• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Fallout 4 - A Nuclear Disappointment

ship it

Member
Meh. I think the game is fucking amazing.



To each their own.

Todd Howard's Secret GAF Account.

sorry if I don't expect an unbiased opinion from the tag and skyrim avatar.

instead of the drive by praise and dismissal of criticism, what do you think of the points raised in the OP?
 

ISOM

Member
Totally agree OP. I massively enjoyed New Vegas and it was the only Fallout game I played prior to Fallout 4. And I just have to say Fallout 4 felt like a major step backwards. The story and world felt empty just constant raiders, gunrunners, super mutants with wild life and not much variation. I didn't feel the game had much atmosphere, the radio stations are terrible compared to New Vegas. Everything felt lazy and empty. I've poured 90+ hours just into the side quests and nothing has really amazed me and most of the quests are redundant. So far I feel somewhat bored by it but now I'm just playing to finish it.
 

Elixist

Member
I agree. It's a pretty mediocre game that I had a lot of fun with, purely because the single player FPS genre is in such a dire state.

Like, I legit feel bad that I had to play fucking Fallout 4 to get my FPS fix for 2015, but whatever.

it was quite weird that f04 would have some of the most satisfying shooting gameplay of the year, lol. i love blowing the legs off some fuckers with my pimped 10mm feels good man.
 

Novocaine

Member
The biggest disappointment with FO4 for me was that it just didn't grab me at all. I have played the absolute shit out of 3, NV, and also Skyrim and Oblivion so I knew what I was getting into, I was also very much expecting a 'more of the same' type situation. But even then it just didn't grab me. At all.

I was waiting for this game ever since I completed NV. I spent a lot of my time imagining how great it was going to look while I was playing through Skyrim.

When I saw the first trailer and everyone and their mother were criticizing the graphical quality I was okay with it. I figured they are sacrificing some graphics and focussing that attention on performance and story but it was quickly apparent that that was not the case.

I really don't know. Maybe my tastes in games has changed or maybe I have higher standards than I did when playing through the older games. I am going to try finish the game, I don't think I'll have it in me to do everything like I have in the past. It's a real shame though that this wasn't the big thing I wanted it to be.
 
I expected Fallout 3 + considering Obsidian wasn't making this and that's what I got. The settlement building was something I wanted to avoid like the plague...and it's probably what I've done most out of anything. The story and dialogue is a bigger disappointment than I thought it would be. I thought I could be okay but the system is just bad and I realize I loved having my skills being at a certain level to trigger more choices.

The combat is a hell of a lot better and that's what keeps me going back. I have TONS to explore still and I can't wait for the DLC where Bethesda seems to do good work from Fallout 3 showed me. They weren't all amazing but for me, the majority of them made the game even better.

I REALLY wish the perk that shows you every location was in here though.
 

joecanada

Member
I agree with some of your criticisms op but witcher was just boring to wander around so fallout rates way higher in my books also I got a so so ending only making one enemy which was okay...
Story is weakest part but I don't really notice at this point it's more about the quirky stuff

I'm surprised about settlement complaints though all the tools are easy and make sense. I watched a YouTube video to learn to clip objects into solid objects and that's it basically. Buuut the settlement is really useless and I do wish they had more stuff riding on them. Or like who's attacking my settlement with 5 rocket turrets lol
 

NBtoaster

Member
There are definitely some pretty iffy things regarding story and dialogue but Bethesda is still able to satisfy my wanderlust like no one else can.
 

cripterion

Member
It is a disappointment. I dropped it quickly after playing a few hours of the game at launch, currently forcing myself to go through it, gameplay and immersion made a tad better with about 40 mods installed. It still doesn't feel like a game released by a big company at the end of 2015 though.

Was expecting much, much more I guess. Most of all I'm not having fun going through it. As OP said, the quests are not good and the gameplay (combat is the main element I guess) feels old, and not in a good way.
 

