Fallout 4!

Hi there folks. Back again with a review. Yes I thought that would be surprising. This time around though we are going to enjoy the post apocalypse again but courtesy of Bethesada Softworks in continuing the existing series. With all the super mutants, screwy robots and more crazed cults and raiders at the ready. This is Fallout 4.

I'm gonna need a bigger gun.

This time around we make our way to Massachusetts' very own Commonwealth of Boston. You are a parent and spouse in the year 2077 after the last war. You are set to deliver a speech for your surviving unit and hope to establish some compassion. As a father/mother you have a newborn month old son you have named Shaun. With your Mr. Handy Codsworth assisting your new bundle, life is pretty good. Why there is even an underground vault in your neighborhood fully built just in case of nuclear fallout. Vault 111 is ready to go as a Vault-Tec sales rep reserves you and your family for a spot as you are a former soldier with time served. Well having a little insurance isn't a bad thing and offers peace of mind...until your TV report exclaims ICBMs (Intercontinental Ballistic Missile)have been launched for key locations in the US.

You grab your little one and spouse and run like hell is nipping at your feet. Vault-Tec preps you all for decontamination is a suspicious looking chamber but before you know it, you are cryogenic frozen. Time passes and you see a gunman and two techs making off with your baby and shooting your spouse. You pass out due to the cryo cooling you. Next thing you know alarms are going off, your cryo pod releases you as you rush to your wife/husband who has sadly died. You have a son to find. The world has completely trashed and left in ruins. Your home, neighborhood in Sanctuary Hills and even your Mr. Handy bot has all aged and dilapidated. Codsworth tells you it has been over 200 years since you went to the vault. Somehow you must tread these old streets and find your son at all costs.

JETPACK!!!

Unlike the first 4 games, we have never seen the life prior the nuclear fallout with a future technological amazement with a 1950s revival appearance in vehicles, clothes, music and lingo. Following as the fifth game of this series this action RPG that can be first or third-person view with combat and it is open ended allowing to walk all over the map. Power armor is littered all over the Commonwealth giving you a bit more speed than just running across the road, increases strength and armored to handle incoming bullets, laser and plasma blasts.

Well the pros and cons have to be addressed about this game to give it an objective look. The pros are such: Multiple weapons that can be modified and improved, armor that can save you and your companions, dialogue options making the game go in different directions and a voice cast that brings these beings to life. The graphics really sell the show and the lip syncing was damn impressive.

The cons however are thus: Loading screens take anywhere from 30 seconds to maybe up to 5 minutes. The lag between entering different buildings, floors or locations can drag in the similar fashion. Sexual nature of your character has to be heterosexual unlike Fallout: New Vegas, given you gay, bi-sexual and hetro options. Locking up is also not uncommon as it has been for the entire series but bugs will be bugs. You always seem to have to sign on to one faction or another because you against the world is...odd? No clue there. In spite of the lagging and error hiccups the re-play-ability is there, I have had this game since November, and still haven't found every last location in the game. The funniest part of this game is shaping, coloring and altering your character's face and body to how you want your character to look like. People have been known to spend way too much time on it.

Nick picking...the lock.

Rotten Ramblin' On 4! We almost sound professional!

Shut Up Wesley was put on hold today for a brand new Rotten Ramblin' On podcast # 4.   Our valiant heroes tackle the standing of sci-fi games of both video games and this archaic concept known as tabletop games! Once again, this is NSFW and Adult language.

This armor chafes a bit.

https://soundcloud.com/jake-peck-2/rotten-ramblin-on-4


Again I do apologize as I am going to get indigogo up and running again for some fundage to properly host the podcast and maybe even give it a snappy intro music!!!

Yeah doll, the orcs smell like drek but they soak up bullets, see?

PS2 Week

Welcome back readers! Today I was going to go into a volley of a specific film genre when it dawned on me I would rather cover some video games again. I know, I know. I did cover the Free-to-Play not long ago but it got me thinking there are several of a particular console I have not gotten to go into detail on and this week as good as any. I speak of the PS2. Manufactured in 2000, Sony's second installment of the Playstation boasted better graphics, more complex games ranging from racing, RPG, Co-Op, Action, Horror and the introduction to the Rock Band and Guitar Hero games.

