Fallout 4: The Review-So Far Part 1

    As I write this, it is but hours away until the midnight release of Fallout 4. For months, most of us have been figuring what exactly we would do the second we've breached Vsult 111. We've thought of wandering the Wasteland, or custimizig weapons. We thought of building settlements, or everything sbove, and more. I'm one of the few thwt actually like to play through the main quest, and actually finish it, even though that may not be everyone's idea of out-of-the-box gameplay. Still, this game is going to be destroying the buzzfeed of YouTube. There are the trolls who thought this game wasn't going to be up to par, and to be fair, their strives are not on what makes gameplay bad today: like day 1 patches, and even the most obvious bugs that will take five years to fix. Why preorder, and hold your money out for a game that will mostl likely be below par at release. The it net has made developers lazy,mand publishers greedy. I think Bethesda will have the bugs that make the game almost unplayable out of the box, and that terrifies gamers like me who want to play the game without internet connection. Still, this is going to be a very exciting experience, and it will be epic, whether that's an epic pass or fail is up to Bethesda. 

      Most people are getting ready as we speak to celebrate that which is Fallout, and of course, some of us are sitting by being skeptics, and although we need skepticism when kool-aid is being drunk, we should also note thwt sometimes kool-aid is nothing but sweet, refreshing kool-aid. Still, Fallput 4 has been a very, very intriguing want, a desire thwt mostl of us want, and some of us only hope we can have. I've been playing games for some time now, and although I've not been a huge fan of the RPG genre, my first play at Fallout 3 sold me, because I'm a wo seeing wanderer in games. I'm one of those people who search out the shady areas, and hope to crash the game into oblivion. I love to find the breaks in a game, because I secretly wish to be a game tester. I'm obsessed with finding some of the biggest breaks in games, and I've even done so on a multitude of levels playing games since the Ps2, slthough they wee never as prevalent on that system. 

     So fallout 4 is no surprise to me if it decides to crap out every few steps, and I wouldn't mind seeing just how far the game will go until stuff goes apeshit, because least face it, the game's coming out rather quickly, and guess what....it's going to be buggy, sketchy shit, because it's designed to be so huge, even if a hundred game testers are playing simultaneously spread throughout the world, you will hit a glitch, and sometimes you will not. 

  Of course I ask too much when I want the game to work out of the box, because let's face it, I want to actually enjoy my game, but I know in 2015, that's asking to much.  I'm not a skeptic, personally I'd say this game has come out at just the right time to piss off other developers because game of the year is going to be a shoe-in, unless it's so bad,it's a farce onto itself. 

     Still, I've played Fallout 3 many times through, and it occasionally froze up....but, it also didn't completely kill a save one me, or make it impossible to make up for lost time. I also know to make it easy to save with every traverse through the open world. My suggestion to all of you: play this game with caution, and always be prepared for the occasional freeze, and make sure to save if the frame rate drops, which it will. 

Now onto the fun stuff, because all the negatives will be coming up, and it will be rather unfair of me to judge before I review. I've done many reviews, preview, and first impressions over the past year, but this is the game that I've given a great deal of my attention to...that and my ever-loving coverage of NaNoWriMo, which I've completed by doing 50,000 words in five days. I have taken a short hiatus on this novel, and will finish it in a week-or-two, but it will be finished in ine month. Thre reason for this hiatus was for personal reasons: I've lost the writing mojo because I had a tick on my back, and I've been down about it, because it hurt like hell. Also, I've written over ten thousand words a day, and I've written myself into a hole. Not saying I've writer's block, but I defensively have story block. I'm close to the end, and for me, that is where I need to spend special attention because this is the last book of two books.  Other than that, I'm now ready to play some Fallout 4, order some pizzas, and getting ready for some red eyes from lack of sleep. 

      I'm going to give you guys some tricks to play the game, because like most RPGs, there are a lot of ways to play this game through, and have it affect the game in a multitude of different ways. So let's start with the S.P.E.C.I.A.L.  attributes first, because those are the very first parts of bundling a stratagem for the rest of the game. Think of it like a chess match, and that you personal skills as a gamer must reflect those of your character in order to allow you the greatest chance of survival. I'll assume that  out of what you will be dealing with in this game in obstacles will NOT be leveled proportionally to your character. I have a strange feel that like Skyrim, your game will be unbalanced from the beginning, because if you think about it, if you run into a Deathclaw out of the vault, it will kill you without hesitation. This means if you travel too far out of reason, you will be dealing with a shitstorm of hell thwt will make you wish you never quick-saved so far from home. 

     So your S.P.E.C.I.A.L. attributes will come into play at the short game as long as the long game. Seeing that this game is going to be like a very awesome mutated chess match from the start,there are two ways to g about it....the shoot'em up route, which means high strength, high perception, and a fair amount of both endurance and agilty. This means low charisma, low intelligence, and low luck. Granted,it's a smart way to power though, especially a hundred hours in, but it's not the essential route I normally take. I take more the diplomatic route,  because it works for staying natural to any factions from the start. This means high charisma, which people think is a useless attribute, but I say no-way! 

    Intelligence works side-by-side with perception especially, but it raises all your mental attributes, and with Charisma, you're allowed to win more dialogue challenges,which usually unveils more ways around and out of trouble. It seems cowardice at first, but talking your way out of a fight is nominally smarter than hitting someone and then getting owned. Also, Bethesda rewards you more often for not killing,,and talking the time to decide for yourself just which sie to alligin with. Obsidian does the same in New Vegas, where taking your own side with Yes Man, yields the bigger rewards in the long-run. Still, I prefer to talk to my potential enemies, and that will better access to areas and accessories that would be nearly impossible to find otherwise. For more information,mi highly suggest you watch the Fallout 4 videos in-which the cartoon webisodes teach you how to use the S.P.E.C.I.A.L. atrributes to the best of your ability. 

     Granted, i like to throw down sometimes, and that is best for melee attacks, which gives you much better reward for risks. Firstly, melee is essential, escpially ath the beginning, because let's face it, guns are going to be mostly taken up, and found on enemies. Think of it this way: if all you have is a board with a nail,you best know how to whack super mutants with that board and nail. So Agility is vital I. Almost all cases, even diplomatic, because sometimes you need to run away as quickly as possible. Still, I think thwt eventually we will be able to turn our character into a God, but that's post-game, and quite frankly, there's still going to be a need for intelligent use of perks and skills. 

    Sneaking was always a great one for me, because being able to steal without killing a character was always essential in the game, and quite frankly, it's never a dull skillset to have in the game. Stealing allows you to lose karma, but without hurting friendships, similar to a critical sneak kills allows you to take out one pesky troublemaker without spoiling the bunch. Remember, the possibilities are rather infinite, even with no limit on leveling up, because characters can all play a certain way, and quite frankly, I like the subtle approach because it's skills that work in almost any given situation. I

   If you can't talk your way out,you can shoot your way out. Perception and agility are great for that, because if I can decide whether a silver tongue, or a sniper rifle is best to read a given situation,mathematics there's no need to take out the Fat Man, and FUBAR half the map. Mos ttimes I'll kill more animals until I can get the animal friend perks, because I really don't like to kill much while playing the game, because I take risk over reward. 

   Okay, so we all have our way to play,,and we all know just how we like to play, but there are things that even shot-game can't prepare us for in the wasteland, and Bethesda knows that we know it's almost unnatural to want to go into places that can turn out to be Yao Guai Sanctuaries. Exploring is not something I take for granted in this game. Yes, we can just go through and stay safe without backing ourselves into a corner, but where's the fun in that? In Fallout 3, I hated going through the metro tunnels, because even with that primitive map, I've had this worry that I was going to get lost,mor worst, run into something that I was not prepared to deal with such bullshit. Still, Fallout 3 was probably one of the best games ever made for the last generation system, it also had it's issues with discouraging you to do certain things, like talk to strangers. A you went in guns blazing, and pretty much ruined half the quests in the game. 

      D.C. Was instead with tunnels, but it had an immensity about it that made you wonder if you wanted to turn a blind corner. The Boston we know now is not going to be a proper model for what we can expect from the Wasteland, because something tells me that even with a shit-ton of detail, it'll be pretty apparent that we're not in Massachusetts anymore. The game has been under wraps, and I've avoided any major spoilers, because I really had none when I played Fallout 3, and that made the experience all the better. 

     So  first-thing-first.... I love the packaging job on this game. It's got one of the coolest looks I've seen in a while. The package is a close-up of the power armor, and it also has one of the best additives I've seen: a poster with each perk in the game, along with it's coinciding S.P.E.C.I.A.L  I would also like to add thwt I've purchased the Season Pass,mso I'll have to add that onto my system whenever it comes out. 