Animator

Member
Agree with you OP. You play the game for 2 hours and you have seen all it has to offer. Coming from Witcher 3 it was painful sitting through fallout's story and quests.
 

TheYanger

Member
Holy shit at the first page, every post that likes the game is banned lol

For the record, I did not play fallout 4 because I don't enjoy any bethesda RPGs anymore. Nothing I've seen has given me pause on that decision.
 

120v

Member
I expected FO4 to be a leap from FO3 like Skyrim was from Oblivion. not graphically, but in terms of taking the concept and improving on it for a more enjoyable experience overall . ... it's the little things with FO4 that grate me, like having mods itemized in your inventory. the map is incomprehensible at times. why do i have to "sit" to wait? the Pip boy seemed a lot less intuitive than it could've been... stuff like that.

another thing was the emphasis on loot. which wouldn't be a problem but all my constant scavenging and modding never really seemed to be rewarding as it could have. i feel like i spent 80% of my time managing inventory and fast traveling to a work bench instead of playing the damn game. just seemed to have some problems with balance overall.

i really didn't have a problem with the writing, story, factions, ect. of course it wasn't on new vegas' level but that's to be expected. in fact i thought the twist was cool, really made me think about which side to go with, probably the most conflicted i've been playing a game.

a solid 8/10 for me.... just wish it could've been more. hopefully the DLC will be enormous and deliver the goods.
 

Sanpei

Member
Fucking bugs !

I can not progress in the game....

GOOD JOB BETHESDA !


I agree with OP...Side quests are so similar...After a while it gets boring...What Bethesda did for 7 years ?

At least they should have changed animations..

Fallout 4 is like modded Fallout 3...I enjoyed it, it's not a lie but i expected much more as next gen Fallout game...And some bugs or glitches prevent you to progress


Why there is not abandoning a quest ? My companion is lost and now her quest is still on the list...Poor Cait...Ah i am stuck in a quest also...Waiting for a patch (PS4)
 

EmSeta

Member
I agree with basically all of the criticism in the OP. I had more fun with both Fallout 3 and New Vegas (though I didn't end up finishing it).

That said, F4 is still a good game in many regards.
 

BeesEight

Member
Holy shit at the first page, every post that likes the game is banned lol

For the record, I did not play fallout 4 because I don't enjoy any bethesda RPGs anymore. Nothing I've seen has given me pause on that decision.

Yeah, that's a graveyard.

I've also held off on Fallout 4. I know I'll pick it up eventually but not until the complete version comes out with all the DLC and is discounted. Bethesda games are really at the best once the community has overhauled them and I realized picking them up on launch for the bare systems that they have a tendency to produce just isn't worth it.

That said, I'm really curious what modders will be able to make from what I've heard of the crafting and community building aspects. If they can add on survival elements to Skyrim (handling temperature and weather for example) I'm curious what they can do with these reported disparate elements that were plugged in to this game.

That and I'm hoping to all hell that someone fixes that horrendous dialogue system.

I think what I find most disappointing with the reviews and impressions of Fallout 4 (outside of the willful ignorance of Obsidian's improvements) is how little Bethesda has seemingly done to differentiate the Fallout franchise beneath their care from the Elder Scrolls. When 3 was released it was jokingly referenced as Oblivion with guns. It's kind of hard to not view the series as such.

Though, I am curious to see how well they've apparently improved that "with guns" aspect.
 

Mugen08

Member
There are certainly many flaws but it is still my most played game of 2015. Most of the time I simply had very fun. Hope there will be some good expansion.
 
I literally couldn't sit through any of the dialogue or story stuff, it's excruciatingly bad. This lead to me avoiding all quests and just exploring and that quickly became monotonous and dull. It also didn't help that I thought more about what the world would look like 200 years after the apocalypse in the first 20 minutes of playing than anyone at Bethesda did during the games entire development. Trying to explore and become immersed in a world that makes no sense is basically impossible.
 
