Ask The Reviewer: Fallout 4

The reviews are in! GameSpot has given Fallout 4 a 9/10 saying:

"Fallout 4 can be an intoxicating experience. You're often forced to sacrifice something--a relationship, a lucrative opportunity, or your health--to make gains elsewhere. And the deeper down the rabbit hole you go, the more you wonder: what if I chose a different path? You second guess yourself, not just because you had other options, but because you aren't sure if you did the right thing. The fact that your decisions stick with you after walking away from the game is a testament to the great storytelling on hand. Fallout 4 is an argument for substance over style, and an excellent addition to the revered open-world series." -- Peter Brown [Full review}

THE GOOD

• A dense world with a wide range of curious characters and locations
• Great hybrid combat system
• Your choices have a major impact on the story
• A huge number of quests and rewards
• Intuitive creation tools
• Thought-provoking narrative

THE BAD

• Companions are difficult to manage
• Lackluster inventory management and world map
• Average graphics and some glitches to contend with

We're sure you have tons of questions for Peter about his review, so here's your chance to ask your questions! As always remember GameSpot's Golden Rule and be sure to follow our Community Code of Conduct.

How is the fun factor compared to FO3 and NV?

How does this run on PC?

Is the framerate drop as bad as DF is saying it is? I guess the review was done on PS4 so, you wouldn't be able to tell us if the framerate drop is much worse on X1 or not. I'd hate to see the game stuttering like some are saying it does. That would break immersion for sure. Also, you say there is a huge number of quests. Can you be a little more specific? I know Fallout 3's quests were very limited in number. You had the main quest, maybe 15 or so side quests and a bunch of small unmarked quests in F3 vanilla.

Thanks for the review.

Don't you think the game is short? Considering its genre i was expecting minimum +70 hours like The Witcher 3.

And i'd like to know about your criteria when it comes to giving a score, you mentioned some important negative stuff about the game which can be a deal-breaker so it seems 9 is a little bit generous.

Thanks.

Granted, I skimmed the review so I could come to it fresh, so if this was already in there, forgive me:

This is the first Bethesda game with voiced protagonists. Does that seem to really be a major shift in how it plays/feels compared to past Bethesda titles, or did you find that you (and by extension, we) are so used to voiced protagonists now that it was hardly noticeable as a change?

After you completed the game, did you want to replay it again?

I am curious in the replayability of the game as opposed to the hype.

Thanks in advance!

Any noticeable differences between the console versions? By that I mean major differences in visuals and/or performance?

not to try and speak for another, that said how did you feel about that change from DA:O to DA2. that may speak volumes more about how you will feel about it, as opposed to what some else's experience was.

just a thought :)

@suppaphly42: Not gonna derail the thread, but, in a nutshell, Bioware dialog is different in that it's never had the seamless shift from gameplay to dialog without a cut or edit or whatever you want to call it that Bethesda games have had. That's sort of been the trade off Bethesda makes: "Ok, no voices for you, but also no breaks in immersion by shifting the camera perspective." The no voice/voice shift in DA didn't change the fact that both games had that change in camera/perspective entering dialog. A voiced character in a Bethesda game might be more of a change.

@olddadgamer: ok fair enough, that is a good enough reason for me and now that you shine that light on it, you may have a point i didn't really think about :)

Is Peter only answering via PM's?

Average graphics and some glitches to contend with

It wouldn't have been a Bethesda game without either.

Thanks for all of the questions so far, everyone. I'll be back in about an hour to answer most of them!

@elheber: How does this run on PC?

The game still has bugs on PC, but the lighting, draw distance, and textures are higher quality than the two console versions.

@bdrtfm: Is the framerate drop as bad as DF is saying it is?

Fallout 4 stutters at times on both Xbox One and PS4. I spent far longer with the latter version, and though I did witness the game slow down on occasion, it was rare, and it didn't have a negative impact on my experience.

@mjorhDon't you think the game is short?

Quite the opposite, in fact! Fallout 4's main quest line can be completed in less than twenty hours, but there are so many side-quests and locations to discover that I wouldn't be surprised if it took over 100 hours to see MOST of Fallout 4's content.

@kljohns2After you completed the game, did you want to replay it again? I am curious in the replayability of the game as opposed to the hype.

I was of two minds after finishing the main quest:

1. Continue playing and find new side quests to tackle, because they're fun and interesting in their own right.
2. Restart the game so that I can make new decisions to reach a different ending. Given that your decisions are difficult, and you often have to sacrifice something to achieve another thing, there's a lot to be curious about, and a lot to rediscover.

I will continue to play Fallout 4, and maybe restart it, because there's a seemingly never-ending supply of great writing and combat left to be discovered.

How well is third person handled? Bethesda almost got third person right in Skyrim, but it still looked like a poorly animated puppet dancing in front of the screen and not an actual part of the game world.

For those who wanted to know about X1 performance.

There both similar, hold 30fps ish, x1 dips more in crowded areas about 4-5 frames behind at times. However during some gunfights ps4 version can drop below 20fps.

How does the quality of the writing compare to previous Bethesda works, and games that are well-written?

Is there a reputation or faction system similar to New Vegas?

Is the story better than Fallout 3 and New Vegas?

Hey Doc,

Loved the review and the song choices! Do you mind telling me what's the title of the last song in the review (the one with the piano bit), it has been stuck in my head the whole day.

Much appreciated!

What are you thoughts about the lack of a Karma system?

@GameSpot: just wanted to say what great initiative this was...respect mr.Brown

@doc-brown: Why didn't you mention the bad framerate? The FPS actually drop to 0 on Xbox One and on PS4 it is under 30 frames on a consistent basis

Lol might be a very general question but is it better than witcher 3?

Is there still a glitch like in 3 and New Vegas that lets you duplicate weapons in the stores?

Probably because it as far as the Xbox one goes, is not that bad.

@Jacanuk: The X1 version is the worst one though

Have put in around 6 hours so far in the Xbox One version and so far I haven't run into any issues, knock on wood.

According to ?

The unlucky few friends i have talked to who have a X1 has all said that , yes there are some framedrops in some areas during major events, but it´s not bad and not something that makes the game unplayable

Well, according to the people who i know plays it on a X1, it does not come that low in any area.

But i do not own Fallout 4 on X1 , i was clever enough to get it on PC :D

How much were you paid off for this review since apparently Fallout 4 is the worst game ever according to parts of the Internet?

That is so funny. But to be fair you posted this bait in the wrong forum. Go do it in Systemwars instead, they love that kind of bait.

@crimsonbrute: Some of the characters look bad, some of them look abysmal. Not a marvelous looking game, hardly next-gen, still pretty enjoyable. After TW3 it's harder to play games like these.

@Epak_: Like I said, it's Bethesda. I don't expect high quality models or environments especially from the fallout series.

I wonder if it's not as high quality for the consoles on purpose so as to leave some wiggle room for mods.

Fallout 4 or Witcher 3, which do you prefer

Fallout 4 of course.

Witcher 3 is a poor mans Skyrim.

LOL. Other way around. FO4 is Skyrim with a skin.

Witcher 3 is just Witcher 3.

As I understand your review of Fallout 4, player choice has such an impact on the game that each decision has gravitas with the small moments of gameplay and the "big picture" analysis leading to an understanding of context that is considered a worthwhile experience because, I imagine, the player grows, mentally, by focusing on this game.

The post-apocalyptic genre is popular in media, so based on what you are saying, it has done well by the standards of its niche.