   The Season Pass is really intriguing to me, as most other games that offer one,usually screw you out of a big chunk of money, only to come out with yet a second season pass, which of course leaves you paying nearly quadruple the price of the game that you've started with,only to get very little bang  for your buck. Still, I trust Bethesda a great deal to put my faith in their vapor ware. Who knows exactly when the first round of stuff will come barreling in, but all I know is that I've put about thirteen hours into the game so-far, and have had it only die on me once. 

    Fallout 4 has a great appeal to it, which makes the hype surrounding the game all-the-greater. The Commonwealth of Massachussets, now simply known as the Commonwealth, starts you in the prewar era, but not necessarily for as long as you'd think. Realistically, the game is actually less than thirty minutes inside both the vault, and prewar Massachusetts. It took me longer to create a character, name him, and updates his stats, which actually doesn't matter, since you can put a level-up perk directly into a S.P.E.C.I.A.L. Attribute. 

     Next, we find out that our wife and son have names. I also think the sex of the child changes depending on which sex you come out of the bathroom mirror.  This is probably true, but I personally don't far which character I choose,mall I know is thwt they look amazing. I know most people judge games these days by graph is, but if you want to compare graphics between this game, and say, Fallout 3, there is a huge difference, and you couldn't imagine there being even a comparison the last-generation graphics. The story from what I've gathered is much thicker than that of Fallout 3, meaning it has multiple arcs, and probably doesn't ever actually end, and with DLC eventually, I doubt most people will be able to even get into the thick of it before the first DLC rleaaes. This game is about the size of Fallut 3's map, but it's thicker, and far more sense, as most buildings can be navigated. The game loads surprisingly fast, and although it'll hiccup like it's predecessor, it has an overall steady framerate , which hasn't dropped noticeably in most of my time through the game itself. 

      I don't want to give much always about the story, because most of it would still be speculation at this point,mbut it appears that you can visit a witch museum in Salem, and it also appears to hint at aliens being present in the game prior to DLC, but again this is all just speculation.  Bethesda makes you feel weak though, but I'm barely pushing level 13, and I don't feel any stronger or more capable than I had at level 1. If you roam too far in this game,it'll make you pay for it, there doesn't seem to be. Balancing system. I ran into a behemoth already, and I didn't even struggle, I just accepted I made a boo-book and let the bastard swat me like the pesky fly I am. 

     Yes, there are behemoths in the game, and they are large, and rather easy to find. I found one literally a few hours in, and of course I didn't kill the thing, I could barely kill them without help in Fallout 3 without being at least level 50. Still, they are literally a hit-or-miss opportunity, so nothing much has changed there.  The game is fun, I played eight hours today, and it felt like I was just getting started. This game is going to eat up whatever pithy of a life I had, and chew it up,spitting it across the room.  It has a great deal of secrets, and I have to say, some of them are a mixture of funny, horrific,mand the ghouls have more diversity. Even the feral ghouls look to have a certain diversity to them that makes them all the more dangerous. Therre are random encounters, and I think that the relationship status helps you out, because it allows you to see where you stand with a companion,mas it replaces the more well-known karma system. 

      The companions are probably more diversified in this game than ever before. I can of course get Dogmeat, and there are perks that even make Dogmeat a more versatile companion. Garvey, the man you meet early on, and where you pick up your power armor is one of the better companions, like Boone was in New Vegas, and Fawkes was in Fallout 3. He's a good guy, and although many of you out there like to play the baddie, I tend to believe it's best to keep it neutral until the mid-game. 

   The Mr. Handy named Codsworh is the very first companion you meet outside the vault, and who-so happen s to have been your prewar robotic butler. There are rumored to be over a dozen companions, one being Piper, a sort of whistleblower who writes a paper in Diamond City (Fenway Park) and is trying to uncover a plot to remove people's internal organs, and replace them with synthetics. There a ton of crazy shit that is going down in the game, and most of it has to deal with the Minutemen trying to come back from mass extinction. If you follow Garvey, then he will essentially put you in charge if the Minutemen, which allows you to go out and recruit more fighters that will come to your aid if you need the by shooting off a flare. Personally, I like this whol e faction concept, and it is attributed into a great deal of quests; however,  there are plenty of side quests that have nothing to do with your faction,mor recruiting more fighters to be down with the cause. The game is so huge, it's a living world, and I have to say, just getting through the second day is enough to make me think thwt I could play this game for years, and not see every single thing it has to offer. 

       The enemies are interesting to-say-the-least: even the bloat flies have stronger versions of themselves, and even the radroaches have glowing versions that cause major damage. Yes,you will be a bit unnerved fighting actual radroaches in this game. The ridiculous amounts of enemies, including the super mutants having several new variations,minlcuding legendary versions of themselves...are ridiculous. That may mean that somewhere out there is a legendary Super Mutant Behemoth.  Even legendary mutated wild mongrels are difficult to kill. Yes, you've read right, some of the legendary creatures mutate, making them even more impossible to kill.  This is also on normal difficulty if I must stress that, but it does make e game far more challenging, and the new V.A.T.S. System insist necessarily the best measure to counterbalance the beasts either. They're kind of like boss battles that you can find by random chance.  There are also areas that seem all nice and safe, but then you find yourself in-between a Yao Guai, and a group of Raiders, and then suddenly,they'll see you as the larger threat. Yao Guai are relentless as ever, and if you back up into a tree, or anything for that matter, you're  dead, and rightfully so. 

       There see also Rad Stages, which we two-headed deer, that will attack you,mbut mostly stay away. Does are more hesitant to attack than bucks. Still, they're more dangerous than I even imagined,mbut most things in the wasteland are usually dangerous enoug to avoid.  The most dangerous creature in the game still seems to be the Deathclaw, which wasn't terrifying enough,MIT now has the ability to grab you, and toss you like the paper doll you are, making sure to shred a few holes in the process.  I've only seen on so-far, but now they're going the Doom route, and implementing chameleon Deathclaws,mshich basically means that they're invisible Desthclaws, and will likely kill you over, and over,mand over until you stop going that way. 

      Another thing I've been able to fight again, happily, are the mirelurks. They are so fun, because they require you to a improperly,mor use V.A.T.S. to hit their face, which is the only thing not aromored on their body. The game feels like Fallout,mbut a new type of Fallout, perhaps what the game was supposed to be originally,mbut the enemies are better this time around. I'm also excited to say that the weapon customization is a welcomed addition,mand helps with taking down enemies, especially with the new edition of melee attacks with almost every weapon. This means you can melee with almost every single gun. 

     AP is what you use to melee, run, V.A.T.S., and it's also a vital part of sniping. The weapons themselves allow for an intense amount of trial and error, but most modifications have been fun, but I really am not a fan of doing all my weapons at once. I did, however, like the edition of renaming your guns and weapos a that you've customized or mode because it gives them the sort of individuality they rightfully deserve.  I'm interested ton seeing if and when mods are available, this will allow some unique weapon customization,,and for people to create and share their creations with other players. 

      The missions are good so-far, I got stuck on the halluciGen one, so I still need to complete that, but I love doing the missions. I'm glad this particular game encourages you to complete missions,because it helps you rank up faster,mand ranking up is vital to surviving in this game.  With Fallout 3, I felt it was a very long game, and it took but a few minutes to get to the end and best if thoroughly, but even I think this game will have to be hacked and/or glitches to ever properly do a speed run. It seems there no actual fictive for this story, not withstanding the obvious one, which is to ffind your son, but it seems the character we play as, has a very unique given the situation. 

       I went high intelligence this run,mso I'm. Of sure if that affects the game dialogue much like it did in past game,mbut it would be interesting to see if he talks like Hulk. Somebody will probably have already posted that video up by the time I releases this review. Yes, this is the review to break all other review if you're wondering. The game has me thinking that I'll need to raise all my stats up to ten, and btw, there are nearly seventy perks,mand most can be increased multiple times, so there is very little limit to what will happen once you've maxed everything out,mbut you keep on leveling up. There is no limit though, so I'm sure that will cause a nasty break in the game eventually.  

      If you growntired of running around the wastes, you can set up nice little settlements,mand build like Minecraft, but you will also have random raider attacks happening here-and-there to contend with. Think Fallout Shelter not just on steroids,mbut instituted throughout most of the wastes. The bulding aspect is rather fun,mand I've enjoyed a great deal of it, but it feels like wasting time on something that is primarily about wasting time...games. Still,building whole structures from scratch,mand making a house of it is pretty sweet. People are comparing it to Minecraft, but it's really nothing as such, it's more developed than that,mbut limited as it cannot span whole continents, yet it's more refined. It's also very easy to pick up and start doing. You can scrap nearly anything in the game,the problem is you really can only scrap in the designated areas,mso it's going to be a lot of carrying back to your settlement, and building itmup from scratch. I do love those turrets though, they look cool, and keep the your mind at ease. I kinda wonder if the DLC is going to somehow incorporate it into the game as well. Also, the Brahmin are back! And apparently you can keep them happy with a feed trough. 

