The high selling sequel to Bethesda’s Fallout 3, Fallout 4 puts fans back into the wasteland and gives even more adventure and story, as well as a new cast of characters. The game, although with some early faults, gets a 4/5.

Some problems with the game in my experience was an intense amount of lag. Early on the game would freeze up and about 20 minutes would be spent waiting for it to load. To fix this issue I had to download and install a driver just to get the game to work correctly. After that was fixed, I enjoyed the game much more.

The graphics for the game are gorgeous. The landscape looks amazing, and it doesn’t take away at all the story or the gameplay of the game, it still feels like Fallout. A few different sources have also said that the game is made from the same engine as Skyrim. So, obviously the size of the map was a big question for fans. From my experience, the map is huge. Just huge. Even the visual map you are given in the game isn’t totally truthful as there is a point in the story where you go past “the border” on the visual map.

The story, from what I’ve played which is about 30 plus hours in, is pretty good. It’s a nice way to make it different than Fallout 3’s, but I also like how the situation is flipped. With possible spoilers (it’s probably not as it’s way early on in the game) instead of the son looking for the father, the father is looking for the son. It’s about a father’s struggle to find his son after a nuclear disaster in the Commonwealth aka the Boston area. In other words, I really enjoy the story.

The gameplay does feel different than its prequel. It almost feels like I’m playing Mass Effect, but Fallout. The combat feels a lot smoother, but it is pretty difficult to shoot things in third person, especially in close quarters. It’s almost a need to go in first person. The dialogue has also changed, and I actually enjoy it. It’s nice to associate a voice with a person rather than just a dialogue box. However, one thing I find to not be as good is the persuasion mechanic. I miss the old speech percentage instead of colors. It also takes away the purpose of speech, the kharma system and replaces it with charisma, two things you set up at the beginning of the game. One thing I do like that is different is settlements. Setting up, and managing settlements is fun and adds a new element to Fallout. I love building bases and defenses, as well as setting up shops, and trade posts.

The game is surely a high seller, and possibly a Game of the Year candidate, but the game definitely deserves its rating. There are a few issues, but that’s any game. If someone plays on PC, it is a need to get the driver. However, once it’s fixed, and it is easily fixed, the game is fantastic. There is so much beauty in the graphics, and the gameplay feels smooth. This is why everyone loves Bethesda.