Running video games (and consoles) thread

I bought Destiny when it came out, but just wasn't able to get into it. Wound up trading it in with a couple other games and getting Battlefield: Hardline (which was not a worthy successor to Battlefield 4).

I've been playing Black Ops III, which is a credible addition to the franchise and the specialists are a nice new feature. I've also been playing Battlefront, which is fun from a certain point of view (see what I did there? ), but the lack of a true campaign mode really left me wanting more.

I just picked up Fallout 4 and I'm going to start it tonight. Any advice?

 

My son has Fallout 4 and urged me to play so I have been playing a bit. It's addictive. But I have stumbled around not really knowing what I am doing.

My younger son would come in and say, "What are you doing? Repair your armor. Why are you using a pipe pistol? You're better than that."

So I would say keep your armor in good working order and leave the pipe pistols for the scavengers.

 

Honestly, I don't even know what the game is about, but it's such a big hit, I thought I'd pick it up and see what the hype is about. I haven't played a good single player game since The Last of Us, so I'm looking forward to it.

 

Fallout 4 is a ridiculously awesome, open-world FPS with RPG elements, and it's set in Boston. It's basically consumed my life for the past month, haha... Someone I know described it as Skyrim with guns, which isn't a bad description. I'm two or three trophies short of platinuming it, so my tips would be:

- Character creation, the only thing I really think everyone should do is invest a couple points in Charisma, up to 6, so that you have the Local Leader perk eventually. It lets you setup supply lines, which really helps with generating items and caps (money) later on. If you don't have a 6 in Charisma off the bat, then you need to use level-up points to develop it. However, the game is pretty flexible in terms of character builds that are successful. (My character has a 10 in intelligence, because I wrongly assumed the level up system would be like past Fallout games; they've done a much better job of balancing the SPECIAL stats.)

- Early on, you can focus on the Minutemen quests. They do a decent job of getting you to places you'll need to go, like Diamond City, plus you'll want a home base to develop and dump gear off at via fast traveling.

- For settlements, the limit on population without cheating is 21ish. Keep this in mind when planting crops, and building defenses and water.

- Combat! Early game, you should probably decide whether you want to focus on stealth or not. If you want to sneak around, then you need to ditch the power armor. If you don't want to sneak around constantly, then wear the armor. If you're new to the series, I'd recommend the armor, since it does give you a big boost to defense and hit points; provides a nice margin of error. For the armor, you do need fusion cores to power it, but if you're doing story quests you should stumble across caches of them or have enough caps to purchase them (Diamond City vendor always has a couple, as does the Weapon Shop you can place in your settlements). If you're using power armor, get the Armorer perks, which provide some really cool mods for the armor (faster refresh on the targeting system, highligting enemies in infrared, etc.).

- Specific weapons, always carry a proper melee weapon (combat knife or better) so that you don't have to waste ammo on bugs. Early on, you probably have to use pipe stuff (crude handmade shit by raiders), but as you gain more ammo and more perks (Gun Nut and Science), you can tailor weapons to what you like.

- Vague story thing: There are four factions in the game. As you get deeper in the respective storylines, you eventually hit "points of no return" where you become permanent enemies of one or more of the other factions. There isn't a way around it; you have to make choices. Liberally use manual saves if you want to explore the other factions at some point, so you can backtrack. The game warns you at several points if you hit a point of no return.

Anyway! Obvious, the game is meant to be ridiculously immersive; I could write another thousand words pretty easily. But it's absolutely playable by trial and error, just wandering around and poking your head into various things. Diamond City, Spectacle Island and all of the Boston landmarks were especially cool to explore.

 

Great advice!

What are the best companions to keep around?

 

It's boring, but Dogmeat. Even with him, the Lone Survivor / Wanderer perk (in the Endurance branch, I think) applies. That perk, when given three points, gets you a 25 percent damage boost, and 75 points of carrying capacity, I believe. Also, Dogmeat doesn't need equipment, so you can load him up with junk and loot you find, and essentially double your inventory. (You can do that with other companions, but it's a bit more cumbersome, since you have to be careful you don't take their items.)

Outside of him, I've only used two. From reading online descriptions, most have the same combat effectiveness, although Dogmeat and another non-human are slightly better. If you max out your affection with a companion (doing things they like, and completing quests related to them), then you do get a permanent perk. They can be useful. They're mostly useful as damage sponges, since they can't die, and their combat skills can be iffy. They tend to rush headlong into battle, regardless of their (hidden, internal) stats, so if you're traveling with someone, give them the best melee weapon you have. Also, unlike past Fallout games, they need ammo if they're going to use a weapon. So, you might just want to keep the plasma and shotgun shells for yourself, instead of giving them to your inefficient companion...

 

Huh. I did not know companions could carry stuff. I had switched to Mr. Handy, but he's a bit of a scold.

 

Set up a Raspberry Pi as a retro console. Been playing the old Bill Walsh College Football games and NHL 94. Have a PS4 and tried to play a a few sports games online, but I tend to get killed playing FIFA 16 and NBA 2K16.

 

Yup! It's a godsend, since obviously, there is a big emphasis on junking and breaking down items for settlements. If you talk to your companion, you get the option to "trade" with them, and you can put whatever you want in their inventory. You can also give them armor and weapons and equipment, and this also includes power armor. If a companion is wearing power armor, they don't require fusion cores to power it, but the armor does still need to be repaired.

 

I ditched Dogmeat early and went with Codsworth with a bit. Since I started the Nick Valentine missions, I held on to him.

 

Dogmeat is technically the best one, because of the Lone Wanderer perk: http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Lone_Wanderer_(perk) - The benefits from that probably outweigh the small benefit of a companion with a long range weapon vs. Dogmeat. Plus, Dogmeat has three perks of his own that let him rip off enemy limbs and cause bleed damage. Each companion does have their own little story and perk though, so I've been trying to cycle through them.

 

I didn't realize Dogmeat didn't count as a companion. Poor dude has been by himself at the Red Rocket station forever. Hope he's OK. I'll have to pick him up.