         If bulding up settlements really isn't your thing, I get it,mand you can use pre builds instead of doing it all by hand. The game is overly fun though,mand you can attract more settlers to your land, but this also means raiders will come out to get you. Personally,mid rather be playing it thanwriting this, but I'll be going back and forth. 

       Then there's the one thing I really love to do in a Fallout Gsmes: scavenge. I love discovering new places,mand scavenging through old ruins to find some amazing loot. Then again, there's a hell of a lot more enemies this time around. I've personally found the game harder than before, and I find there're less to look, even with all my gear.  I've had a feat deal of fun going through and doing missions, both main missions, and a few of the side quests, but I like setting up settlements, and it seems with the more I make, and the more people I gather at them, I'll be able to shoot off a flare, and have them come to my aid. There's a lot in this game....a lot of stuff you can do, and a ton of places to explore. I don't want to give always any secrets, because I've only found a handful, but they're good ones, but also think the game is designed a great deal like Skyrim. In many aspects. I love playing the game,mand even thoug it's difficult to get further with few resources, it's fun to just walk through the Commonwealth. 

      The behemoths are back, and they too get this wonderful treatment of individuality. I met one on a mission, and I gotta say, it was a pain in the ass to take it down by myself. The game was glitchy a this point, and probably will be for the rest of the game, as I've had trouble after the one mission to continually use my companions. There are a ton of companions so-far that I can use, and most of them are good for different jobs, but eac time out with them is a new experience, and your actions determine their relationship towards you. You can flirt with each character, but this doesn't necessarily mean sex. It may come in handy to boost perks,mor boost the individual companion. Either way it seems I won't be using them anytime soon. I went into the game without any patches, and I must say the game holds up well, but a game of this size is expected to crash and burn every-so-often, and that's just a fact of life. 

       Legendary characters are back however, and putting in the hours that I have so-far, I ran into a few of them, and was even able to take a few of them down.  I'm now at level twenty, and it's pretty much the mid-game for me. The main quest is rather disambiguous in comparison to other quests in most RPGs, but Bethesda have done an incredible job at not highlighting any one quest, and they feel more fluid than they did in three where everyone just asks you to do their bidding like a lapdog. I like the fact the game feels more like an immersive world now, as things will explode and go off like crazy in the background. The fact that you can also leave Boston to other surrounding areas like Concord and Salem, is a plus as well, and kind of what I was hoping to have happen on-disc. I must say, Bethesda pretty much delivers, and you can't fault the few glitches and issues at launch, because those are expected. Nobody wants to pay game testers much, and they only catch the real buggy things, not the subtle errors, and even some of the errors they catch, aren't necessarily easy to fix once they're found. 

        I went to the midnight release at my local Gamestop, and it was fun, and rather a comradarie of sorts between individuals that Share a common love of an historical franchise. The fanbase was large, and it has many faces from so many backgrounds around the world. They've all come together to share in a similar experience (I say similar because not everything in each game is necessarily the same around the world.)  and it was genuinely fun. Does the game love up to it's hype, however? It's hard to tell, because story was important, and this game's story is unique, yet cliche so-far in many ways. I kind've loved and hated certain parts, but I always see things now through an objective perspectives, whereas a fan is just going to be psyched by everything they see in front of them. Would I recommend this game? Yeah, I would, I would say it needs to be played by the general population of gamers. I know they hype surrounding this game has illegitimately made it a sacred cow, but this has also given many people time to attack it with pessimism early on. I'm not saying Fallout 4 should not be scrutinized, but it also deserves a fair, honest, and open review.

        The environment of the Commonwealth is marvelously done. The graphics are far superior to anythijgnive seen in past franchise titles, and it feels like a genuine wasteland, rather than a desert on the East Coast.  As I write this part,mi have just reached level 30, and I have now come to feel I'm at a midway of being very powerful, but also very, very weak.  Fallout 4 is a huge area, and it basically comes down to deal with raiders, growing communities, and there is, at least to my knowledge, one particular mission that requires you to make haste,mor else it's failed, so you can't sit on it. I had also experienced a problem with my companions that seemed to rectify itself after completion of a mission, but it hasn't officially been tested. 

    

Now comes the part of the review where I deeply analyze the game, and for that reason I am giving a fair warning of SPOILERS coming for the rest of this review, if you want my official scor of the game, read the last paragraph of this review. 

SPOILER ALERT

       The story is a good one: your son, Shaun has been kidnapped from Vault 111, and your wife/husband has been killed.  Apparently you are left alive because you're the backup for the Institute, which is seen as the last remnants of C.I.T (actually MIT I believe) apparently your son is very useful for some reason, I don't precisely know why just yet, but we'll divulge as we continue this review. So you are bravely in the vault for a few minutes, even thought in game time, you have been in there for over 210 Yesrs, and means you we just in the same timeline as the lone wanderer from Vautk 101, although I'm not sure what the canonization of that storyline is so-far, if it tells you in Fsllout 4, it may be divulged in DLC.  A quick sidenote: I will review DLC whenever I can get to it, but I will definitely review each DLC individually as I get to them, and I assure you If I get mods, I will be sure to mention them separately as well. For now I'm only discussing the main game. 

   

     So after you leave Vault 111, the world is truly your oyster, and I cannot believe just how far out into the distance you can actually travel, just recently I went to the edge of what is know as the Glowing Sea, and I must've walked a good hundred yards past the world boarder to get to a cave. On the edge of the world, you can find some weird things, like the Children of Stom,am reference back to earlier titles of a cult that worship the nuclear fallout like a god. There seem to be less groups as the were in the Capital Wasteland. The first place you seem to go right out of the vault is back home, where you are met by the first of many companions, Codsworth, which I probably mentioned earlier on. Aside from the raiders, gunners, and few other mercenary groups, therre seems to be far more Super Mutants, and wuite a few more Desthclaws than in the previous titles. 

      You meet the Minutemen, which you become the general. Preston Garvey is also one of the companions. Later on you can hire guns to follow you, and you also just happen upon a few of them, and they offer unique perspectives to particular quests, so I'm sure with the attention to details that Bethesda is known for, they may just be able to give you a unique humanistic experience throughout every single playthrough, not including the unique aspects, which comes from choosing the opposite sex as your protagonist. 

      After you meet up with Dogmeat at a Red Rocket station, there isn't much more you're tied to, you literally can walk a narrow line through the main quest, or you can go off and become the king of the Wasteland.  The main story is the finding of your son, who had been taken by the Institute. The institute seem to be the opposite of the Brotherhood of Steel, which are the preservers of technology and humanity prewar throughout the multiple wastelands. The Institute are the main anatagonists, and the Brotherhood of Steel seem to be the main protagonists, while the minutemen are also just trying to get the Commonwealth back to par, and the main way for you to establish a settlement. 

     After looking over all the settlements I've obtained, there are at least a dozen currently, I have to say, they become a pain when they have to be defended. I get that it continually plays on, and after being past level seven hundred, the game will probably be more like overkill rather than survival, but I had few issues other than the fact that I want to do actual missions without dealing with, say, a raider attacking my settlement. Sure it's fun, and it doesn't happen too often, but the game pretty much is designed for you to eventually make the settlements self-sufficient.  Overall, it's a fun addition to the series, and really, it's going to be intesting to see if this trend will continue. The game's building system is interesting, and I can see it is pretty much forced upon you, although you probably could destroy every settlement you create if you so choose. 

        I've discovered a great deal of the map though, and I love discovering soemthing random out there in the middle of nowhere. I personally cannot wait until DLC, as it will probably live up to the original game. The companions are great though, and I'm certain I've not  found all of the yet. Most of them have their pros and cons. Garvey has his laser musket which will put down enemies without much effort. He also helps in the ambassadorial areas of the Minutemen.  Piper writes for the newspaper located in Diamond City, and she's okay as well, but I find her a bit pretentious as a character, and not nearly as useful as the other companions. Then there's Macreedy, who you find in Goodneighbor, and I have a sneaking suspicion that he has something to do with Fallout 3, but I could be mistaken. There was a Mayor Macreedy of Little Lamplight, and it would be intesting to see if he went off to the Commonwealth after Big Town. However, I think that it'd be interesting  to see if other characters from the third game will make cameo appearances in Fallout 4. There may have already been a few, but I didn't notice any names thwt rang a bell so-far. Still, of that's MaCreedy from the original game, that makes a lot of sense how he turned out. I still laugh whenever I think of the fact he would always call me a mungo. 

       Other notable companions see Strong, a Paladin Knight named Danse, I believe, a synthetic detective called Nick Valentine, who is probably my favorite companion so far, and there's bound to be several more I will run into over my travels. I just came to the Slog, which is entirely ran by Ghouls, I also came upon Greygarden, which has nothing to do with Greyditch, but that is ran by multiple Mr. Handys. 