I have a need.  A need for... oh, you get it already.

With more than 3,000 titles this sixth-gen console was competing with Nintendo Gamecube and Xbox for popularity churning out more than 150 million units during its release and worldwide sales of the console up to 1 billion. Even with its successor PS3, the PS2 is still one of the most preferred game consoles and units were still being created up until 2013. With that in mind, I wanted to discuss what I thought were some of the most definitive games throughout its inception, cover the pros and cons of gameplay for each and try to give the back story on each title.

So please enjoy the gamer geek's ideal entertainment of the PS2 and its most impressive array of games of various genre and I hope this will be fun for us all. Those of you that are sick of game blogs, hey I am sorry but gotta break away from the movies and TV now and then.

BMGs sure do clear a path!

Ghosts of N64 Week: Mega Man 64

Welcome back followers of the almighty console to Day 2 of the Ghosts of N64 Week.   Today I touch base on a series as old as Nintendo's humble beginnings with one of its original but it is not the truest of the incarnation.  MegaMan is commonly an action/platform side scroller which was brought to market on December 17, 1987.  This time around our series is based on Microsoft Windows, PSP, PlayStation and Nintendo 64 bringing Mega Man Legends.  This is Mega Man 64.

The Claw is our master!

Hailing from the franchise of Capcom (Street Fighter, Resident Evil, Devil May Care, Bionic Commando, Ghost n' Goblins, Strider amd Darkstalkers) in 2000, our game is thousands of years in the after the ZX series (In nerd terminology, that means after Mega Man X series) our character is called Rock Volnutt, a treasure hunter and digger who prospects through the ruins around the world picking up refractor shards to mine and trade them as the coin of the realm.  Adopted by Professor  Barrell Caskett a well known digger and author of multiple books on the subject.  He found Rock on Nino Island and took him in as he did his granddaughter Roll after her parents seemed to have disappeared.   Data, their robot monkey holds all existing MegaMan memories and for some reason Rock does not recall his own life.

Living on the edge!!!

A gathering of pirates is constantly giving them a peck of trouble with mechasuits, servitor robots and a collection of Reaverbots, the world as we know it is in danger.  The battle for supremacy of machine and man has begun.

Just a few notes on the game itself.

Unlike the previous Mega Man incarnations this game is more of a action adventure RPG format and Japan dubbed this series Mega Man Legends.  The complaints I have is the camera system similar to Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire bounding 3D views and giving a 360 view which makes it difficult to travel with.   With that, the exploration and old school shooting technique gives the RPG feel a decent game.  Interaction with the NPCs coming with side quests and giving clues on where to go next is the standard role-playing game feel.

The static 3D animation follows Super Mario 64 and the two Zelda games which giving tumbling hills, flatten dirt roads, and bulbous trees.   With the blinding contrasts of the color combos that doesn't completely mesh well, jerky controls on the analog stick takes a bit of getting used to.  The only speed is running after your metamorphose, otherwise you need to tap the R button slightly.   The photo-phobic crowd may wish to stay away from it.  While the PlayStation version's graphics are a bit more fine tuned, the cartridge version loads faster and cleaner.

Well, at least I don't have to play an ocarina.

PC Games I am Playing Week: Fallout: New Vegas

Howdy pardners and welcome back to Day 2 of PC Games I am Playing Week.  Today I speak of a game that is *gasp!* four whole years of age.  Yes this antique is the continuation of the Fallout series originally crafted in 1995 by Interplay Entertainment and has swapped hands to Black Ilse Studios only to have Black Isle file Chapter 13, return, lose rights to Fallout thus did not release Fallout 3: Capital Wasteland by Bethesda Softworks and then work injunction with Bethesda Softworks under Black Isle’s new company name Obsidian Entertainment.   Confused?  Well you should be.   So strap on your six guns, gather up some companions and watch out for strangers.  This is Fallout: New Vegas.

 

Sheesh, Hoss is packing some iron.

Spoiler…  Spoiler never changes.

