I need a new button for 'meh'. When Fallout 4 was announced, I was beyond stoked. Incredilbly happy because Fallout 3 GOTY was the best damned game I had played over the course of months. With Fallout 4, I feel like you're given a shiny new toy that has lots of bells and whistles that after a week seems boring. For diehard Fallout fans who stick to Fallout canon, this game may rank as a disappointment. For people new to the genre, this game will surely entertain. I feel the devs rebooted this game and incorporated new elements to appeal to non-fans and by doing so, removed core elements found in previous games that make Fallout 4 a disappointment for serious fans.

Overall rating: It's fallout for the new generation. It leaves old fogeys like me disappointed with the slick new changes that replace what was otherwise a deep and profound gaming experience with Fallout 3.

The engine has been upgraded in Fallout 4 which makes it prettier. To the uninformed, the game is visually pleasing with environmental effects. For me, personally, its too much colour. In Fallout 3, there was a really monochromatic feel to the game. Everything was a dark shade of brown or grey. It really lent to a feeling of despair, isolation and nuclear fallout. Fallout 4's engine is definitely pretty but the splash of colour takes away from the grittiness of the game.

PLOT: Your son gets kidnapped and your wife murdered after nuclear fallout. Once you emerge from cryofreeze, you set off in search of him. Honestly, 100 hours into the game, I've forgotten about him, which brings me to the first glaring issue in Fallout 4: its plot. In Fallout 3, you left in search of your father but still throughout the game I felt that the plot still mattered despite the vast array of sidequests. So far I've managed to ask questions to some crack head woman part of my settlement about my son. That was weeks ago. Shaun who?

I also found that the game ushered in way too quickly items. Power armour 10 minutes into the game? Way too quick. In hitting up the museum, I made contact with a Deathclaw who killed me in under 5 seconds. After managing to sidestep it, I made contact with the first minutemen and I had my first laser weapon. In Fallout 3, I had a hunting rifle for the longest time and thinking it was a fantastic weapon. In fallout 4, ultimately, the abundance of weapons and their early availability make it too easy. In the attempt to establish settlements, I find myself wasting fusion cores going from one place to the next scrounging for materials to fortify my colonies. The story has taken a back seat.

SIDEQUESTS There are lots of side quests in Fallout 4, and in all honesty, the large majority of them become trivial. The minutemen quests are first a great way to build XP. Once I established colonies getting 200 + XP per quest, I'm level 30 without really having gone into the campaign. I haven't even visited Diamond City yet. But the sidequests, especially with Minutemen, become boring fast. If you haven't equipped your settlements with power generators, food and proper defences, they'll get raided and you'll be notified by "settlement under attack" messages. Liberating and establishing settlements mean you have to fork out resources. You can establish trade junkets and routes between settlements over time. It's a distraction. Revisiting a previous area of the map with defeated enemies and collected loot reveals thme being repopulated: lame. After a while, the Minutemen quests become MUNDANE. Someone gets kidnapped again? Who cares.

CRAFTING a great idea in theory, but too bogged down in practicality. The move to craft everything in Fallout 4 was a clever addition by the devs that capitalizes on the crafting genre. It has its strengths in Fallout 4 but frankly the extent to which devs apply this in the game makes me feel like I'm playing SIMS. Being able to craft weapons is a good addition, but the VAST, VAST array of choices along with their respective materials needed make it a lost affair. You simply do not have the carrying power to have enough materials in odrer to spend more than 10 minutes at the workstation crafting something. By the time you upgrade or craft one weapon, you barely have enough material for something else. And seeing that crafting is tied directly to upgrading and applying perks to the ability to craft, it dilutes it even further, making it something you'll never really be able to accomplish unless you're 100s of hours into the game. At 93 hours, I'm at level 28 and have modified my armour to LEVEL E. But if you want to level up and make use of the crafting abilities, you are essentially forced to spend your points on science, armour, gun nut and carry if you want to be able to level up your armour and weapons, That along with lockpick and hacking.

The idea of creating entire cities that interact with themselves is great, but reduces Fallout 4 to a post-apocalyptic SIMS game. It forces the user to balance the plot and the grittiness of living in a nuclear holocaust with trading. Some of the additions are downright ridiculous. Being able to create water pumps out of thin air, along with scrapping an entire fleet of cars into junk removes entirely the survivability of the game and makes it an attraction to younger crowds. Fallout 4 is longer a survival game - it's minecraft with a SIMS sticker.