     I'll put it this way, there is no way anyone, other than the developers, and even then it would have to take most of, if not all of them to  write the review, because there is no way that anyone has completed the game wholly with both sexes in such a short amount of time from release unless the game was handed out well before launch. I've traveled a great deal of the game, but I know it is also verily layered throughout, and I've not done most of the metro tunnels, although there are very few of them in-comparison to the D.C. Ruins of the Capital Wastelands. It's a rather large game, and it even stretches going on the Prydwin, which is a giant derigibel driven by the Brotherhood of Steel. 

   

  Overall, Fallout 4 is what a Videogame is supposed to be: it has drama, virtual,interaction, controls that are actually responsive, graphics that surpass those of it's predecessor, and carry a great deal of realism, however, they still host a more comic book, old Sci-Fi style that comes off more like an historical record than a futuristic video game. It's fun, it's entertaining, and I would go so-far as to say this is one of the reasons to buy a next-generation console. This is going to be a difficult game to top, and it's probably going to be one of those games that goes down in history. I've been video games for twenty-seven years, I've attested to many great, and not-so-great games being some of the best games ever made.....I can tell you without any doubt, that Fallout 4 isn't just Game of the Year, that's a given, this is a game that has few flaws, but even those flaws are overshadowed by such astounding story and gameplay,  that this is probably game of the decade. 

        I'm sorry, but this game has outshined every other game Bethesda has done, even Skyrim. This game is amazing, it has challenge,even on normal, the unbalancing system makes it fun, and thrilling when you're faced with a creature that can out-fight, and a raider that out-guns you, and the satisfaction of putting the in the dirt. Fallout 4 rivals so many great games in a stellar year, and nothing comes closer to being deserving of a game of The Year, which sounds presumptuous, but this is the last great game of 2015,  out titles pushed back their games just so they didn't have to compete with this game in the same fiscal year. I don't know what the sales are for Fallout 4 currently, but I'm sure they're far from lacking. 

        If I had to rate Fallout 4, if I had to put a number on it, I'd give it a perfect score: 10/10, five stars, whatever rating system you need to justify a buy. Since I don't like those systems,ironically I use them regardless, I would just like to say that if you are a fan of gaming, not FPS, not RPGs, but gaming. As a whole, Fallout 4 is what we as little kids making Mario jump, or scrolling through a Contra wanted for our future gaming experience. The Fatman is still as satisfying an experience now, as it was in Fallout 3.  The game is perfectly imperfect, and I for one have found several glitches, and breaks, but the game is still better than most games half it's size with double the glitches, and ghosting. This game is the game of your dreams, and yeah,the hype was not only real, but it has made the DLC hype even that much more real. I respect Bethesda, I think they are a third party title to lead us into the future. I respect their games, I like them all actually, but this is their best game, despite the naysayers. If you're a gamer, play Fallout 4, you'll find something you love about it....hell! The soundtrack is worth the price of admission alone! Bethesda gives the fans what the want, and this game is no different. 

Thank you for reading the Malacast Editoral, I will be doing separate reviews for DLC, or one big one for  all DLC released, this game is still feeling the heat, and a year from now, we'll still be  talking about it with the last of the DLC, and the midpoint of mods. 

     

Fallout 4: First Impressions

With less than a month away, Fallout 4 looks to be one of the biggest releases in console history. The Pipboy version is pretty sweet, and will probably go for more money on EBay than a Joe Dimsggio Rookie card. However, because we are so close, I figured I would give my unbiased, well, maybe. Little biased, perspective on Fallout 4, with this First Impressions. 

    Now, normally when I do a First Impressions, I'm almost positive to do a full review. I will be doing a full review on MGSV eventually, as I finally best the game, and see pretty much everything their is to see to base it on fair and unbiased analysis. Still, Fallout 4 is right around the corner, and that leaves us to deal with a game that may be so large...and now there is a season pass that is going to cost and extra thirty dollars, that it may just be impossible to complete within a given time. I did my Fallout 3 review years after buying the game, and even. Or years after it came out, and it's still a game I've not completed a hundred percent, and why the internet is a great source for information. 

     Fallout 4 is going to be one of those moments in time that makes you realize we are one unique creature. We fear our own self extermination, but so badly want to go to a wasteland of anarchy and just roam around with little-to-no law. This isn't new to Fallout, or video games in general. The game is based on the cult classic: A Bly and His Dog, probably one of my favorite cult classics to watch. I also love Spider Baby which pretty much was the basis for most of those crazy family horror shows that came out in the late sixties. Still, I want to say that I love what I'm seeing, and I know my complaints on the game will come from my anti-DLC stance, and the fact that the numbers they show hide the fact that they need to add onto a game, becaue production is a billion times harder to complete nowadays, and companies are faltering in the crazy market. The gaming industry is in shambles, but Bethesda is one of the few companies that actually wants to make games that people want to play, and they load in a shit-ton of detail, and game, even without the DLC. Still, something tells me that if thenDLC on the Season Pass is worth it, Bethesda may just give you the money's worth it. Time, and footage will tell. 

     So let's break this bad boy down: so-far we know thwt the characters are completely customizable, and you can play a man, or a woman. You can also customize the name you give your character, and you can play some prewar gameplay, which is new to the series. The dog you meet in the wasteland is actually called Dogmeat, again, the references to A Boy and His Dog are truly captivating. We know that VATS is coming back, and with authority, meaning it's going to be brutal, although time only slows down during VATS, rather than stops completely, it seems more affective. 

      We know that characters will refer to your character, we also know that you as the player will be able to I tract however you choose with the world around, such as building settlements, or shooting someone in the face during a conversation. The anomalies of the game seem so broad, that it is more about the limitations of what you can do, rather than what you can't do. The design looks impressive, a bit comical, but still fun to watch. 

     Bethesda also is releasing a weekly video of the S.P.E.C.I.A.L attributes wheree it tells you a little about what each one does, and with a classy, old-school design cartoon to go along with it, acting like happy-faced propaganda. As of the publishing of this post, I will be certain that each of the seven perks videos will be up on YouTube, and most assuredly bethsoftworks.com. Also, it's smart to sign up for Bethesda newsletter, which is an excellent resource for all things Bethesda. Still, the videos are professionally, and aesthetically relevant to Fallout's mythology, and a fun little tidbit to watch in anticipation of the new game, which is now only weeks away! I remember back in early June when the announcment was first made, and the game was teased for the first time, and now we are approaching the end of October, and the hype, for me at least, is not on,y still real, but the idea that mods will be allowed over the consoles, makes me wonder if there is a ton more about this game that won't be released, but discovered on the launch date. Bethesda seems to have a talented, way of making games near-completion by launch, and the pessimists will shout the game is not nearly complete, and I am one of those pessimists, but I'm excited still for this title. 

          Let's talk about the characters returning, as you know, there are a ton of characters making their way into this game. The Mr. Gutsy and Mr. Handy androids are returning to the game, as well as the Protectertrons. It also seems apparent that the Deathclaws are not only back, but are more terrifying than the first time around. Radroaches, mole rats, and even the Vertibirds seem to be back in play. Of course, we've barely scratched the surface of how large the game will actually be, and speculation says it could be as large as Skyrim, but this is a clustered, world full of skyscrapers and street cars littering it like the bones of freedom, rather than long spaces between dragons. So the game will most likely feel overwhelming, and I'm c retain the first few hours will be spent on just getting through the prologue and seeing the story unfold for the first time. Remember, we don't know how long precisely we stay in the pre-war part of the game, nor how long we stay in the vault, or how the vault even works. Seeing as the vault was such an important aspect of the game, and seeing as vault exploring was some of the kookiest parts of Fallout 3; I'm most certain that Bethesda has done their oat to make the vaults in Fallout 4 that much more engaging. 

        Super Mutants, and their Behemoth cousins are also set to return,a and it makes me. Wonder if this game is going to be overstocked with villains, or so well spaced, that the villains will sneak up and surprise you, especially when raiders will seek to be the cannon fodder they throw at you during the crafting system. 

       I'm not too fond of the crafting system, and although it's limited, I feel that it will be much more limited than the game play shown so-far makes you believe. Either way, I'll most likely leave it until the end, because Bethesda claims they won't force you to build a settlement, but seeing as the theme for this game is looking to be rejuvenation, and I'm certain it will involve the Geck, and Vault 101 as well, it might be far more likely to believe that eventually the game will throw you a task, or mission of sort to force you to build a settlement. Then again, Bethesda is usually a trustworthy developer, and a discriminating publisher,who only look out for the integrity of their product, or so far that a has been the truth. 

