@armadiloeater
Why are we comparing the two? They aren’t even remotely comparable.
Also, it’s not like Bethesda doesn’t have some money-grubbing habits as well. They’re just subtler about it. No microtransactions, but there’s a reason Fallout 4 has been simplified, gameplay and dialog wise. Not to sound like an elitist, but Fallout 4’s dialog system is clearly marketed towards console gamers who don’t want to think about complex choices, and the leveling has been dumbed down so that you don’t have to take any skills into consideration. Companions are invincible because the challenge of keeping them alive might deter the part of the demographic with a short attention span, the kind that doesn’t like to be challenged. Fallout is traditionally a PC game with a lot of plot complexity and heavy RPG mechanics, but there’s money in consoles. In other words, Fallout 4 is a safe financial bet. It’s probably going to make a buttload of money because it’s accessible to everyone and doesn’t have any threatening aspects to it, like a lore-heavy backstory or a great deal of punishing survival challenges. But Bethesda should be careful, because the last time someone tried to dumb down and de-complexify Fallout to be a primarily console-based game, it didn’t end well. Just ask Brian Fargo, because that’s how he bankrupted Interplay. The result was FO:BOS, the mere mention of which will cause a the hair on the back of any Fallout fan’s neck to stand on end.
To be fair to Bethesda, it’s not a crime to make a game accessible. They have a knack, graphics aside, for nailing the aesthetic, music, and atmosphere, which are no doubt very important to games. Hell, I would have never even played Fallout if it hadn’t been for Fallout 3 luring me into the series when I was fourteen. But then I played New Vegas, and the first two games, and I realized that accessibility and good storytelling aren’t mutually exclusive.
Hell, Fallout 4 can be buggy as goddamn hell. I couldn’t care less about the damn graphics. But just give me a good story with solid characters, and some challenging survival aspects. That’s all I could ever ask for.
Why are we comparing the two? They aren’t even remotely comparable.
Also, it’s not like Bethesda doesn’t have some money-grubbing habits as well. They’re just subtler about it. No microtransactions, but there’s a reason Fallout 4 has been simplified, gameplay and dialog wise. Not to sound like an elitist, but Fallout 4’s dialog system is clearly marketed towards console gamers who don’t want to think about complex choices, and the leveling has been dumbed down so that you don’t have to take any skills into consideration. Companions are invincible because the challenge of keeping them alive might deter the part of the demographic with a short attention span, the kind that doesn’t like to be challenged. Fallout is traditionally a PC game with a lot of plot complexity and heavy RPG mechanics, but there’s money in consoles. In other words, Fallout 4 is a safe financial bet. It’s probably going to make a buttload of money because it’s accessible to everyone and doesn’t have any threatening aspects to it, like a lore-heavy backstory or a great deal of punishing survival challenges. But Bethesda should be careful, because the last time someone tried to dumb down and de-complexify Fallout to be a primarily console-based game, it didn’t end well. Just ask Brian Fargo, because that’s how he bankrupted Interplay. The result was FO:BOS, the mere mention of which will cause a the hair on the back of any Fallout fan’s neck to stand on end.
To be fair to Bethesda, it’s not a crime to make a game accessible. They have a knack, graphics aside, for nailing the aesthetic, music, and atmosphere, which are no doubt very important to games. Hell, I would have never even played Fallout if it hadn’t been for Fallout 3 luring me into the series when I was fourteen. But then I played New Vegas, and the first two games, and I realized that accessibility and good storytelling aren’t mutually exclusive.
Hell, Fallout 4 can be buggy as goddamn hell. I couldn’t care less about the damn graphics. But just give me a good story with solid characters, and some challenging survival aspects. That’s all I could ever ask for.