I was bogged down by the weak story. I'd write it up as
your family living post war in the wasteland (gives credence to both the mother and father having experience in the wasteland. Excuses them not being shocked by deathclaws,radscorpions, etc.)Your family lives in the settlement of Sanctuary Hills which in attacked by mysterious perpetrators(Institute,BoS,Enclave) who completely destroy the place( (Which gives you a reason for base building/restoring it to its former glory), keep the murder of your spouse and neighbors, kidnapping of your child.(Culminating in your character being more of an asshole if you want.)
 
Fallout 4 is my GOTY, easily.

Sure, it's not a perfect game, not the best in the series and some mechanics have been dumbed down, but it's still goddamned fun

I'm still playing it after 130 hours and having a blast. Unlike Witcher 3, which I played for 12 hours or so and couldn't stand it.

So yeah, opinions.
 

Leb

Member
Honestly, I'm not sure I really understand the FO4 backlash.

I mean, I entered the game with very reasonable expectations and with the exceptions of the narrative, the characters, the dialogue system, the voiced protagonist and established backstory that eliminate any real flexibility in roleplaying, the RPG mechanics, the leveling mechanics, the combat mechanics, quest design, encounter design, world-building and world reactivity, I feel like FO4 really delivered on all of its promises, easily earning the title a place in the pantheon of all-time great RPGs.
 

TheYanger

Member
Honestly, I'm not sure I really understand the FO4 backlash.

I mean, I entered the game with very reasonable expectations and with the exceptions of the narrative, the characters, the dialogue system, the voiced protagonist and established backstory that eliminate any real flexibility in roleplaying, the RPG mechanics, the leveling mechanics, the combat mechanics, quest design, encounter design, world-building and world reactivity, I feel like FO4 really delivered on all of its promises, easily earning the title a place in the pantheon of all-time great RPGs.

That makes no sense, I can know a game is awful and enter into playing it with very low expectations, meeting those expectations does not mean the game is an all-time great for it though.
 
Honestly, I'm not sure I really understand the FO4 backlash.

I mean, I entered the game with very reasonable expectations and with the exceptions of the narrative, the characters, the dialogue system, the voiced protagonist and established backstory that eliminate any real flexibility in roleplaying, the RPG mechanics, the leveling mechanics, the combat mechanics, quest design, encounter design, world-building and world reactivity, I feel like FO4 really delivered on all of its promises, easily earning the title a place in the pantheon of all-time great RPGs.

I love the game but I wouldn't put it in the all-time great. Not yet anyway, we'll see with the DLC/mods.

But I too don't understand the backlash. It's a great game with some flaws, but I feel like Bethesda went forwards more than it did backwards with the series.
 

Hatty

Member
I love the game but I wouldn't put it in the all-time great. Not yet anyway, we'll see with the DLC/mods.

But I too don't understand the backlash. It's a great game with some flaws, but I feel like Bethesda went forwards more than it did backwards with the series.

Where did it go forward? The shooting was improved yes, but everything else is either the same or a step back
 
Where did it go forward? The shooting was improved yes, but everything else is either the same or a step back

Just off the top of my head:

- The new leveling/perks system is better

- General gameplay (shooting, movement, animations, balancing)

- Crafting system and weapon/armor modding

- Itemization and legendaries

- Main quest is tons better than FO3

- World building (more compact, always something to find, NPCs react to your actions more)

- Companions are a great addition, albit some are really shallow

- Settlement system and base building
 

sappyday

Member
Honestly, I'm not sure I really understand the FO4 backlash.

I mean, I entered the game with very reasonable expectations and with the exceptions of the narrative, the characters, the dialogue system, the voiced protagonist and established backstory that eliminate any real flexibility in roleplaying, the RPG mechanics, the leveling mechanics, the combat mechanics, quest design, encounter design, world-building and world reactivity, I feel like FO4 really delivered on all of its promises, easily earning the title a place in the pantheon of all-time great RPGs.