       The game is not gihtly under wraps, but footage is, as little footage has leaked, and there are people like MrMattyTalks on YouTube,Moho basically makes a new video with "news" every single week, although most of it is either rehashed information, or speculation, but to be fair, he has reiterated a great deal of truthful information. I don't have anything against MrMattyTalks personally, but it is clear that he, along with Open World Games, and many other "YouTubers" are prevalating the hype for this game for a much longer period of time than expected. I remember the hype for Snakeeater, and it really was a great game,mbut the hype truly didn't live up to the expectation. Hype makes bad games sell well, and in a vexing market,,that's good for indie studios. 

     Nevertheless,  these  shows  tell me firsthand that there is a lacking integrity in Videogame journalism, which is practically a dying, if-not dead medium. Oh I am a pot, and I'm calling that kettle over there black, becaue I know I too man not a sinceere journalist either, but I can acknowledge the lack of professionalism, no matter how they paint up the unsullied banter of those with a political axe to grind, rather than an unbias perspective on the genre. Still, with the death of printed magazines, the dying infrastructure of online paywalls, and EGM and Playstation The Magazine having their images tainted, and their journalistic integrity ruined, it's quite a shame that substance has to come from a sixteen year old gamer with a Droid camera phone. 

       The point of that rant is that Fallout 4 will, ironically benefit from this new style of Videogame journalism, as pages like The Angry Joe Show, which is more bias commentary than a legitmate review, will have at least some critique, before  making a complete fanboy of himself over the game. Still, pages will limit the extent of information,and the written word....ironically, unless made into a ten-fifteen page review,,will never do justice the full-on reviewing of the game. As stated in past posts, the one I did for Fallout 3 took me a week to write and gather information, and it was about twelve pages in length,  the irony is, even with twelve pages of just straight forward discussion, the review barely scratches the surface. 

       To conclude, Fallout 4 is coming out very, very soon, and you can find the Perks sheet online, and you can study it, but really the best place to get information is from bethsoft.com, and those seven videos tell you a lot more in substance than you first realize, so give them multiple views, and you'll be surprised what you're able to piece together well-before release. 

Editorial: No Man’s Sky, Fallout 4, and Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain: Are They Overhyped?

Editorial: No Man’s Sky, Fallout 4, and Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain: Are They Overhyped? This is going to be a rather overabundant editorial, so to save time; we’ll get straight into it: No Man’s Sky is a masterwork, the ultimate craft of the medium, categorically speaking, it’s not even a game, but an artwork. No Man’s Sky’s perpetual building model makes it seem endless, like the universe itself. Even if all you do is jump around worlds, the game is worth playing just for the experience alone. Also, for those of you out there who claim it’s just rinse and repea, I daresay so is every other game ever invented. Also, we still don’t even know the tip of the tip of the surface of just what this game can do. The question I state is: is this game overrated? Is this going to be hyped so much, it will be almost comical to what the given purpose of this game was meant to be? I’ve seen about as much as anyone else has, and yes, we don’t even know if there is a legitimate storyline, let-alone a direct goal of the game. Still, it is something that may very-well be in a museum in the future, and be well-ahead of its time. In the history of games, only a few IPs have ever been even close to the scale of this game, and those few games are still dwarfed in comparison. If you are a gamer, you have known about No Man’s Sky since as early as 2013, and have been paying close attention since 2014. I’ve not been out of the loop per say, but I’ve not seemed to find it as anything else as a gimmick. I’ve not changed my stance, because the game seems hyped to be the next big thing, or worst: the biggest thing in gaming since Pong. My opponents will try to dissuade my cries of hpe b trying to say that this is how games should be, but I’ll also remind people that this game is not even set to release anytime soon. Like the lovers of the Last Guardian who are ridiculously loyal to the point of being sheep, No Man’s Sky comes off like some noir trend, or more accurately; a gimmick that will flop. Is this game hyped? Not at all! In-fact, it is as big as it claims to be, and yes, it will be accurately portrayed as it has been this whole time, but the real hype comes from overstating its importance on the gaming medium. I also believe that if this game is only a DLC, it will lose a great deal of gamers who will not want to put a 100+GB download onto their Playstation 4. Even if you have a 2TB hard drive in your system, that’s still pushing it, as the game can even grow to be 500GB, if not greater due to the perpetual building platform. Still, I’d love to see this game work in theory, because it can open boundless opportunities for other games for dynamically shifting the gameplay of bigger sandbox titles, such as the Fallout series. Yes, a shameless segue, but a segue nonetheless. I’ve already spent some time talking about Fallout 4, and yes, I plan on doing a full review come late December/early January, but do not let my enthusiasm for this long-awaited title fool you; it is already overly hyped. Yes, even Bethesda can be overhyped, despite being one of the best publishers/developers to date. Even the new Doom seems sheepishly admired. Let’s focus on Fallout 4 though, and why not use Fallout 3 for reference. Fallout 4 is sited to be the best of the best for the series, so-far. I wasn’t a fan of the way they promoted the game at E3, despite my inhereant geeking out over the twenty-plus minutes of gameplay. The hype was essentially real, it looked almost impossible, but I must’ve watched the entire demonstration of the game nearly fifty times, and I still see a great deal of amazing quality this game will bring to current generation systems. I almost want to run out and rebuy the Playstation 4, just to get a larger hard drive. Fallout 4 has set the internet on fire, almost as swiftly as the new FF VII reveal. The game looks to be the most hyped game in recent years, despite the loyal fan base that are already demanding a new Elder Scrolls, to which I say boo-hoo, let the Science Fiction legion have their share too! Still, the cause for complaint so-far seems to be just what you can do, and in-terms of hours put into a game, I can see this game passing well into four-hundred hours of gameplay, even more-so if you add in the inevitable DLC. So it’s obvious this game is hyped, but is that necessarily a bad thing? Doubtful, because the game itself looks polished, but will it be fun? I say yes, but it’s not the golden calf gamers expect. Fallout 3, for example, was astoundingly fun, despite looking like it was a giant desert, with a pretty accurate display of Washington, D.C., but it was nice to see a game that was vast, but entertaining. Fallout 4 looks to follow suit, but more was explained than shown, and that is always bothersome. However, it was also very apparent that the game was promising to deliver on a great deal of the promises put forward in the demo. I’d still admit that this game is very hyped, and probably will have as many comical flaws as it’s predecessors, and as much as I tout over how aggravating it is to see games that are so buggy and imperfect, it makes two generation before look like solid gold, the internet has made developers lazy, and publishers greedy. Still, it’s insulting to the gamer, who will inevitably be paying close to $150.00 a game if they want the, “Season Pass” (sic) it’s sad that gaming has gone “Hollywood” in its approach. Overall, Fallout 4 will be at least half as good as its been portrayed, and the story itself seems almost abled to be molded by every aspect of choice you make, but I do hope there is at least half of the story in the game that was seen in Fallout 3. Now for the most hyped game, it’s sickening: Metal Gear Solid V. MGSV is going to be so hyped, and so terrible, and just plain caricature of the actual series, I dread to see the final product. I cannot imagine the sort of cringing pain we will feel when plaing this game. Konami shouldn’t see a dime from anyone, and it’s a blatant sin what they’ve done. In my eyes, they’re monsters, and if you give them a dime of your money, you’re no longer a gamer! I’m sorry, you are a tool, and I say that with no shame. Konami has pissed on you, and you all have the undignified gaw to open your mouths and gargle. Face it, Konami doesn’t deserve a pittance of respect, and I don’t mean to literally speak to “you” but if you even buy this game, you are a whore. So, Metal Gear Solid V is going to be the last real game in the series, and hopefully Kojima put a ton of subliminal anti-Konami stuff in it, just as a blatant middle-finger to the system. Konami are assholes, and have destroyed every award-winning, moneymaking franchise it’s ever made, it’s like Bizzarro is their president. All joking aside, Metal Gear Solid V looks passé already, and like the Last Guardian, these games should’ve been out years ago. Remember, Metal Gear Solid V was slated for both PS3 and PS4 systems. Also, most of the games we see this year, will be delayed almost two years later than the slated release dates. I think it’s disgraceful what we as the gaming community are willing to put up with, and yes, I do believe if they do take the time, the game should be better, but really; whenever is that the case? Ugh! So, Metal Gear Solid V is more hyped than Space Jam 2, and that’s hype, I mean so hyped that it’s terrifying. I think it’s hysterical how horrid this game looks, and the lackluster summer sales are proof that the industry itself is hurt, and Konami is about to Enron itself, literally, (Yes, I started the go Enron yourself facsimile a few years back, so I own it!) and I will say this: I would rather eat the dirtiest burnt crow, then ever say that this game will be good. If you buy this game, I hate you, I’d rather play E.T. for Atari in the pits of Hell for all eternity than ever play another Konami title. The hype is in the pudding: The game looks great, but the waning desire for this title seems almost lethargic, even Kojima wanted it to die way back in Metal Gear Solid 2, and I truly believe he will do better at another company. I can’t even talk about this game, it irks me, and if it ever got canceled, I wouldn’t shed one blessed tear, and I absolutely loved the series, and it pains me to say it, as I also said about Silent Hill, if the series must die, let it die now, so it can die with dignity. So is the hype real? I don’t think it will be for these titles. I am excited for some of them, but realistically, most are going to be lost in time once we start seeing actual games for the current generation. It’s hard to believe the systems came out nearly three years ago, and realistically, none of them had legitimate titles released to actually excite most gamers. We buy into the façade that all these game are critical to the culture of games, but sadly, the only game so-far to fit the less commercial, more artistic string, is No Man’s Sky…unfortunately. There’s nothing apparently interesting coming out, and what aggravates me is now we obsess over these so-called “works of art” that are harken to 2-D sidescrollers, when we have systems that are so powerful, we can create whole galaxies within them! Maybe I’m just getting old, or maybe nobody cares, but it seems to me that we are seeing a pitiful end to one of the largest niche markets in history. I respect change, but this is sheer asinine gaming. We’re screwed.

