that Matter
One of the biggest strengths of the Bethesda's other open world series (Elder Scrolls) is that they have NPC factions that have intensive quests and are fun to play. Aside from giving players a whole little story arc to follow (which often has enough quests to be a game on its own), it also gives players a place to belong and more importantly, a sense of purpose. Fallout 3 and 4 may have the player as some sort of messiah in the main storyline, and the settlement system in 4 does allow you to have a home and create a community - but a faction is a completely different thing, it is a society that has specific ideals and mindset.
Fallout 4 does allow the players to choose between the warring factions of the Institute, the Railroad, and the Brotherhood (also, the Minutemen). But that is more akin to Skyrim's Imperials versus Stormcloaks - groups that exists for the sake of the main narrative. On the other hand, the Thieve's Guild, Mage's Academy, Bard's College and so many other groups are just there - waiting for you to join them regardless of your progress in the main storyline. Fallout could use something like that, factions that exist outside of the main story.
Bigger Monsters
The irradiated wasteland has already seen the rise of strange and dangerous creatures, and there are plenty of super-sized nasties as well. From the more common giant radscorpion, to Fallout 3's queen ant, the super mutant behemoth, and Fallout 4's mirelurk king. But why not take it up a few notches and go for really super-sized monsters. And by that, I mean enemies that can go toe-to-toe with Liberty Prime (in case you forgot, that is the gigantic nuclear powered super robot in the Fallout series).
Bethesda's creative teams have shown that they have a good sense of fun and humour to be able to spoof or pay homage to many pop culture icons. So why not a massive Godzilla-inspired monster? And if I was going that route, why not do a whole Pacific Rim thing with your own customisable Liberty Prime? A lot of Fallout's players are able to stock up on Fat Man ammunition, some save it for major battles but most rarely find a truly appropriate use for it. Having big boss monsters gives truly powerful weapons a sense of purpose.
To sum it up: giant monster battles are awesome. And considering Fallout's post-nuclear-apocalyptic open world game play, those things fight right in.
More Vehicles, More Progress
While Fallout certainly paints a more Mad Max-esque dystopian future of ruin, the fact of the matter is that not all has been lost, there is plenty of technology to go around and general radiation not withstanding, humanity still has plenty of knowledge to be able to get back to the game of making the world a more liveable place. Fallout 4's Institute home base alone paints a vastly contrasting image of what humanity (and a few robots) can build in this world. It would be amazing if the next Fallout game features a location that has managed to recover and grow since the Great War.
Speaking of growth, it is interesting how there are Vertibirds, Power Armor, and all sorts of impressive tech but the world hardly has any proper land vehicles (unless the next game allows us to have a Brahmin mount and barding). All the cars in Fallout are background stuffing - good only for being stripped down for crafting materials or as an explosive doodad. Think about it, the game already has tons of crazy raider groups, small human encampments, and a very savage-ish idealism. A few modded-for-the-apocalypse ground vehicles is all we need for some true Mad Max inspired action.
Cars are not the only vehicles that can make the game awesome. In keeping with the whole wasteland frontier theme, Fallout can really benefit from the presence of a proper working train. Maybe one of the subways can have a train that still moves. Or better yet, a topside, on-rails system with a proper steam engine for the finest in apocalyptic steampunk.
It's the Thunderdome
Fallout 4 featured an arena - it's the place where you can recruit companion Cait. But all the game allows players to do is to attack the raiders and then get Cait. There is not additional purpose to the stage in the Combat Zone despite the amazing setup (it has an entire place for audiences, spotlights, a caged arena, and everything else). Data miners even found content and dialogue that alluded to the fact that Bethesda originally wanted an entire mechanic with the caged fights but later decided to drop it. Sure, the new Wasteland Workshop allows players to play around with battle arenas for monsters. But there's also a different appeal to the Combat Zone style fighter arena that even has its own commentator.
Comments