NPCs 100 hours in, and I've barely met anyone worth remembering. In fallout 3, you meet a host of characters who offer you different choices that changes the landscape of the game. I remember the shadowy guy in Megaton who offered you caps to blow up the town. I also remember the feral ghoul who was shut out of the last penthouse whom I eventually allowed back in through the back door to murder every inhabitant living in the lap of luxury. These unique characters made the game stand out. In Fallout 4, the only character I've met worth remembering is Detective Valentine.

Music the lonely haunting FO3 themes made it amazing. The classical radio in FO4 is nice, but the host playing oldies is a total disaster. Bring back Mad Dog!

The changed Conversation GUI One of the most drastic and negative differences in the game is the dumbed down GUI for conversations and the way you interact with NPCs. In fallout 3 the GUI allows for a visual representation of how to pursue a conversation. You were able, depending on your abilities, to pursue, manipulate or threaten characters. The visual layout made Fallout 3 really FEEL like an RPG. In fallout 4, the box, the conversation leads and the guts of the R in Role-playing game have been ripped out and replaced with a dumbed-down console version with arrows. ARROWS. Not only that, the choices offered with the arrows have no way of letting you know what exactly your motives can be with that particular conversation. It makes for a lobotomized, kiddy-version approach that sold out to the console crowd. In fallout 3, I'd be interested in conversing with anyone I encountered in the wasteland. In fallout 4, that magic is gone. Why the devs opted for this change is beyond me, but it arguably puts a stake through the ethos of the fallout spirit and replaces it with a new version perfect for this generation: ADHD.

Voice acting: the voice acting for FO4 is pretty sad. My character's voice is downright unconvincing. He's a beta male in power armour.

Companions I found the ability to have a companion to be genius on Bethesda's behalf. What better way to adopt a lonely dog and then have him protect you as you roam throughout the Commonwealth? After several fights you realize quickly they're invicible bullet and stimpak sponges. Strong the ogre is a great companion to have as a pack mule. And with Cait, apparently we're in love and after we sleep together I get an XP bonus. WTF?

200 hours later, I'm bored. Disappointing.

**NEW REVIEW ON 2nd PLAYTHROUGH**

Playing this a 2nd time around with my previous review in mind makes for easier gameplay. Here's how:

1. DO NOT train militia or even arm them. It's a waste of time. They'll be overrun regardless. You'll be stuck micromanaging cities and then major cities will swell with AI over 80.

2. Hire a handful of crappy mercs from key areas (supply depot, hideout, barracks) to ship guns back to Cambria to sell them. You can make 10s of thousands this way.

3. Start off with 2 mercs (i.e. Wolf and Igor). Run and gun. Arm Wolf with the CAWS on autofire. Have him hidden in key choke points with autofire and shield selected. Then run another merci back and forth to lead AI back to chokepoint. AI have unrealistic bullet physics but they are INCOMPETENT. They will chase you back. Lead them to chokepoints and use close-range weapons (CAWS is amazing for this) to shred them. Works all the time.

4. Do not spend time casing joints, sneaking through. At one city, I had 37 enemy AI. I had 5 mercs with HKs and FN Minimis LNGs provide long range support while 2 with shotguns crouched by entrance. I used a lesser merc to run / out and draw AI into the open. I slaughtered AI 20 at a time.

5. Tactics always work. Close support weapons (CAWS is amazing, P90s) with mercs prone nearby. 1-2 long range mercs. Use lesser mercs to run/flush out AI. Draw them into open. Mow them down.

6. DO NOT USE GUN ATTACHMENTS. They slow your merc down. This was a major failure of bitcomposer devs. Attachments add needless seconds to firing. It's ridiculous. Real-world attachments increase response time/efficacy. This game fails to reflect that.

7. Run constant shipments of guns back to Cambria as you advance through the map.

8. Have 2 mercs positioned in Cambria. Specifically the BAR AREA. The AI wlil almost ALWAYS choose that location. Position your mercs prone, with P90s, shotguns, etc. As AI turn the corner walking upstairs they will be shredded to pieces. Collect fallen weapons, sell, reposition mercs.

This game is/was highly frustrating due to glaring oversights. But following the above steps will cut down significantly on your stress.


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I want to like this game. I really want to.

It is a shame that after Jagged Alliance 2 this franchise has been savaged at a pretty good clip.

A continuation of the Jagged Alliance series that doesn't quite fit the bill. At times this game can be HIGHLY and EXTREMELY FRUSTRATING, as the bullet physics simply do not MAKE SENSE. I have had to replay scenario after scenario simply because my sniper who is equipped with a .50 cal barrett and a sniper scope is somehow unable to make a shot within 5 seconds that somehow bounces off an incoming enemy who is running towards my prone merc anticipating a shot.