E3 2015: Bethesda Announcements

      E3 is forever the spectacle that we as "gaming journalists" take to be the pinnacle of news for the development community. Every name in the industry comes to E3 to bask in the glory that is the multi-billion dollar game industry. Of course the politics are also therre,with the same rhetorical statements that make me gag when it comes to "legitimate" gaming journalism. However, I tend to ignore my fellow colleagues in the industry, and yes, the politics sicken me, especially when it comes to playing favorites on this particular stage. Granted, I make it a point to go out of my way and say I write this blog with a particular bias. I am not a fan of Microsoft, never have been, and I never will be. Even I know that when it comes to the Electronic Entertainment Expo, I hold no harsh feelings towards Microsoft, unless of course they do a piss-poor job with their press conference. The same goes for Nintendo, and Sony, alike. I even said Sony had a lasckluster showing last year, and it was a bad year for current generation title launches. Still, this year is looking to be ferocious, and not coming from the major players of the console war, but rather from the third-party developers, who blaze the trails to push these consoles into market. 

     This is going to be a lot of information, and I'm certainly going to have to place it out over several blog posts. Despite the obvious issues this entails, especially with my master craft of organizational skills, hence my sarcastic tone in the last sentence, I'm going to split these up by what I saw, not the particular order of the said convention, which, quite frankly has been expanded to take up a good chunk of the week.  So for this particular post, I'll be going over the Bethesda Press Confereence, although it was more of a sneak-peek party, and i will also take note of Xbox's Press Conference, which I assure you, will be reviewed with the same discrimination as any other press conference. 

     Firstly, let's get to the team in Bethesda, doing their first press release, and showing that Ubisoft and Square Enix are not the only third-party developers that can host a snow. For me, I've always found Ubisoft's Press Conferences to be rather dull, never mind the fact that most people do not play them often in the sates, with the exception of Assassin's Creed III. Still, Ubisoft is a major player overseas, and the European market cannot get enough of Assassin's Creed. Bethesda is very much a world-renounced studio, with Softworks as their great development house, but one thing I take for granted is Elder Scrolls. I'm not much a fan (blasphemy!!!) of Elder Scrolls, I find it to be rather opposite of my tastes. Yet, I absolutely adore Fallout, as it really represents one of my favorite cult films: A Boy and his dog, and pretty much every other Science Fiction classic ever created. 

     Bethesda showed off some interesting ideas, and some that basically made me yawn. However, their overall presentation was one of the best I've seen from any company at E3 in the past several years. I've not been this excited for an E3 since it was shown in it's entirety on G4 TechTV. Granted, I think Skyrim is a gorgeous game, probably one of the best games ever created, and it has enough to fit the needs of most gamers. However, I've always cared more for Fallout, being that it is a game entrenched in a long-running story,mshich always seemed of engross me more. Yes, you could say that the Wasteland itself is rather boring, treking through sand and dirt, destroyed society all-around. However, that was the exact reason I was so entranced by the game. Not-so-much the sameness, but rather, the actual points if interest that showed the last remnants of life. Fallout 4 is the main course for this conference,mbut let us start with some of what I found. It's interesting, and some I didn't, of the big reveals. 

      Firstly, we all know Elder Scrolls Online....it's dumb, people rather have Elder Scrolls VI, and although I'm not necessarily jumping for joy over that personally,mi can concur with the fans, stop with DLC and nonsense, and get back to the game everyone else wants to play! Then there's something completely different, in-that it's a ree hashed gimmick that nearly made me lose my respect for Bethesda: an online card-based battle game with the Elder Scrolls franchise smacked right in top. Sure, the fanboys of all ages will go Gaga, but even I would be sickened if they did this to Fallout, and really, the only other game that should ever be a card game, other than Pokemon and a magic, is of course, Warhammer. Still, from what I saw, and granted, it wasn't much, I even felt nauseous enought I skip overrated it, I mean, it's not rocket science, they're going to nickel and dime you for every card, every deck, etc. and that's why we are slowly seeing the death rattle of the console game, as taken serious in the eyes if the hardcore gamer. 

      Still, the landscape of gaming has changed a great deal, and with the trashiest of the trash out of the way, let's get to so ething that actually excited me,,and wasn't Fallout: I'm talking about Doom. For a Publisher/developer, Bethesda has been playing the same game Legendary Pictures has been doing the past several years: working on major franchise titles that were relevant years ago, and are now becoming almost reimagined anew today. 

    When I saw the first bit of playthrough for Doom today, (yes, I'm a bit behind, but I'm catching up quickly) my jaw didn't drop, it sagged. At first I thought the graphics looked terrible, but on closer inspection of the tablet I was watching on, I sW thwt not only were they decent "next-gen" graphics, I was almost intrigued at how well it played! Seeing Doom 3, this was a nice change of oace, and it almost reinstalled my fate in the franchise. Granted,mi was never an obsessed Doom fan, but it always admired the Wolfensteien/Doom aspect to FPS, and now they both pioneered a to f of the greatest, and worst games ever. 

    Doom is a dark and gritty game, and although the color scheme of red on red, with a nice hint of dark red is common to the series, the beauty of it was that it still pays homage to the original,,and yet, it barely looks anything like the original I respects to the sixteen-bit era. Doom looks good, but not over-the-top, and that may be a good thing for the series, which hasn't been the greatest in the past several years. Still, Doom  ah be a game that puts other FPS games to shame come 2016, however, it doesn't look nearly as innovative as other games out there.  Still, Bethesda did a  good job trying to make this game look as respectful as the series once was to fans, and we may actually get a Doom game we've been wanting for years. The only problem I saw with the game demo was that it wasn't necessarily too short, nor too long,mbut it almost seemed the single player is going to be. Backseat to yet another hack multiplayer,,which we all know is going to take away from the legitimate gameplay, and shorten the length of the game decently, whereas the multiplayer looks about as boring as most multi players do. Let's be honest, I don't see a to. Of multiplayer doom tournaments coming up in the future,and even so, I don't see this as something I'd like to participate in. Still,if you really want multiplayer in Doom, well you got your wish. 

       Ext, I want to talk about a sequel that many people have been waiting for, and one in which will cause some controversy: Dishonored 2. Now Dishonored is a game I've actually played, and found to be pitifully boring, with terrible character design, and even more horrific story. The only thing the game did right was blend steals with first person perspective. I also found the semi open-world style of the game to be rather a breath of era hair, making it nearly a sandbox game,mbut it fel too short, and I didn't like the pacing that you find so many other first person style games. Although you can choose when to leave a level, and you can even venture off I to places not nessarily attached to the main missions, it still felt way too confining. Dishonored 2  has the look of a true sequel, one that could envelop the original,mansn probably be the best in the series. We all know the sequel rule of video games: the second and fourth are great, but then it's every other after the fifth title in the series 

      I didn't see too much of Dishonored 2, frankly I wasn't all that excited for it, but properly, I paid enough attention to know that you're switching out characters where you can actually play as the female protagonist of the first game.  Let than that, I know about as much as you do, probably less on the subject. 

   

    Okay, so I put it off until now, here is the meat of it all: Fallout 4:

    If you've happened to have read my first post about the predictions I've made of Fallout 4, I was quite surprised to be nearly right on the head about. Out of what to expect. With some pleasant surprises thrown in at the last. I ute. The game starts off in pre-war Boston, however, I'm sure they're will be a flashback that leads into that,rather than just starting there. Also, you can choose to okay make or female. The character creation is pretty much like Playstation Home, except if has more of no drag and drop process.  I'd like to see if you could utilize that Playstation controller touch pad for the game. Knowing Bethesda, they probably implemented it into the game already. The game is very choice-driven, and yes, the fault dweller talks now, and you can name him/her and yes, people will speak his/her name,mor so they said. I'd like to see if they would call the character numb Nuts  by name. Still, the amount of detail makes up for the controversially last-gen graphics. I also don't believe this game will run at sixty frames per second,then again, which game that supposedly does run at that speed, ever actually at ayes constant at the frame rate?

