Nature is often your enemy as a result of years of exposure to radioactivity.
Another downside of only having audio recordings to tell the story is that players can – and will – constantly interrupt the recording with their own chatter. There are few things more annoying than wanting to listen to the interesting storyline, but instead having to endure some other players' pointless drivel. This also takes away a lot of the otherwise fairly dense atmosphere of Fallout.
The test version also has a fair number of bugs, such as animals floating unnaturally, robots getting stuck and tasks being incomplete.
A huge failure of the game is the PC control system: developers simply translated console buttons to keyboard buttons, and seemed to forget that computers can, and should be able to, use a mouse – a mistake that Bethesda has said it plans to correct.
Coming to the actual in-game mechanisms, Fallout 76 has some interesting concepts.
The role-playing elements work in a progression system. Characters have seven different attributes, which can improve over time as you level up. The different attributes all have perks if you work to improve them; for instance, a character with a high level of charisma is better at negotiating and can buy cheaper robots.
This system also works well in a group, as you can have different players with different attributes take on roles that suit them best. So one player can be in charge of craftsmanship, while another is responsible for close combat.
If you have a fixed group of people to play with, you will probably enjoy
Fallout 76, because this is the best way to actually benefit from the role-playing elements.
If you can pull together a team of fellow human gamers, Fallout 76 offers a number of thrills.
A lot depends on who else is playing on the server – they can be hostile, friendly, helpful and anything in between. YouTube streaming star Many A True Nerd has created a welcome booth on his server, where new players can go to get a starter pack, including a weapon.
Another interesting concept is that players can attack each other without warning – but if the opponent doesn't respond, then the fight can't take place. So both players must consent to any battle.
Fallout 76 has lost some of the previous versions' mechanisms that many multi-players are likely to miss. If you're playing alone, the world seems pretty empty, and at times the graphics just aren't that great. But, if you make your way to West Virginia with some friends, then you'll probably end up having a great time.
Fallout 76 is available for PC, Playstation 4 and Xbox One and costs around US$60 (RM250). – dpa
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