The Hype Crits you for $59.99

I've mentioned several times that I'm a sucker for hype.  Snazzy game commercials have me reaching into my wallet despite my rational senses telling me to hold off.  I've fallen victim to the latest round of uber-hype courtesy of Fallout 4.  In my brain I knew that I've felt very ambivalent about the previous games in the series.  One cute retro themed commercial featuring our hero the vault dweller and his/her canine companion, Dogmeat, completely overruled any sense of restraint.  After playing A LOT (150+ hours) of Fallout 4, I'm kicking myself.  Even though I haven't completely finished the game this is me summarizing my thoughts about it (and really wishing it was over).  Possible spoilers ahead! Read with caution if you haven't completed the main storyline!

Fallout 4's strength is in it's massive open world.  Don't expect much depth.

Fallout 4 really looked to have some new unique features that would differentiate it from the earlier games.  The one that excited me the most was the settlement building feature.  Building your own unique structures...yes, please!  In reality settlements turned out to be more of a hassle than anything.  Sure, you could spend the time to scavenge materials, build structures, and then decorate those structures to your heart's content.  But what was the point?  Your settlers could care less about your coordinating cat pictures and the fact that they are sleeping on a bed and not on a crummy sleeping bag.  Does having all those settlements even really matter?  What's the point of making my people happy besides seeing a higher number on the happiness meter (and getting one achievement)?  Getting called away to defend a settlement from some sort of attack became more of an annoyance than anything.  This also includes any kidnapping or destroying quests that accompanied other settlements.  In talking to some fellow players (mostly high school students) their attitude toward settlements consistently was "Screw settlements!"  I was particularly irritated at the fact that sometimes, despite helping to defend a settlement, that the mission would not update correctly and as a result I would receive a failure message and have to repair everything in that specific settlement.  With more development the settlement system could have more depth and meaning.  What if each settlement could produce...something?  What if you could actually lose a settlement if you failed to defend it?  WHAT IF SETTLEMENTS MEANT SOMETHING!?!!  /exasperated hand motions.  Part of my frustration also comes from the fact that most of the settlement related processes are so poorly explained.

One of my other big frustrations came from the fact that there were so few meaningful quest lines and the fact that actually finding quests is difficult.  If you don't stumble on the right trigger to start a quest chances are you'll lose it in the massive expanses of the wasteland.  Diamond City is one place that exemplifies this frustration for me.  I did a few quests in Diamond City but generally didn't spend any time there.  This is sort of a bummer because the concept of a city inside Fenway Park is phenomenal.  I kept waiting for more quests to pull me into Diamond City....but they never came.  I am intrigued by the location called the "Home Plate."  It looked to be a home-like location that you could unlock in Diamond City.  Thanks to the poor quest locating mechanics I have no idea how (I could Google it...).  Some of the quest lines I did find were actually entertaining.  I particularly enjoyed getting to portray the fictional comic book character "The Silver Shroud."  The dialogue in that particular chain is hilarious as you have the option of your character staying in-character as the Shroud.  This is literally the only quest chain that stands out to me....yeah, out of an entire 150+ hours of play.  Even the main storyline isn't really that interesting.  It's so un-interesting that I've put much of it off until the very end of my playthrough (which was a mistake).

As I've progressed through the main storyline I'm also finding the factional systems and choices that seemed important early on have actually turned out to be meaningless.  Your choices break down into "help the Institute" or "destroy the Institute."  Helping the Minutemen, the Railroad, or the Brotherhood of Steel turns out to be another part of the game that is pointless (I am guessing that if you choose to attack the Institute that your chosen faction will give you the option of a specific series of attack-y quests).  The complete meaninglessness of the faction system became apparent in a quest to find some escaped synths at Bunker Hill.  It turned out that both the Railroad and Brotherhood of Steel were vying for the escapees and that there was a raging battle over the same synths you were attempting to return to the Institute.  What I expected to be a pitched battle turned out to be nothing more than my character running, completely unhindered, through the middle of a firefight to then disable the said synths.  After I had reset the synths the battle stopped and I ran back out...right by the very Railroad members who I had previously helped.  This could have been the perfect point for some very pitched dialogue about your character's true intentions.  Are you really ditching the Railroad/BoS to help the Institute?  I pictured Desdemona and Glory giving me the what-for and questioning my motives in helping the Institute.  Instead, I just ran awkwardly past a bunch of mannequin-like Railroad members who did nothing.  Another total missed opportunity for something so much better!

Honestly, I've reached the point now where I just want to finish Fallout 4 and be done with it.  When I think of the previous games I've come to the realization that I've felt this way about every game in the series.  I would classify Fallout 4 as an average game.  I've played games that were much better and also much worse.  Fallout 4 excels in it's portrayal of a wide open world torn apart by nuclear destruction.  If you enjoy wandering aimlessly for hours and shooting lots of assorted bad guys you'll probably like Fallout 4.  If you're looking for a compelling story filled with interesting characters and moral quandaries....save yourself $59.99 and look for something different.  I fell for the hype and wish I would've waited for a Steam sale.

I've got Starcraft II:  Legacy of the Void on deck for when I finally get through the chore of finishing Fallout 4.  I cringe when I see people make claims of Fallout 4--Game of the Year!  Seriously?  You would place Fallout 4 over a masterpiece like The Witcher 3?  When I finished The Witcher 3 I immediately started another playthrough (even after having played for almost 150 hours).  A great game makes you want more.  I've never been left wanting more from the Fallout games.