   After you leave your nose, and run to the vault....well, they don't show you, because it's a big story spoiler....which is probably that you're not really the original vault dweller, but an android of sorts, and you need to go out and do stuff. Still, even if you're not an android,the story is but the background to a game that is bigger than the actual world many of us have actually wales around in! I loved Fallout 3, was the first game I bought for the PS3, and I love it even still today. This game looks far more complicated,mbut equally rewarding as the third game,mas with many new sequels,there may very well be. A learning curb. 

    Still, V.A.T.S. makes a return, as does the dog companion, but he's not named Dog Meat. The dog looks far. One far-more realistic than Dog Meat ever did, and although it seems a heavy focus on this random dog you meet, I'm wondering why the major focus? Why give up such a demo that quite frankly feels years older than the rest of the gameplay footage shown. The rest of the footage is of course: Fallout:Minecraft. Now I was giggiling like a school girl during a farting contest, but I never quite believed the purpose of the whole tower defense concepts shown in the gameplay.  

    The idea of building inside a game that is relevantly similar in idea as the end if the world, it seems to me like it is kinda trying to hide the fact that it wants to be a survival builder, but it doesn't hide it well at all.  Still, I'm finding it extremely satisfying thwt I can choose up to a number of places to build my camp. I also think I nailed it when I expected to see a gun crafting system similar to Borderlands, or even Dead Space 3, as it seems to craft more off of that idea, than Borederlands' style. 

    Building aside, it seems you also have the ability to craft turrets. Which means, along with every other part of the world, you can use your S.P.E.C.I.A.L. abilities, as well as up to seventy perks for your disposal, but it makes me worry the level cap is going to be something of a busllshit number, only because if you can use up to seventy; nearly twice the number of Fallout 3's level cap, the. Now many of these perks are we actually going to be able to use? Unless of course, and this is very doubtful; there is no level cap. 

   If you build a small settlement, traders, as well as raiders, will make there way to trade with

/destroy you, which is a hell of a lot easier than trying to chase down random traders in the wasteland. People, this seems to be one of the themes of the game, as the conversation seems to be more engrossing, unlike past games; where it seemed to taper off into rather asinine conversations at times, although far more greater than the infamous "You, the master of all locks. " and "Jill sandwich" of past dialogue choices. Still, games evolved now to be bigger than most big budget film productions, and the payoff, at very least; is decent dialogue. From what we've seen so far, the character reactions have been quite limited, although it's pretty obvious, and made so by several sources, that Vault 111, which is ten more from our first vault dweller, and soemthing tells me that this isn't done just for the aesthetics of releasing it on 11/10/15, but that something is going to happen to remind us of Vault 101. However, the release date is very excitable, meaning we will have our hands on the game well before 2016, and just in time for the holiday season. 

    Another aspect I found interesting is the Pipboy, which has been given an upgrade, as the one we had in Fallout 3 was an older model, hence why if makes sense to upgrade it to a newer, and I must say, more steampunk-looking model. Apparently it plays decks, like an old cassette tape from the VHS/DAT era, and these decks have certain games and functionalities in them. Showcased at the conference we're two games, which looked like carbon copies of Donkey Kong, and; appropriately: Missile Command.  I'm curious if these games will transfer over to the phone app. Oh, did I fail to mention that the game will be releasing with a Pipboy edition, where you get your own Pipboy, and a free, downloadable phone app for one of the better second-screen experiences I've ever seen. Will it work without internet, or on other iOS devices like an iPod Touch, but it'll be exciting  

     Although I didn't hear a clear, concise date for Doom; which is scheduled to be released very early 2016, I did get a strong point from Bethesda that unless the fires of Hell break open, Fallout 4 is going to be here on November 10th. There was a definite urge to have this game very soon, as makes sense to coincide with the release of Skyrim, it tends to make one think that Elder Scrolls VI will be released later on in the console cycle's life, just like it was done for the PS3 and Xbox 360, respectively. So expect 2018, approximately, for the release of Elder Scrolls VI, which is about three more years of development, and that's a conservative estimate. Also, the Behemoths are back, and they look more terrifying than anything in the wastes. Except for the Deathclaws, they're always terrifying. 

   So we get an awesome look that feels slow, and forever-lasting, though I doubt it was more than five minutes of story, barely, and about twenty minutes, which is barely the prologue for Fallout. The main course was delightful, enough to warrant a preorder, paid-in-full.  Yet Bethesda wasn't finished, as a nice big piece of the pie for dessert, we have Fallout Shelter. This will be either really up one's alley, or something you can't stand. Fallout Shelter is an iOS game for Android and Apple, and it's out literally right now. I've played the game, and I absolutely hate that it likes to crash nearly every five minutes on me.  Okay, I got my complaint about the crash out of the way, so here's what I love: it's like a tamigachi , but with humans. You feed them, dress them, send them out into the wild, you can even make them have babies to increase the size of your vault dwellings. 

    The game is great because there is no cool down, there is. I gimmick, it works, well, mostly, right after uploading, and it's pretty fun. I love the design, as it has a very child-like innocence thwt comes from the cartoony world of Fallout, and it's practically different every playthrough. You will feel challenged, and so etimes unfairly challenged, but it is a fun game, overall, despite some minor flaws, and it's one of the better-looking games I've seen on iOS, developed specifically for iOS.  I spent several hours yesterday playing it, soley to give you a rather detailed review. You start off with a handful of developers, and put them to work building power generators, dining halls, and sleeping quarters. You also need to build treatment facilities to make med paks, and you can even upgrade to broadcast across the wastelands so you get more dwellers to come to your door and help you out. You also get several lunch boxes through completing daily tasks, which really is like a care package full of cards that give you manny benefits, like extra caps, special rare dwellers (I got Harkness from Fallout 3, loved to see if they give you Faust, that'd be overkill though.)  the game is fun, but the crashes aggravate more than stimulate the playing of the game. I'll have to send out a troubleshooting report somehow. 

    You can upgrade rooms to fill your dweller's S.P.E.C.I.A.L. attributes, but the game is tasking, and the leveling up feels like it takes forever. Also, you have to wwtch out for raiders, fires, and radroaches attacking you on a constant basis. You also can make your character go out into the wastelands, and find materials for you to use in prevention of those attacks. I'm not sure that this game will tie into the big brother coming out later in the Fall, but I'm mystified by just how much work has been done to the game. It truly is a great little game, and if they fix the crashing, or I discover why the hell it's crashing, I'll  probably love the game even more. 

  Overall, Bethesda's conference was a mixed bag, and the the only real surprise was from the iOS. I liked it, but I was excited, not surprised, and for E3, I really want to feel surprised, and sadly the fucks of the internet won't allow for anything to be a surprise anymore because they hunt to leak things, like spoiled brats wanting to peek at the presents before Christmas. The thing with leaks is, it's not just a peek behind the wrapping paper.  But they rip it apart, tear ass out of the closet, and bust though the living room of the world holding up the prize saying "look what I've found!"

  Anyway, I'll be doing the Xbox, Njntendo, and Sony conferences here on the Malacast Editorial as well. Enjoy E3, as well plow through this week of big sneak peaks, and a ton of information that will be the next fiscal year of gaming. Thank you for joining me here on the Malacast Editorial, and please, keep coming back for more in-depth information during my coverage of E3. 

Fallout 4 Please Stand By Announcement Gut Reaction.

UPDATE: Apparently  Boston is going to be where the bulk of the game is played, but I'm still confused as to why the game looks to revisit the Washington D.C. Wasteland. Still, I'm Bally that we'll be able to leave the main Wasteland, and head to other areas. 

Crazy that we are going to see this Fallout 4 announcement prior to E3, but seeing as E3 is nearly a week long now, I'm not surprised to hear announcements earlier. Still, I find my brand of insight into the gaming industry warrants some skepticism by these companies that are demanding our money, but more importantly, our loyalty. Let's face it, I grew up with Konami and I'd software, and as such know that coma lines will come and go. Bethesda is like the Legendary of gaming, even if it's a flop, it'll be an epic flop that respects the fans. So let me give you the just of what went down, and what it means for Fallout 4

    Here we go! Okay so the timer stopped says pleases stand by, obvious hiccup from the west coast. Okay now it's loading up I'm  on a tablet so I'm probably gonna get it slower.  Still, it's basically a livestream, or a prerecorded video set to buffer after the timer. Still I'm sitting here enthusiastically waiting. I may feel the need to refresh, but am fighting that urge with a lifetime of patience learned from many, many announcements

   Okay so I'm

Not seeing anything. And that saddens me. I've been waiting a while, so why isn't it moving? It goes to load but then it goes right back to the screen. I knew I should've watched this on twitch instead.  Well that was dumb it linked to Youutbue lol. Might as well have been on You Tube the whole time. Ok so here is my take on the trailer:

Starts like Fallout 3 did with a pan out. A German Shepard, perhaps. dog eat reference. Of course this isnt gameplay it's in D.C. As I expected it to be. And now the main character either has a voice. As I've suggested, and obviously looks to be a true sequel. I must say it reads like three in so many ways, but im wondering if my thoughts of leaving the current wasteland to travel further were inadvertently confirmed in this trailer. 