The game I am referring to moves us back to the Mohave Desert, to an area more or less untouched by the war so its 1950’s influence, clothes, lingo and music still grace this giant sandbox but where there were cowboys, beef barons and gamblers with a heart of gold is now under the continuous onslaught of Fiends, slavers, raiders and rampaging super mutants and feral ghouls.  Where landmarks of the old Nevada standing have been made into renewed communities trying to survive this harsh world as two factions battle for the Hoover Dam and all the power it can provide.  The New California Republic, a foundation of former law enforcement and military ideals and Caesar’s Legion, a ruthless reincarnation of the barbarous Roman Emporium duke it out for all the marbles.  

One man keeps them both at bay, Mr. House and his fleet of Securitron robots.  He now owns all of New Vegas and plays to keep things running smoothly and the caps flowing in like so much chilled champagne.

Disagreement with the locals.

  

Your character is NOT a vault dweller.  SHOCK!!! 

You are a courier hired to carry an unknown package to a specified destination when you get jumped by a fellow in a dapper checkered suit and some Great Khans, shot in the head and left for dead.  That is your beginning intro!  As you come to in the town of Goodsprings you find that life on the Wild Wasteland is full of danger and wonder.  Rarely are the two far apart.  You need to bolster up some skills, arm yourself better and frankly get that package back to your client posthaste.  Perhaps you can indulge in a bit of revenge while you are at it.  

Like Fallout 3; the same game engine for smooth play, graphics and synched dialogue is identical.  You do however have options to newer weapons, modifying them, living off the land, freestyle wandering, side quests and different dialogue skills.   As always with this continued game system an amazing voice cast is essential in the telling of your tale as it unfolds.

 Ron Perlman (Chronos, Blade II, Alien Ressurection, Hellboy and Hellboy 2: The Golden Army) returns as the narrator of this post-apocalyptic land along with familiar voices such as Michael Dorn (CHiPs, Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) as Marcus the former Super Mutant Sheriff in Fallout 2, Felica Day (The Guild, Eureka and Supernatural) as Veronica, a bright eyed girl from California with stars in her eyes and a pneumatic gauntlet on her right hand and many more.

Hardcore mode was introduced to give more of a real feel to the game such as: dehydration, poisoning, hunger pains, withdrawals from drugs and medicine and finally healing injuries.  With 6 add-on adventures, an ultimate edition and more than its fair share of real life cosplayers; New Vegas has ran with the same steam that Fallout 3 has had and brought a whole new generation of gamers to this universe and then some.

Harland's...a bit blunt and right to the point.

PC Games I am Playing Week: Shadowrun Returns

Hey there all and welcome to PC Games Week.   As you know I do reference more than a few console based games and that has been fun but at the end of the day I admit I would rather be behind the screen on the keyboard slaughtering villagers, having FPS gunfights and solving a few brain teasers.  Today’s game hails from the realm of table top based role-playing games from as far back as 1989 from FASA Corporation. Bringing technology of cybernetics and virtual reality hackers in mixed with sorcery, dragons and metahuman creatures to the world.  In 1993, Super Nintendo brought us the first story arc based on the cyberpunk fantasy RPG involving character Jake Armitage, a man suffering amnesia, wounded by assassins trying to figure out who wants him dead and completes his overall mission.  

Your swinging bachelor/bachelorette pad...definitely a fire hazard.

1994 Sega Genesis created a third person based game of both combat and exploration with Real Time standings along with the cause and effects of each battle. 

 13 years go by and we had not seen hide or hair of one for the newer consoles or PC until 2007’s abysmal failure that worked solely on Windows Vista which was a glorified verse of Quake.  Heartbroken were so many fans that 6 years later we had heard rumors of a company called Harebrained Schemes were raising money on Kickstarter to finance their own cyberpunk fantasy game under the title Shadowrun Returns.  So grab your trauma patches, call out the doc wagon and lock and load. This is Shadowrun Returns.

That is one seriously bizarre elf.

Spoilers are the Wiz, man.