Jagged Alliance 2 was an amazing game. The characters each had their personalities and idiosyncrasies. This game comes across as feeling flat as there is zero dialogue between mercs.

This game could have been so much more yet the devs failed on a variety of key points.


1.) In this new series, your merc is UNABLE to repair armour. What does this mean? It means that you have to essentially shlep a merc back and forth, running orders for new armour. This translates into a huge waste of time and a waste of money. The game is seriously derailed because after a while you lose your armour and every single enemy AI you encounter has brand new armour. Lame.

2.) The game is highly unbalanced and the devs are incompetent about this. It requires Ivan 6 seconds using a Barrett .50 cal with a scope to take a shot and all of his attributes are 90+ across the board. Target acquisition with sniper rifles - much less ANY kind of optics - adds 2-3+ seconds before your merc shoots. By that point they're most likely dead. If this game were true to its character stats, optics would be a benefit. But wait! It takes time to peer down a scope, people reply. If you have 90+ in all attributes, you should be slaying everyone with a red dot sights or reflex sight.

3.) It took me a record FIVE SHOTS from a PSG-1 50 feet away to drop an enemy AI. Each shot the enemy just shook it off. One shot alone with a 7.62 round 50 feet away to your head and your head would magically disappear into a fine mist. And yet the devs at BitComposer overlook this glaring fact.

4.) Waiting patiently works against you. By the time I was ready and good to attack major cities, the number of enemy AI had bloated to over 80 a city. It took me around 3 hours of repeated saving and trying before I was able to take over the Docks which had 40 dead enemies. Ridiculous.

5.) Enemy AI shooting mechanics are UNREALISTIC. I have had a merc prone some 50 feet away on an incline, which means he is facing the slope before having reached it. The other side the enemy AI has somehow managed to SHOOT ME THROUGH THE ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ HILL. Seriously...

6.) Enemy AI will spot you miles down the road. Camouflage does not work. I have had snipers prone among trees and grass blended right in and the AI has been able to see me and also SHOOT ME THROUGH TREES AND ROCKS.

7.) Pathfinding and object collision is inevitable. If you have multiple mercs in a room with limited space, both mercs will get stuck trying to get out.

8.) The game forces you to heavily rely on micromanagement of cities with its system of hiring miltia. In Jagged Alliance 2 you could simply equip militia and watch a quick run through as they fount incoming troops. Whatever leftover troops were automatically leveled up. After a while, you could have a full compliment of militia and ANY town would be safe. In Back in Action, the computer will forever send 10 man teams to Cambria. Seeing that Cambria is an important city with its arms dealer, you are forced to park mercs to defend it.

9.) Regular militia are essentially useless. There are no defensive capabilities with militia. You can equip them with the latest weapons and armour and they will simply walk out in the open and get mowed down. It will cost you 10s of thousands to continue equipping them with weapons, which is still useless because at some point your militia will fail you.

10.) There are no interrupts in this game like there were in Jagged Alliance 2 which is a shame, since you were rewarded for carefully planning your moves.

11.) Even with the balancing mod, your mercs take far too long to shoot. While it makes sense to take longer to peer down a scope and shoot, trained mercs in real-life who use red-dot sites or holographic sights can shoot in under 2 seconds at a target. In this game you can be lying prone on the ground with a machine gun and it will take your merc 2-3 seconds to ready himself to shoot while the AI will mow you down.

12.) Some weapons are destined to fail repeatedly. The underslug grenade launcher will misfire on any merc after 1-2 shots. Even at 100% condition, it misfires. Avoid it at all costs.

13.) Every single time you start a new map, you need to constantly select the automatic fire and shield options. This makes micromanagement a pain in the @ss. Changing weapons on the fly? You need to RESELECT the auto fire as the game defaults to single fire. You waste hours over time having to go through the same motions as you prep over and over again your team with the same actions.

Unless you are willing to play a game that involves loading save after save hours on end, don't bother getting this. If you do get this, get the Realism Balanced mod which not only addresses the glaring gun flaws but adds new weapons. It makes the game playable.

All I want to ask the devs is, WTF kind of QA do you dildos do at BitComposer?

Take a look at the screenshot below. Wolf is UNDER WATER hidden behind trees with roots blocking the view. And yet he is still spotted.

http://i.imgur.com/WrxqmVn.jpg

Do not buy this game unless you want to spend 90% of your time reloading save after save.