War. War never changes. Or does it? The highly anticipated: “Fallout 4” brings exciting and innovative additions to the long-running series, but was it worth all the hype?

In its first three days of release, Fallout 4 has sold an estimated 1.8 million copies, making it one of the most successful game launches in recent history. Fallout 4, like the previous titles in the series, thrusts the player into a futuristic, post-apocalyptic 1970’s America, where in this case, one emerges from a vault 210 years after the bombs dropped. Fallout 4 takes place 10 years after Fallout 3 and 6 years after Fallout: New Vegas.

Fallout 4 is a great RPG right from the start, offering a deep character customization system, and of course the Fallout staple: SPECIAL system makes a return.

Important decisions are made right off the bat, and there is a lot of action very early into the game. The game is anything but linear. The player is free to make decisions and free to explore as he or she pleases. The player will find him/herself wondering what’s next in store for their character as they first get acquainted with the game, something that few games can match.

Fallout offers many improvements from its previous titles, being reminiscent of Skyrim occasionally. A very welcome improvement to the franchise is the graphics and overall look of the game. Despite it being set in a post-apocalyptic setting, Fallout 4 is a fantastic looking game (few muddy textures)  with a massive and highly detailed environment, something that the dull-looking previous titles lacked.

Another very new addition in Fallout 4 is the ability to build and manage settlements, a feature that allows the player to thrive in the vast wasteland and gives him/her something to contribute to and build off of.

Despite these big additions, smaller tweaks offer huge improvements to the game mechanics of Fallout. The removal of weapon condition is amazing, allowing the player to keep some favorite weapons for as long as needed, and the feature of upgrading weapons and renaming them will enable the player to bring out the players own personal touch.

Another Fallout staple: the V.A.T.S system has been upgraded, no longer will it stop time, rather, it will slow it down, allowing for seamless gameplay.

Of course, no game is perfect, and Fallout 4 certainly is not an exception to this statement.

Even with all these great additions, Fallout 4 comes short on a few things. Fallout has been known for the pip-boy inventory screen, which houses the players items, stats, quests and map, and it has always been messy. Fallout 4 is no different, and it can be quite the chore to manage your items and look at the map.

The lack of companion quests, and the often awkward conversations could be disappointing to the social vault-dweller, but a more glaring issue is the lack of factions when compared to the previous titles. Factions offered tough decisions and an interesting mechanic that kept the game fresh. In Fallout 4, there are a few forgettable factions with not enough substance to make them as memorable as the Enclave or even the NCR of  which were memorable in previous titles.

Despite the few issues, Fallout 4 is a great game, that will bring hours of entertainment for the newbie and veteran wanderer alike. Even in this month of December with many big titles being released, Fallout 4 is definitely worth a first look as it is a must-buy, triple-A game that will surely be one of the best this year.

By Matthew Montoya