Following under tactical RPG, this single-player game has all the bells and whistles the chummers have been scanning for. Character generation starts with the five races running the streets: humans, orcs, trolls, elves and dwarves.  Each species has its pros and cons so choose the archetype that works best for what you want to do.  And if that isn’t enough to make you happy how about classes as well?  Ranging from all the greats: Street Samurai (fighter), Mage, Decker (electronic and cyber thief), Shaman (cleric or holy person), Rigger (robot drone master) or Physical Adept (magically strengthened).   Our story opens with your character looking around a slum lord’s wet dream of an apartment.  The rats and cockroaches are fighting over who gets to leave first and your vidphone gives you a call from a fellow Shadowrunner (fellow illegal adventurer or privateer) tells you he has passed away and this payment plan is set up as insurance to find out who killed him and why.  The natural loyalty of the runners is pretty sound and you begin your investigation.  Our hero even runs into Super NES’s hero Jake Armitage as a NPC as you discover a new spin on an old classic Ripper case.  

I have just a few comments at this point to be made.  The combat is turn based; you fan out your fellow runners in any formation you so choose and there is a bit of problem solving to be had.  Best advice, chummer is to diversify your character to decking (computer skills), healing and lots of etiquette (Corporation, Security, Gang and Street speak) The storyline also hails from the same timeline as the Super NES and Sega Genesis games so that includes the lingo, gritty look of the streets and alleys and while it lacks a voice cast it returns us back to traditional RPG turn based formats of the like of: Baldur’s Gate, Icewind Dale, Fallout and Planescape: Torment.   I found it entertaining, warped and everything the game systems have been aspiring to reach and finally made.  Dead Man’s Switch is just the first installment as this is linked to Steam Workshop for newer campaigns.   My only nitpicks is the loading time from mission to mission and we don’t get to play with any vehicles.

Gunfight in the nut house...a tad odd admittedly.

PC Games I am Playing Week!

Hey gang!  So thought I would shy away from movies and TV shows for a change and get back into another aspect of my reviews which is: video games!   Yeah I know I did the 1997 PC games not long ago but at the end the day...it's my friggin' blog so lump it.   That in mind I would also point out what games may have slipped past your notice or just didn't get nearly enough airtime and advertisement.  

Travelin' the wild wasteland!

Christmas and birthday provided me with just a bit of gaming fun to try out so why the heck not give my opinion of its playing style, the graphics, whither or not it had a decent story or voice cast.   Only seems fair to give back some love from a hobby that brought me hours of entertainment.  So these games are not in a chronological order but more of an order of what I found to be fun that particular time.  Keep in mind I am tackling all these games due to their replay ability.

PC Games of 1997: Diablo

Welcome back boys and girls for Day 5 of PC Games of 1997 and I had to save the greatest time waster of them all.  The penultimate of dates broken, ladies unloved and meals missed.  From a company’s humble beginnings as Silicon & Synapse (sounds like a firm specializing in breast and brain augmentation)the years of Battle Chess and Castles  to the company we better known as Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.  Creators of such games as: Warcraft, Warcraft II, Starcraft, The Death and Return of Superman and Justice League Task Force came a hack and slash adventure game to the likes we had not seen with graphics and excellent voice work.  So grab your mana and health bottles, sharpen your broadsword and prepare to do battle with those denizens of Hell.   This is Diablo.

 

Um... there is a plot device scrolling over our heads.

Uldyssian: Damn you!

Lucion: Thank you, I already am. Shall we go spoil?

In the world of Sanctuary, beneath the town of Tristam lurks Diablo, the Lord of Terror. Eons ago the war between Heaven and Hell raged on. Angels and demons slew one another by the hundreds until the demons were exiled to the mortal realm.  Three terrible Lords of Hell sought victory over mankind through temptation and influencing their decisions, sowing the seeds of distrust and hatred amongst the humans of Sanctuary until a gathering of mages trapped the lords in soulstones.  Diablo’s soulstone was buried deep under the ground in the land that would be known as Tristam a large monastery built over the wretched soulstone to guard and keep the stone from ever seeing light.

Screw doing good.  I'm gonna loot!!

Many generations later the monastery sat in ruin and Tristam was raised up over the ruins and the monastery was leveled for a cathedral.   It would have been nice of the ancestors to leave any notes, scrolls or etchings on the importance of the monastery.   Slowly Diablo gains power over the town and proceeds to warp the good king Leoric and creates terrible wars all the while filling the caverns and catacombs underneath the former monastery with horrible, formidable creates to guard Diablo while he regains his power.

