Recent reviews by Loggy

From the age of intelligence-respecting games, Fallout stands out as one of the most famous and influential RPGs of the era. It started as a humble project, and became a beloved piece of gaming history, spawning a franchise that, after dying, came back stronger than ever.

Gameplay:

Fallout works on an attribute and skill and perk/trait system. The customization is very high with character creation. There are 7 primary attributes, a bunch of skills, and a handful of traits to choose from at the very start. Like in real life each attribute, skill, and perk/trait has their own use, but some are far better than others.

The core gameplay takes some getting used to, but it's not too complicated. In combat, you have a limited number of action points per turn, and you can spend them however you like, shooting, reloading, using items, or moving. Combat is very punitive, but this goes both ways. The beginning of the game is quite difficult due to starting equipment being quite lame. Outside of combat you can interact with things and people, like any other standard rpg. Dialogs feature choices, which can have dire consequences. Be an ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥, get shot or ignored.

Story:

You are some Vault Dweller being given the simple yet weightful task of getting a water chip. There's no predetermined player character, you are whoever you want to be. From the very beginning, you are your own person. Rather than force a narrative upon the player, characters offer information and their opinions on events in the wasteland giving the player a chance to genuinely care about issues. The only forced narrative is the water chip quest, which serves as an adventure catalyst. It points you in the direction of the rest of the game. You will encounter civilizations and can choose whether or not to get involved with their problems. The intelligence shown in the writing and the respect for the player's intelligence are definite strong points of the game, they will provoke deep thought, including philosophical topics and the ethics of a ruined world.

Graphics/Art:

Moody, grainy, stylish, and isometric, Fallout boasts a distinctive look. At higher resolutions without scaling, it can be an extremely visually noisy game. Every sprite is packed with subtle details. Different civilizations will have a distinct style to their townships, from freshly built adobe buildings to repurposed garbage and pre-war ruins to a perfectly preserved and well-maintained bunker, there's a lot to look at and take in. People all have graphic and sometimes gory death animations, making combat feel satisfying and brutal.

One stand-out feature of Fallout is that major characters have "talking heads," which are creepy, painstakingly detailed facial animations. These are uncanny, but the work put into them is tremendous, and despite looking very weird today they still work quite well, they belong in this post-nuke world, and I have a soft spot for them.

Sound Design:

The soundtrack varies between moody tribal-ish music to very industrial tracks. While many of them aren't what I would call pleasant to listen to, it matches the mood perfectly.

The sound effects are standard for a game like this, I enjoyed them.

Conclusion:

This game holds up well today, getting a patch for modern systems is almost necessary, but the vanilla game is great. It challenges the player in a genuine way, mentally and gameplay-wise. If you enter the game hot off the heels of Fallout 4 you will likely think it's ♥♥♥♥ due to the stark difference in pacing and how much patience you need to play, but adjusting to this old fart of a game is well worth it.

It starts with a block, usually a rectangular prism, something so innocuous. But, with the block, there is potential. Potential to become the foundation of a great cityscape, beautiful wilderness, horrific battlefield, or simply a staircase to nowhere. Power is born from freedom, not complexity, and Blockland exemplifies this, all of the power lies within the players.

The potential of the block awakens this untapped beast in some, leading to beautiful constructions, ranging in styles and themes. Others tinker, looking to add to what's present, to add to the potential, changing how it works, from advanced RPG systems and finely tuned well-modeled guns to humble server tweaks and aesthetics, the community-made add-ons serve only to multiply what is possible in Blockland. In-game and out-of-game, Blockland has inspired true art and innovation, materialized into builds, and models, and scripts.

Above all in Blockland, the true strength lies within community. Not THE community, but of the concept of multiple people all in one place. I, for example, have made a number of friends from the game, though not every one has stuck around, we all shared something in common: Blockland. Unlike other games, the people of Blockland are generally more willing to form a bond with those they play with. But THE community, and by extension the concept of community in Blockland, are in a rut. Blockland needs our help.

Shame on other reviewers who say the game is good but lacks activity, shame on those who would abandon this game, even when they see the potential. Because this game will never become good unless multiple people come together to create, to inspire, and above all to have fun.

PROS:
-The power to create
-The ability to meet people
-Endless possiblities
-Devout players who still hold on

CONS:
-Low activity
-Negative Steam reviews turning people off from giving the game a FAIR CHANCE
-Transient players who try the game and drop it quickly due to low activity or bad reviews
-Negative feedback loop of player retention

In conclusion, in order to have fun in Blockland, the game needs people to ignore negative reviews, a community effort to return Blockland to its former glory. Current players should try to convince others to join or come back to the game, new players should pick the game up and really give it a go. Rather than tear down a game that's obviously bleeding, build it up, put in the effort until the bitter end.

People must look at Blockland, and see the potential that lies within, not superficial features. Because a simple block holds limitless potential, but if ignored it will remain just a block.