I shouldn't even bother with you because you are the polar opposite of me but:
It was the major GOTY the year it got released:
Awards
Fallout 4 received numerous awards and nominations from gaming publications such as GameSpot,[85] GamesRadar,[86] EGM,[87] Game Revolution,[88] IGN,[89][90] and many more. The game received a game of the year award from the 19th ceremony of the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences—also known as D.I.C.E.—among numerous nominations for the award from The Game Awards, The Daily Telegraph,[91] PC Gamer,[92] IGN and more.[93] It was also placed on various lists of the best games of 2015 in which GameSpot put it at sixth,[85] GamesRadar at fourth,[94] among others top lists. The game also received awards and nominations for Role-playing game of the year with it winning the award from Game Critics and D.I.C.E. with nominations from various other gaming publications.[93][weasel words]
I got over 200 hours logged in it (FO4 + story DLCs).
S.H.I.T. Fallout title, though. Crap dialogues (Yes, Yes, Sarcastic Yes, Maybe.... but Yes), nonsensical perks/ S.P.E.C.I.A.L. system, abhorrent storyline and major villains (robots) and goofy DLCs (Nuka World).
And this is why the entire game fails. Nobody is interesting to talk to. Except for one or two mutated folks.
The coolest character in the entire game is the robot at Green Diamond stadium that speaks Japanese
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GOTY doesn't mean shit, because most of those websites I wouldn't trust them at all " The Game Awards, IGN " lol.. How can it be GOTY when the story is shit, the dialogue is garbage, the perks are stupid.. basically anything that makes Fallout Fallout is garbage in Fallout 4.
- fantastic open-world map with varying locales
- good gunplay and combat - first for a 3D Fallout game
- good loot
- interesting crafting/ modular system
- fun and working settlement/ building your base system
- [personal] graphics i.e. Power Armor, high-rise Boston skyscrappers
- best loading screens ever
Allright let's start here. Now " fantastic " is a bit of a hyperbole, what varying locales are there exactly? The grasslands and the city parts.
Good gunplay & combat, how so exactly? Compared to other FPS games it's totally garbage, and as you said yourself the game falls flat on it's face when it tries to be an actual RPG. VATS is still cool, but that debuted in Fallout 3. Over 10(?) years ago.
The crafting system was great, I will give you that much. But it's not something like that hasn't been done before ( Fallout New Vegas ).
Personally I didn't give a shit about building a settlement, because there is absolutely zero reason to build a settlement. It doesn't offer you anything in the slightest as a benefit.
Boston skyscrapers were indeed cool, but they are barely used in the game. Almost no quest features them.
Now I did enjoy Fallout 4 somewhat, I put plenty of hours into it. The main story is absolute garbage. MAH BABY. And then he's a robot. Hmmk whatever the fuck GAME.
The " roleplaying " part of the game is as shitty as the other RPG parts of it. You are playing a character that has a predefined personality, voice and goal. So not really a lot of leeway for actual roleplaying. And like you said the dialogue choices are yes/no/sarcasm/more money
Personally, I think Fallout 4 is a garbage game that preceded Fallout 76 and will be the basis for any future Fallout and perhaps even ( I shudder to think ) future TES installments. It has some fun elements to it, but it's worse in many many ways compared to even Fallout 3 and especially New Vegas.
I also doubt you are the polar opposite of me
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