If you have low expectations and a game meets those low expectation then the game is still bad. You just aren't surprised about it.

I expected the dialogue system to be bad and it was bad and I still think it's bad and I'll shit on it for how bad it is.

The only thing that surpassed my expectations was the settlement builder but that doesn't mean it's not a shitty system that needs a lot of work. It feels like Bethesda left it to the modding community to fix. But, it's the only thing I find fun in this game which is disappointing because I love exploring the worlds of F3 and FNV.
 

Markoman

Member
I won't even argue about certain production qualities in W3 and Fallout 4 anymore.
I had more fun with FO4 in the end, fullstop. Talking pure gameplay here.

...and let's not forget that W3 is far from perfect regarding some technical aspects.
Some animations look B-Tier, too. Controls are B-Tier. Combat? B-Tier. And the overall quality and originality when it comes to storytelling takes a big dive IMO after the first third of the game, as it's just another western fantasy story filled with numerous fantasy tropes. If this was a movie, it would be a blue-ray only release.

I have participated in a lot of W3 discussions here on GAF, but my overall conclusion is:
most of the praise for the game comes from people who like playable novels/movies -
that's the fun of the experience for them (being immersed into this fantasy world) and that's totally ok for me. Then there are gamers like me who have lost the interest of playing cinematic gaming experiences and who prefer moment to moment gameplay. So the former group of people should stop explaining to the latter group why the actual gameplay (not talking about choosing dialogue options and manging inventory and crafting stuff here) in W3 is good.
 
If I had one major complaint about FO4 it would be that the world is boring and it's filled with boring content. Also the 2nd half of the main quest is super dumb.
Also, why are all the major factions so fucking uninteresting?
This game was under development for how long and this is the best your writers can come up with?
 

firehawk12

Subete no aware
Did I miss something where everyone on the first page who said they liked the game got banned?

And while I hoped that they might have learned from Obsidian and New Vegas, I'm not surprised that they just did the same old crap with the storytelling.
 

sappyday

Member
Just off the top of my head:

The new leveling/perks system is better

General gameplay (shooting, movement, animations, balancing)

Crafting system and weapon/armor modding

Itemization and legendaries

Main quest is tons better than FO3

World building (more compact, always something to find, NPC react to your actions more)

Companions are a great addition, albit some are really shallow

Leveling system is fucking terrible still imo. You shouldn't get xp for everything and having perks stuck in higher level stats (Local Leader) is stupid when it's necessary to the system.

Legendaries are pointless and annoying. I hate that I can't dismantle their shitty weapons. I ignored anything they had to give halfway through./

Companions are not an addition. They've always been there. There are just more now than before, but the way you get them and the reasoning for some of them following you is stupid and underwhelming.



The only thing they improved imo:
Graphics (mandatory)
Combat (mandatory)
You don't go into a menu when you loot shit
They added a settlement builder

That's pretty much it.

The main story is a lot bigger and some would say a lot more engaging but I found it as stupid as F3's but now you have to struggle a lot longer to be done with it.
 

GlamFM

Banned
Did I miss something where everyone on the first page who said they liked the game got banned?

And while I hoped that they might have learned from Obsidian and New Vegas, I'm not surprised that they just did the same old crap with the storytelling.

Apparently agreeing in on sentence is OK, disagreeing in one sentence is not....

Happy new year.

Have not played nearly enough of F4 to make up my mind, but I start feeling the stuff people have been talking about.

We´ll see.
 

Lanrutcon

Member
Good points.

I like the game and it was fun, but it's a guilty pleasure. The way the series has regressed since NV is plain to see, and Bethesda's becoming lazier when it comes to their open world formula.

I agree with the folks that say FO4 has no business being mentioned in the same breath as last year's big contenders.
 

Hatty

Member
I guess I just don't see the point of an RPG with such poor writing. Neither the gameplay or the open world make up for the poor story and subpar quests. Can't forget to mention the Bethesda jank which is unforgivable in 2015
 

Vintage

Member
Playing it felt like it was made by a team that was just given a task to do it, not by the one that wanted to do it.