With no king, law or even an army to defend this once happy and prosperous town many of the villagers up and left this township of terror. 

The standard classes of adventurers are pretty limited to Rogue, Warrior and Sorcerer.  Each powerful in their own right but require improvement throughout the leveling.   All items give off a certain color scheme glow to establish how they can be used and by whom.  The colors are white for the normal items, blue for the magic items and gold for the unique items.   They also show how durable each item is and how they can all wear down from too much use and the weapons show all the pros and cons of each melee, blunt and range weapon.  

While this RPG hack and slash is primarily a single-player game it was set up for a LAN (local area network) Multi-player of up to a whopping 4 players and had its drawbacks.  For example: Kill parties laying in wait for that poor noob that greets fellow players so they may kill him/her and strip the body of its belongings.   Also the Cheat Engine (a game editing program) was commonly used to overamp one’s character to make him/her an impossible level and have a wide array of weapons for the sole purpose of killing off fellow gamers, I.E. game killer or jerk off.

While slaying the undead, various monsters and demons is a boon and the story was sound I am certain many friends and families were worried to the gamer that was camped at his/her computer for hours at a time but then again it was not EverQuest (The Silent Killer).

Ahh glad I went without breeches in Hell.

PC Games of 1997: Fallout

Hiyas spawn campers and welcome to Day 1 of PC games of 1997. I thought I would pick my personal favorite of this time era. An RPG of post-apocalyptic proportions of war torn United States with no Government to speak of and justice is dispensed from the barrel of a gun or the edge of a knife.   So grab your stimpacks, get that Action Boy extra and improve your Small Arms skill.  This is Fallout.

I'd fight the law but the law wins.

Mayor Killian Darkwater: Sure bet. May not be as big as in the Spoiler but most people find what they are looking for.

First off this game is approximately 16 years old at this time what with being produced in 1997 by Black Isle Studios.  A post-apocalyptic role playing game that is turn based similar to a table top RPG by Steve Jackson Games called GURPS. 

The world as we know it was destroyed due to atomic fallout during the year 2077.  Most technology is derived by this timeline hails from the conception of the 1950’s.  You will also find that most of the science-fiction tech from movies, pulp comics and magazines are an influence as well.

Just let him go walkies before the gunfight.

Your character is a vault dweller.  This means you have spent the better portion of your life underground in a fallout shelter that was contracted by the government.  Your task is to replace a water chip to replenish your water recycling and main plumbing or everyone you know will die of thirst.   So you will trek out into the unknown and encounter inhabitants of this wasteland that was once the world.   You are the vault’s last hope.   You and you alone will decide the fate of dozens of lives depending on you.

 As you progress throughout the game your skills will increase as you level up.  The lands have mutated into vast deserts and remains of once proud cities. You will see items, landmarks and vehicles that you will recall from your data tapes.  Your PIP boy 2000 is a device that will map your locations, describe artifacts that you pick up or examine and keep track of each task or furthering plot to each new town you happen to.

 The mass radiation has caused simple creatures of the past to grow in size and making it more deadly than before the Great War.  Rats and scorpions as your history stated are now twice if not ten times the size of their predecessors.

Bartering and conversation will be a must in order to collect more data about the world around you.  Townsfolk are leery of strangers but in general of good spirits to newcomers.  It boils down to proving if you are the sort that can be trusted.  Because the citizens of each town are comprised of farmers, cattle ranchers and laborers so you will seem out of place so they will be naturally confused and cautious.  

Main characters in each town will be voiced by many esteem actors.  The likes of Richard Dean Anderson, Clancy Brown, Ron Perlman, Tony Shalhoub and CCH Pounder.  Again, it is vital that you talk to as many people as are willing to talk to you.   Random encounters will raise an eyebrow or two depending on each thing, man, woman or monster so keep your wits about you and your weapon of choice handy.  To survive in this world means to take a life to keep yours.

The Farmer's Market really has changed.

