TECH2

I wasn’t a huge fan of 3 to be honest. I got bored quickly, not least from the brown-on-brown-on-beige aesthetic.

I wasn’t even planning on getting 4 until I saw the trailer. OK, it looked pretty awesome. And blowing up irradiated monsters in my old home town had to be at least a little fun. Right?

Yeah, it’s awesome.

The world of Fallout is a little odd, if you’ve never played them. They take place in the future, but with a mid-century modern aesthetic, as if that’s when design stopped, but some technology continued development.

The main plot to a Fallout game is practically irrelevant, since so much enjoyment can be had just exploring the world, and picking up a near infinite number of side quests. I play for weeks without even touching the main plot (I’d sorta forgotten about it). The shortest version? You've survived a nuclear armageddon. Now stuff happens. Also, there's a dog.

A huge part of Fallout’s appeal is the ability to customize your character in countless different ways. From what weapons you’re able to use best, to what your weapons do, to what your armor protects against, and more.

Like a pistol you picked up, but want to improve the damage? You can. Want to add a scope? Sure. Want to add a longer barrel and stock, converting it entirely to a sniper rifle? Yep, can do.

Want your armor to have more pockets so you can carry more things? Sure. Protect against falls? Yep.

There’s something addictive about being able to level up and make your avatar more powerful, and a little bit more how like you them to play.

There are certainly some issues, like any Bethseda game. Inventory management is horrendous, a serious pain in the ass for a game that requires you to pick up tons of junk, all the time. The AI pathfinding is not quite laughably bad, but it’s very "Oh, right, this is a video game."

And lastly, while the visuals are much improved over 3, they’re still pretty bland. I wish the tech of something like Battlefront could be used in a Fallout game. That’d be mindblowing.

But none of that really matters. Fallout 4 is a fantastic game. There are so many ways to play, so many things to do, it’s never boring and highly fun. Highly recommended.

Clear some space in your schedule though…