Soulless, extremely safe and just boring.
 

Markoman

Member
Concerning the world building, I do have something to add:
FO4 world-building and writing is totally 'goofy' and 'gamey' and I had zero problems with that, because it felt like the game wasn't taking itself too serious. It was almost like a playable saturday morning cartoon for adults.

The W3 on the other hand is more ambitious and wants to tell a mature/serious story
on the same level novels and movies do. For me, W3 fails in this regard. At some point in the game the overall tone of the game totally changed for me (everthing after Baron's quest). With every little piece they added to the W3' world over the course of the game they ruined my positive impressions when I started the game.
 

Das Ace

Member
Oh, god... Is this for real?

Is the writing in this game that bad?

At least that part is memorable for being so bad. Most of the story is so bland I barely remember it.

There's nothing that hits the highs of the Thieves Guild from Skyrim or Dark Brotherhood from Oblivion or Vaults from Fallout 3. It's all pretty boring.

edit: I guess I found a teddy bear sitting on a toilet? Yay environmental story telling?
 

Lakitu

st5fu
Playing it felt like it was made by a team that was just given a task to do it, not by the one that wanted to do it.

Soulless, extremely safe and just boring.

Soulless? That's rubbish. There's so much attention to detail all around. You can tell by the amount of care and attention the game has.

Also, what's with the bans in this thread?
 
I preferred Fallout's world design for exploration compared to Witcher 3, but Witcher is far superior in pretty much every other aspect.

The story was complete shit in Fallout 4, nothing is really accomplished. The mid point of the game, feels like it should be the quarter mark, while the ending feels like the middle, I'm curious if that's actually the case and the game was rushed out. End game spoilers
The story boils down to killing the other factions, that's it, you just kill a group of people and accomplish nothing for the Wasteland, you also get a nuclear generator going, but that just maintains the status quo for the long run. Usually you'd take out a faction and then have something to tackle after that, but this game just ends.

The dialogue system was a huge step back in the role playing department, with the voiced actor, it's just to restrained and comes off as cookie cutter options, you can be a nice guy, a sarcastic ass or a dick who still helps out. It's probably the weakest attempt at this system compared to games with similar mechanics, Mass Effect, Dragon Age and Witcher series all did a better job overall, it feels a lot like Dragon Age II.

Choice was also thrown out the Window for Fallout 4. there's nothing truly horrid you can do in the Wasteland like games past, there's nothing like blowing up Megaton or sabotaging the Ghoul boarder rocket. As I said in the dialogue complaint, you can be a dick who still helps out and that's as far as morality goes in 4.

I couldn't bring myself to replay the game or do sidequest after the main quest was over, I'm waiting on mods and DLC to improve the experience. Dawnguard and Dragonborn were great for Skyrim, hopefully Bethesda can deliver quality there.
 

CloudWolf

Member
Using V.A.T.S with the Blitz perk caused all sorts of weird shit to happen, including clipping through walls or simply failing to attack properly.
You know, thinking about it I have a pretty big problem with how VATS works in general in this game (at least, until you get the 'shoot through walls' perk). People were super positive about the fact that it now slows down time instead of freezing it, but it just defeats the purpose of VATS for me. I have had many times where a shot failed because the enemy slow-mo walked behind a pillar or wall while I was targeting him (or more annoyingly, during the shooting animation) and the game failed to mention that my hit percentage was now 0% instead of 95%. I wasted entire magazines on this shit.
 

sappyday

Member
Concerning the world building, I do have something to add:
FO4 world-building and writing is totally 'goofy' and 'gamey' and I had zero problems with that, because it felt like the game wasn't taking itself too serious. It was almost like a playable saturday morning cartoon for adults.