1997 PC Games

Well I was dusting off my shelves and felt we would tackle some video games as it has been some time since I have done any games.  Yes shame on me.  I must be whipped, purged and flogged no doubt.   We could also just go over some classic and fun games of 1997 which gave us the first of many different graphics and complex story lines.

From RPG(Role Playing Game), FPS(First Person Shooter), RTS ( Real-Time Strategy), TBS (Turn- Based Strategy) and of course Point and Click bringing us conflicting emotions of amazement and annoyance.  So time consuming were these games that we didn't even realize how late into the night it could be or almost miss classes for it but by God we were entertained.

Hmm this cannon has some recoil.

N64 Week: Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

Welcome geeks to Day 3 of N64 Week and I thought we would take a look at a classic theme of the NES alumni.  The fifth of its incarnation and the first to partake in 3D breathes life into the franchise.   So gather your Deku nuts for your slingshot, prep for fishing and hey take in a game of darts.  This is Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

Faster Impa!! Past the title card!!

Navi: Hey! Hey! Listen!

This game operates as an action-adventure game with some role playing and puzzle aspects and tries its best to show real-time interaction as best as possible.   Link mostly relies on his sword and shield but he can also scroll through other weapons such as: arrows, slingshot, bombs and magic spells. 

The game opens up with Navi waking Link from a horrendous nightmare that Link witnesses a storm ridden night of a man in obsidian armor on a black horse chasing a girl on a white horse.  The village elder explains to Link the significance of the dream means he is destined to right the wrongs of this armored knight, speak to the princess of destiny and fight for Hyrule Castle.   I thought, “Thank God he didn’t have a dream he was surrounded by naked mimes armed with flamethrowers.”   Then he would have been stuck in a Resident Evil scenario.

Sure wish I was big.

As always with the Zelda games Hyrule is the kingdom with a huge topographical layout and a wide variety of races like: Hylians, Kokiri, Gorons, Zoras, Gerudos and Sheikah.

After making it to Princess Zelda she informs young Link that she has had dreams of the dreaded Ganondorf, The Gerudo King of Thieves seeks the highly coveted Tri-force (Power of the Gods), a sacred relic that depicts the past and future of Hyrule. Zelda tells Link he must obtain the three Spiritual Stones so he may enter the Sacred Realm and claim the Triforce before Ganondorf reaches it. 

I have just a few comments to be made about the game.  I was disturbed with the whole sending a 12 year old out on a dangerous quest seems a bit too child endangering.  At least Robin got back up from Batman.  Also as common with the original series Link mystically ages 7 years to tackle the more difficult of the tasks and bosses ahead. I guess that is also so we do not think his relationship with Zelda is a bit risqué. 

Shh, I think someone is watching us..

Link is stuck with a less than spectacular AI fairy.  She constantly loops her information about towns, potential traps and lands and quests you have already done.  That is quite annoying and in fact her only attribute for Link is her targeting ability for his weapons of choice.  

There are many distractions throughout the game.  Playing darts, fishing and town interaction can delay your quest quite a bit but no direct impact on time line.    So feel free to fiddly fart around the towns with no repercussions of villages getting ransacked or villagers being mutilated by the evil armies of Ganondorf.   Imagine being a farmer or blacksmith trying to take your goods from village to village when BOOM!  Raiding party or just random monsters attack.   Got to be made of sterner stuff to be living in Hyrule. 

Nintendo N64 Week

I have taken an inventory on my reviews and realized I have not done anything on video games in months.  I thought now was an opportune time to dust off the video game system and give a shot at an old profession.  Video Game reviews and I missed doing it.  Checking in my array of game systems I thought it might be fun to see these games and see what we can find as a level of amusement.  So this week we look at these antiquated titles of our childhood and breathe some life into the nostalgia that is Nintendo N64.

Meh I only get one game and Mario has over 20.

Life in Fallout 3

Hey folks sorry for last week's lack of blog.  I was quite ill. I hope this will make up for it.

