Fallout 4 brings to life that question, I wonder what it would be like to run around in post-apocalyptic Boston. If you have played another game in the Fallout series but are not sure if you should get Fallout 4, because you fear that this game has turned into just another shooter. Or that a voiced protagonist will ruin the feel of the roleplaying aspect of the series. Or maybe you haven’t played a Fallout game before and are thinking of picking it up. I can tell you from experience (150+ hours in game) that the game, even though having a voice protagonist is still, up there on my favorite games of all time. I would be cautious of advancing from here on out. There are spoilers about some of the things that I think are not up to par within this game.

The game starts off in the year 2077 on the day when total nuclear annihilation commences. You are enjoying a nice morning with your wife and son, listening to the daily news reporter, Ron Perlman, talk about the forecast for the day.  When suddenly a Vault-Tec representative knocks at your door. Because of your service in the armed forces, you are permitted entry into a newly build, Vault 111. The dialogue choices vary, from nice and polite, rude and angry, to questionable, and my favorite of all sarcastic. Filling out the Vault-Tec registration forum will set the specials for your character. Your robot butler, Codsworth, calls you in saying that there is something you have to see on the television. The news reporter states that they have lost contact with their affiliate stations and there have been sightings of bright flashes in New York and Pittsburg. After a short while its cut and outside you hear the military saying that this isn’t a drill and people rushing to the safety of the Vault. Right as the elevator begins to lower you see a bright flash in the distance. I won’t delve any further into the main story, for those who have yet to play the game.

If you have beaten the game though, you might feel the same way about the game as me. It feels empty, you miss out on some really interesting quests if you side with one faction over another. After a week of the game coming out, there was already people talking about ways to maximize the amount of quests you do in one play through. Another thing is the caps are a rare commodity in the beginning and into the mid-levels of the game, if you invest into the right perks in the perk chart, you could open up trading posts in your settlements to earn you some quick change on the side. If you’ve played Fallout 3 you know that early on ammo is a commodity, you can enter a gunfight with 200 rounds and the next thing you know you are walking away with only a handful of bullets remaining. I would recommend bringing along a melee weapon for those pesky rad-roaches and mole-rats. Another thing is always, and I mean always bring some heavy ordinance, from a mini-gun to a fat man you never know when you might find yourself fighting among super mutants and a wandering legendary Deathclaw will be attracted to all the noise.

This game has its flaws just like every other game out there. But from my experience with this game and the interesting quests and the multiple endings add a lot of replay ability to the game and along with the perk system, it makes it to where you have to focus on something you’re good at rather than being able to do everything out there. I would personally give this game 9 out of 10.