The W3 on the other hand is more ambitious and wants to tell a mature/serious story
on the same level novels and movies do. For me, W3 fails in this regard. At some point in the game the overall tone of the game totally changed for me (everthing after Baron's quest). With every little piece they added to the W3' world over the course of the game they ruined my positive impressions when I started the game.

The Witcher's world isn't as dark or serious as Game of Thrones or any of that and it doesn't want to be. There has always been some goofy shit in TW but it is leveled with the realism of the characters. The tone is consistent throughout the main quest and characters.

Fallout 4's is goofy and gamey but the story isn't. It takes itself serious throughout the entire thing. It's widely inconsistent because of that.
 

mocoworm

Member
I have held off on Fallout 4 so far as I didn't really put the hours in on Fallout 3. I think I am going to go back to that one first.

Why are people getting banned for saying they liked Fallout 4. What gives?
 

Wagram

Member
If there's anything Witcher 3 needs to be remembered for it's how to design quests (both main and side). There's no longer an excuse in this genre for mediocrity when a developer came along and did it on a feasible and modest budget for a AAA.
 

aravuus

Member
Incredibly disappointing game. Maybe mods will save it for me in a year or two.

Apparently agreeing in on sentence is OK, disagreeing in one sentence is not....

Well yeah, of course it is. Why should you elaborate on anything if you agree with someone? You'd end up writing the same shit the guy you agree with did. It's generally expected of you to explain where you're coming from if you disagree with someone, otherwise you just sound like you're trying to dismiss their opinion.

The point is the contents of the post, not how short it is.
 

Lakitu

st5fu
I have held off on Fallout 4 so far as I didn't really put the hours in on Fallout 3. I think I am going to go back to that one first.

Why are people getting banned for saying they liked Fallout 4. What gives?

If it's because of them not adding to the conversation, what about those who are just saying 'I agree' and that's it?
 

aravuus

Member
If it's because of them not adding to the conversation, what about those who are just saying 'I agree' and that's it?

If you disagree with the OP, try to actually elucidate WHY. Posting merely "I enjoyed it" or something like that is pointless white noise at best, and a passive aggressive attempt to drown out criticism at worst. Stop.

Because it's not just because they don't exactly contribute to the conversation.
 
This first page lol
Bethesda won't care, next TES and fallout won't improve anything, people bandwagoned skyrim and fallout for some reasons (memes and youtubers probably play a big part), they have no reason to try

The sole fact they didn't bother making a new engine for this says a lot
 

Pikma

Banned
The worst part about this shit game is that I expected more of what Fallout 3 offered, which is not very much, and I still came out disappointed
 

mocoworm

Member
If it's because of them not adding to the conversation, what about those who are just saying 'I agree' and that's it?

Incredibly disappointing game. Maybe mods will save it for me in a year or two.

Well yeah, of course it is. Why should you elaborate on anything if you agree with someone? You'd end up writing the same shit the guy you agree with did. It's generally expected of you to explain where you're coming from if you disagree with someone, otherwise you just sound like you're trying to dismiss their opinion.

The point is the contents of the post, not how short it is.

So you think this is bannable? What kind of forum is this?

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=191349578&postcount=14

I have PM'd multiple MOD's including EviLore to report MOD abuse, including links to all relevant posts.

... and in response to your post, 'MUNTU' , how is your comment any better?

'Incredibly disappointing game. Maybe mods will save it for me in a year or two.' How did you explain any of your issues with the game in your post? Where in your post did you 'explain where you are coming from?? Should you be banned as well? What did your short agreement post add to this discussion?
 

GlamFM

Banned
Incredibly disappointing game. Maybe mods will save it for me in a year or two.



Well yeah, of course it is. Why should you elaborate on anything if you agree with someone? You'd end up writing the same shit the guy you agree with did. It's generally expected of you to explain where you're coming from if you disagree with someone, otherwise you just sound like you're trying to dismiss their opinion.

The point is the contents of the post, not how short it is.

So what does agreeing add to the conversation?
 
Top Bottom