By Aaron Ilia Merritt

Eighteen years ago, perhaps one of the most iconic video games was born.

Fallout changed the way video games were played. Instead of a linear, almost fully predestined gameplay and storyline, the Fallout series left gameplay open to the player.

Since Fallout’s debut in `97, the series has become an acclaimed universe. Players take the game to a whole new level. The game is even cosplayed by many of their fans.

The newest installment of the series, Fallout 4, had the most hype out of all of the previous games in the series. After Bethesda Softworks showed success in Fallout 3, the community of gamers went crazy. Fallout 4 had much to live up to.

When playing Fallout 4, I found myself so immersed in the world around me that I couldn’t look away from my T.V. screen. I knew in just the intro to the game I was in for one of the best games of my life. While exploring the world, I had to just stop and take it all in. The world is beautiful. This may seem strange considering the game is in a nuclear wasteland, but unlike Fallout 3, there are no constant gray oppressive clouds.

The characters in the game made me feel for them. I felt like I was really there helping the Brotherhood of Steel. Bethesda has always been able to excel on character development. I have found it hard to let my followers go after I helped them and they helped me. Then I would look forward to meeting the next follower and learning their story and helping them.

Even though the story had been spoiled by Internet dwellers, I still was excited to progress through the main storyline quests. Each quest in the story had it’s own significance whether the Lone Survivor was learning new information, gaining new weapons and armor, or even just meeting another ally. The storyline is not linear, so every decision the player makes goes noticed by the wasteland. Bethesda knows that every action has a reaction. They understand the key component of a good story line.

Over all Fallout 4 lived up to the hype with only a few things to complain about. The great storyline and character development make up for the lack of updated graphics since Elder Scrolls: Skyrim, and the glitches that have always been present in Bethesda games. This gamer was beyond impressed with the stellar masterpiece that is, Fallout 4.