   I love how it goes to past and present wasteland, and the song playing seems that this may be the end of the D.C.  era Fallout. Yes, I promise you it's definetly set in at the very least, partially D.C.  And maybe there is going to be post spa house bombs dropped. Also if its value 111, then that may be directly in Bethesda Maryland itself! We'll have to wait, and of course no confirmed date, perhaps  that will be relaxed information at E3. Still, the hype was real from what I can see. 

   If you've been reading my wants, I'd say this trailer is excitable, but still a teaser, a rather generous one at that, bursting minis how gameplay, I'm starting to think it may not be for a while, 2017 at the earliest, expected 2018 with major delays. Bethesda is usually on top, so I'll be looking towards more information before throwing down anything on preorders, which never really do anything but let you wait even longer in anticipation for vapor ware that much longer. Still, loving the look, almost comic book, in a good way. The last scene with Dogmeat though, it's definitely Maryland, it'd have to be, or one of the Carolinas. That's how I'm calling it, stay updated here at the Malacast Editorial for more braking news on this and other media to be released this year, and beyond! 

Fallout 4 news today!

Bethesda is going to launch a special exclusive announcement for Fallout 4 on their website in a matter of hours I'm certain this is because they may have a leak, and want to douse the flames of anyone else getting the information out there before anyone else has the opportunity. 

   Still, this should be interesting, as  this is unprecedented to showcase a teaser of any sort before E3, which makes me wonder what exactly they will show, and does this mean new IPs for the big shoe later this June? Speculation gets you only so far in this game, but if they teased Doom, and it got the internet all buzzing, then perhaps this early announcment will bring about a nice discussion and keep the excitement brewing until Bethesda holds their conference. I'll be blogging later on today with my initial reactions, so  see you in exactly two and a half hours m

Fallout 4 Predictions, and Personal Wants for the Series

I'll be bringing Short Story Weekly back next Friday, because forth day , I'm publishing  a special pre E3 post about Fallout 4, which is expected to be shown at this year's Expo. Enjoy! 

Because it's the biggest event (I'm America, that is) for video games, I cannot help but talk about E3, and give my own predictions on what to expect for the upcoming games, hardware, and all-around gaming industry. I'm not certain if I'll be doing a ton of these prior to E3, I've already done several, not including this one, but being a huge fan of Fallout, and Bethesda overall, and seeing I've written one of the longer reviews of Fallout 3 that I've come across, ( I still search out walkthroughs and reviews to this day.) I figured I'd give my educated guess on what you can expect to see for Fallout 4. 

     Firstly, Fallout 3 had a stellar cast of characters, even Liam Neeson voiced the father character, and that was sweet all by itself, but what made the game ascertainable as one of the best on the last generation consoles and PCs, was the stories surrounding the main story. I kind of find it ironic that the exact same reasoning can be used to claim the faults in New Vegas, as the main story was okay, but the weird stories surrounding it were either over-the-top, or barely made me interested. Even the one mini confrontation in Fallout 3 with the whack job asking you to turn over the naughty niightwear in the sewer was hysterical, and a welcomed wtf moment. Also, the references to every classic Sci-Fi/horror story made, from Them! to an entire building dedicated to Lovecraft was done with such love, and respect, the game lived up to the expectations of every Fallout fan. So for obvious predictions like story, Easter eggs, etc. I'll simply say that it's a shoe-in that this game will have some minor and major references, because all the other games have paid tribute in one form or another to other areas of Sci-Fi fandom. 

    That-being-said,  my predictions for Fallout 4, other than we'll get an actual sneak peak of it at E3, measure from simple, to outrageously complex. I've played Fallout 3 for more hours than I've played any other game in my life, although Dark Souls is probably going to rival that. Anyway, fallout 4 claims it won't take place in D.C., even though the first three games took place in, or around D.C., but I still think this particular game will still be in the Northeast, because it may just be a direct sequel in the same time and locale, as New Vegas was quite a few years after a Fallout 3, and that game was more a spin-off, rather than a true sequel. 

    Lots of people are saying New York, Boston, even Chicago for another game, but something tells me thwt Fallout 4 will probably take place in a more historical city like Philladelphia, or even the aforementioned Boston, but seeing how Boston is laid out, I don't see many people wanting to walk the entire Freedom Trail to unlock quick travel, but I personally wouldn't mind seeing how a city so spread out could be a setting for Fallout. Still, I don't see much need to get all excited about a particular setting, as gameplay matters most, as the wasteland they choose to throw us in is going to look like a wasteland. I think there will be a bit of an upgrade to the personalization of the character cheesier, I think it will be a complex one that was similar to Playstation Home, and I have a sinking feeling online capabilities are coming, whether the critics cry "nay!" or not. 

    I also believe that if we see going to see characters like the Antagonizer again, it's going to be like little Easter eggs, although I loved that costume, and the ghoul mask was awesome, but made the game a bit too easy.  I'd love to see more customizable weapons, or even something out of Dead Space 3 or Borderlands where I can even upgrade and evolve the weapons I pick up, I did like the easy conditioning system, but I'm wondering if they will expand on it so I could add teddy bears to every mini nuke I launch. 

     I do believe we will see a more hands-on, interactive environment, as I'm sure we won't be just playing the game, we'll be going into millions of side quests, and even some random buildings thwt really don't have a point to them, but unlock, or house something wicked, unique, and inherently Fallout. I'd personally like to see better character design, although I must also say the characters in 3 weren't nearly as horrific in design, or in mechanics as other games of the same caliber.  I would also like to say that Fallout 4 is most definitely going to include new companions, or go the Dwrk Soul route,  and have companions join via a multiplayer situation. Still, having a random computer buddy join me on a quest was fun, especially Fawkes, because the rest were kinda shit in comparison.  Although it was always fun to make him wait in Megaton, then blow it up, kinda sick and twisted, but it was fun nevertheless. 

     Also, I think we will see another alien scenario, as it's a big part of the experience, but I was hoping thwt the game itself was going to have a bit of a shocker, and go completely opposite and have the game take place in one of the middle states. I also hope the perks, which will most likely return,will have more unique affects that weren't as diverse in 3, but way to diverse in New Vegas. Again, New Vegas to me was fun, it was kooky, and it was even a mixed blessing, but I personally was not a fan, and found it ridiculously short for a full Fallout game. I'd have deemed it more a large DLC that could've replaced the Pitt, and Broken Steel, both of which could've been lost without a second though of being missed. 

      Which brings me to DLC....it's going to happen, and there will most likely be some special edition released like two years after-the-fact of Fallout 4, and it'll either be worth it, or not worth it, but overly expensive. Such is DLC though, and sadly, it makes me wish I could just buy it all on one disc. 

    So other predictions/wants for Fallout 4:

     I want it to pretty much be like Fallout 3

     I want the game to be finished, out of the box! This goes for all games coming out in the future. 

    More guns, more exploring, but make it feel more real, because the time passing was never seriously as realistic as it could be. 

   I want a hardcover mode that actually makes the game hardcore! Harder and more my style. 

   I  love the switching between first and third person, and expect that in future games. 

  Need to have a dog companion, it's a must, although I'd love to see a mutated cat. Just kidding. 

  I need to just say that Fallout 4 needs to have some kind of short term vehicle transportation, or at the very least, boats. 

   I'd also like to see in-game on disc, day one, some ability to leave the current wasteland one is exploring,,and go someplace else, because frankly, I was a bit upset when I was in New Vegas, and I had areas unexplored or because they wre set up for DLC. Either build the game, or don't, but don't give me an area I can't walk to and expect me not to feel like I was screwed out of a full game. 

   I'd also like to see some honest building so everything doesn't seem matted together, make it pretty, and pretty kick ass! 

   Finally, I want a good story, awesome dialogue choices, and would it be too much to give armor that actually adds to you like an actual RPG?

    Whatever the situation, I  believe Fallout 4 needs to add less, than add more to an already near-flawless title. The third game was a great experience, and it should've been clunkier than expected, but it would be nice to see better movement still, movement is truly never perfected in gaming, perhaps Fallout 4 will fix this issue.  Whatever happens, whatever comes true, and yes, a few new alien and mutant races would be nice, and that you can work with, for, or against them would make for a deeper story, I'm starting to think that asking for too much, and expecting too much, will be asking too much,and hurt this game. So predictions aside, I trust my money in Bethesda. 

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Edgsr Holves's twitter: @FunNYFisherman