Now being a Fallout RPG turn based fan I was skeptical but Fallout 3 turned out to follow Fallout 2 (1997 and 1998 sequel to the original) in the same standing of being open ended with no time limit to speak of.  10 years had passed since Fallout 2 and we were promised by Interplay then Black Isle that we would see a Fallout 3.  Finally after buying the rights Bethesda Softworks brought us our FPS/skill-based/post-apocalyptic dream come true.   Rather than be in California as the two predecessors were, this takes place in the heart of democracy Washington D.C.  After 2077 it is now referred as the Capital Wasteland.  Our great monuments have collapsed, roads and freeways are devastated and no government or police are in control.  Might makes right. 

We start off the game with a series of cut scenes from your character’s birth and growing up in Vault 101.  An underground fallout shelter that is capable of housing 1,000 people.    I should note no matter your sex or skin color your father James is still white and voiced by none other than (Liam Neeson of Darkman, Love Actually, The Phantom Menace and Schindler’s List)  James is a scientist who believes in helping his fellow humanity as best as he can.   As you age you learn more about your relationship with your father and life in Vault 101.   Your mother dies delivering you in childbirth so you are raised solely by your father.  You grow up in spurts through cut scenes, little whispers throughout each aging process hints to events of the past and the present day.   James tells you as an infant a bible passage that reflects his life’s work in trying to better humanity.   At age ten you receive your own Pip-boy 3000.  This arm band computer interfaces with radio signals, tells you your health, points out radiation in your area and inventories your supplies you pick up during the game.   At age 16 you take your Generalized Occupation Aptitude Test or G.O.A.T. to help sum up what career you are best suited for in Vault life. You of course try to weasel your way out of it by faking a cold.  Best of luck with that when your father is the Vault’s chief physician.

 After breaking up a squabble or joining in on it, you take your test and proceed on to Age 19, to be awaken by your friend Amata to discover your father somehow left the Vault and the Overseer is furious.  The chief of the guards beat your father’s assistant Jonas to death.  A man you have known and respected your whole life.  You must choose to escape or be dealt the same.  Fending off radiation enlarged cockroaches and some of the vault security.   Save the ammo folks.  The ball bat does a pretty good job of defending yourself and it is, kill or be killed scenario. You make your way to and out of confides of the home you have known since you were a boy/girl and out into the unknown with nothing more than what you took with you.  Vault 101 is up the hill from a shambled town known as Springvale.  One lone resident silver is hiding out from a neighboring town called Megaton.   You will have to probe her for answers if you care to know.  Or be a brute, kill her and take everything she owns.   An elementary school is not far from Silver’s place is crawling with raiders.  If you are lacking in firepower or armor, my advice is get stocked before waging a fight with these lot.

Wandering out into the wasteland you will encounter raiders that prey on the helpless, Ghouls and Super Mutants, creatures that were once human now mindless monsters that terrorize the surrounding towns.     Meeting pockets of humanity and their plights it is up to you what sort of a person you are going to be.  Will you be a decent compassionate man/woman?   Will you turn into a heartless monster with no cares except your own interests?   Will you be passive to some and help to others that can pay you a wage?   The choice is yours.  Are you to be the savior the Capitol Wasteland or its destructor?   Will you be a hero or villain?  Only you can answer that.     The graphics engine that Bethesda Software developed is phenomenal.   The background, the colors from rusted metal to the rising and setting sun this game was awarded Game of the Year in 2008 and people are still raving about it and recommending it to friends.   Its Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System or V.A.T.S. for short allows characters to train their weapons melee or firearms alike at points of vulnerability.  Ideal for the sniper character or if you just simply think it will take out your target faster.   An amazing voice cast with Liam Neeson and Malcom McDowell to name a few.  Sound captures the imagination so well.  Different outfits and armor can change the pitch of what shoes or boots you are wearing.  Guns and rifles are not a universal lumped effect GOTY allows modifications on everything from characters and armor to the quests and weapons.  I have also been able to play the PS3 console based game and the controls are a bit sensitive but you soon develop a rhythm.  

  A word of warning for those photophobic or seizure prone:  This is a real-time fasted paced game.  There will be a quick pitch in combat especially in V.A.T.S. as you see your character shoot, slash or bash your targets and it could very well be jaunting so my advice is to skip it if you suffer from either affliction.  That being said from the rest of you who are Fallout fans, DO NOT let this one slip through your fingers and enjoys the in-depth story arc and game.