Fight for Survival

 

“That'll do, pig. That'll do."

Everything, and I mean everything, is trying to kill you. The Commonwealth Wasteland is chock-full of monstrous mutants and ragtag raiders hell-bent on rending you limb from limb. And it's horrifying. My first encounter with fear was when I thought it'd be cute to check out an old dusty comic shop. Feral ghouls crawled from the ceiling. I fought my way upstairs and holed up with my trusty dog. I held my shotgun steady as monstrous, hissing mutants ran through the door. I was down to three shells when the last ghoul fell. A pile of rotten corpses amassed at my feet.

After surviving the horde, I figured I could continue. I snuck my way upstairs and ran right into a green, glowing patch of mushroom-like growths. A luminescent feral ghoul—a glowing one—spotted me and charged down the stairs, arms waving and claws swiping. My last three shots barely put a dent in it. I backpedaled desperately, unloading everything I had—even down to my crappy backup pipe rifle. By the end of the fight, my heart was pounding and I was grinning like a madman.

I still hate feral ghouls, but there are far stronger enemies out there. Each enemy type has multiple variants, or levels that differ in strength, ability, and behavior. You can run into legendary versions of almost every variant. Yes, that includes a legendary glowing one. Taking down a legendary is no small feat, especially since they can "mutate", or fully restore their health in the middle of a fight. But they do drop unique items with cool effects, such as a rolling pin with nails sticking out of it that does bonus damage against ghouls (I like that one). 

Everything is fine.

Combat in Fallout 4 depends on your playstyle. Do you favor guns? If so, you’ll find yourself ducking behind cover as raiders take potshots at you, biding your time for a well-aimed counterattack. Alternatively, you can charge in hot and heavy with melee weapon swinging or minigun or Fat Man (Fallout’s equivalent to a missile launcher) blazing.

As a stealthy character, I mainly snuck around administering headshots with my sniper rifle and silenced pistol. My Neanderthal sniper looked especially snappy in a dirty suit and fedora. No matter your preference, the comprehensive list of weapon types, customization mods, and enemies will keep your options open and provide indefinite entertainment.

If you encounter a sticky situation, such as being overwhelmed by a sudden horde of feral ghouls or rushed by a super mutant, you can use V.A.T.S. to slow the game down and target specific parts of the enemy’s body to automatically attack. The camera will enter third person mode as it cinematically captures your assault in glorious, bloody slow motion. Sit back, relax, and watch the limbs and heads fly.