Many will argue for New Vegas or 76, but Fallout 4 might just be the “city upon a hill” of the franchise.
The release of Amazon Prime’s Fallout television show this past Spring has done wonders for the franchise. It has ushered in a new fan base and reminded the older ones what made the series so special. The success of the show has also sparked a debate among gamers that has yet to be resolved: what is the best Fallout game?
As a reminder, the Fallout games are as followed (ordered by release date):
When asked what Fallout game is best, a popular answer to argue for is New Vegas and with valid reasons. The 2010 installment digs into the fight for control of the Mojave Desert between the New California Republic, Caesar’s Legion, and the businessman Mr. House. One of the fan favorites, the game is known for its easy compatibility and even more so for its incredible storyline.
OG fans might feel more nostalgic about the franchise and prefer the timelessness of Fallout and Fallout 2. Despite its heavy criticism from both fans and video game reviewers, Fallout 76 is still ranked second on Steam Charts for current players at 18,118.
What remains supreme after nine years, however, is without a doubt Fallout 4. With graphics that rival its predecessor in 76 and a storyline just as nail biting as New Vegas, Fallout 4 is the best Fallout game.
Taking place in the year 2287, gamers will become the sole survivor of your nuclear vault and will have to avenge your wife, and find your kidnapped son as you explore the Commonwealth. Players can also build their own structures through the collection of raw materials, a feature new to the series.
Whether you are traveling with the kind but dangerous Curie (dangerous at least in her Mr. Buddy form), the ferocious Strong, or the iconic and robotic Codsworth, you and your companion will work to survive the nuclear apocalypse (Dogmeat will, however, stay as my first choice every time).
There are several features of Fallout 4 that place the game ahead of its peers and the numbers show. Steam Charts has Fallout 4 ranked first in current players among the series at 30,239, over three times the amount of New Vegas and almost double the players of Fallout 76. Some of the features that put 4 on top include:
One of the most interesting additions that Bethesda Game Studios introduced was the concept of base-building. In Fallout 4, not only is it possible to tear down and build up structures to and from scratch, but players can create entire towns with running electricity from generators and power lines.
The towns and buildings are then used to inhabit survivors of the fallout and other Wastelanders. When traveling back to your creations, the NPC’s that occupy the towns will offer missions involved in the “radiant quest system.”
The towns in question are called “settlements” and multiple communities can be established throughout the Wasteland. Structures such as houses and walls are possible. Even in the worst possible scenario of a series of apocalyptic events like the ones that ensue in the Fallout universe, you can make your bed look nice by crafting beds, tables, and desks!
In this worst possible scenario dangers lurk around every corner. It is, therefore, necessary to protect your settlement from the bad apples of the Wasteland. But how do I protect my settlement if I want to wander around and complete the main story?
This problem is solvable through defensive options. Guard posts, machine-gun turrets, and power springed traps will keep your settlement safe from raiders, Ghouls, or whatever other creatures looking to create trouble.
Survival is not just dependent on shelter, as the settlement’s inhabitants will need food and water to survive. Crops can be planted to provide food, purifiers are necessary for clean water, and scavenging stations offer settlers a place to exchange valuable resources.
What makes the base-building and settlement management modes of the game so unique is how grounded with reality they are. This feature is not available in previous Fallout games but it adds a sense of nobleness and responsibility to the player in a world with almost zero honor and responsibility.
The game keeps itself grounded in its own established reality, as just like in real life, gamers can not construct buildings out of thin air. In order to build, one must first collect one of the three possible raw materials: concrete, wood, and steel. The materials can be gathered by scrapping junk items on crafting tables or from trees and cars throughout your journey.
Items can be built at several crafting tables such as:
Through the accumulation of various perks, weapons and armor can be manufactured as well.
The Science! perk can be used for modding energy weapons either through the creation of such or to enhance its statistics. The Armorer is one of the most important perks in the game and is a part of the first steps to access a ballistic weave. With the Armorer, players can create self protection from scratch without sacrificing too much agility.
The Demolition Expert perk is also needed if players want to craft anything more extreme than a molotov cocktail. Make your bombs bigger and cause more destruction with this perk and, I mean, who does not love huge explosions in video games?
The Fallout franchise is one of the most popular and entertaining RPG’s out there, and the gameplay of each installment is what is most responsible for this reputation. The New Vegas storyline is highly regarded and holds up to this day, but what does not is their graphics. This can be easily solved through mods that not only beefs up the graphics but expands the universe and fixes annoying glitches.
Fallout 76 has the best graphics, as it is the most recent game of the series. What people dislike about 76 is that it feels repetitive and dull compared to its predecessors. Expansions of the game have led to a rise in popularity, but fans still typically rank it towards the bottom half of the franchise.
Fallout 4 occupies the best of both worlds in terms of gameplay. The graphics rival 76 and has plenty of mods to make the game even more interesting than the famed New Vegas. With 27 hours of story mode and 161 hours to obtain 100% completion, mods may not even be needed to play 4, which is one of the reasons Fallout 4 is the best Fallout game.
If you are like me, which is certainly not everyone, you like to finish the main story as quickly as possible, with only every now and then completing side quests. One of the more frustrating aspects to RPG’s is when you finish the main story, but the side quests left only take a couple of days to complete.
With over 100 hours of additional gameplay, this will not be a problem with Fallout 4. The aftermath of your decisions made in the final act of the game continue to impact your player’s day-to-day life as they live with the consequences of their actions. These consequences are identifiable through various quests, some even can be played out indefinitely.
The side quests you can explore are:
It has been a while since we’ve gotten a new Fallout game, but the recent television show received a very positive reaction from old fans and amassed an entire new audience. While you wait for that next game or next season, Fallout 4 should be the game you play whether it is your first or 10th time.
