HiGame

Fallout 4 is a great game. It’s got better gunplay and action than any previous modern Fallout, a decent crafting system, streamlined skills and talents, and an evocative setting. The landscapes and environments are gorgeous, even if the character models are lacking. There’s a lot to like about this game — but it’s a terrible RPG.

What’s an RPG?

Strip away the tropes and conventions of the genre and there are two linked characteristics common to all role playing games (RPGs) — a (hopefully) strong story, and the opportunity to make meaningful choices that influence how the game’s narrative evolves. Some games play out the same way but allow the gamer to choose different play styles, while others allow the player to directly shape the narrative.

Because game assets and development time are both scarce resources, the best RPGs developers are skilled illusionists. Quest lines, conversation threads, and plot-specific developments are often woven in ways that give players enough freedom to explore alternative narratives while minimizing the amount of overhead required to do so. In Fallout: New Vegas, you can choose to stand with Mr. House, New Vegas, the NCR, or Caesar’s Legion. What you can’t do is decide that the Mojave is really boring, and you’d really prefer to see what the Baja Peninsula is like 200 years after the bombs fell.



Fallout New Vegas: A study in brown

RPGs are the only popular game type whose abbreviation tells you nothing about how you play the title. Every other abbreviation — FPS, RTS, turn-based, third-person shooter — is designed to explain how the player experiences the game. All of these game types are potentially compatible with the label “RPG.”


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