My wife is a big fan of the games- when her dad was terminally ill, a few months into our dating, she asked how I dealt with difficult times in my life, and one of my fallback coping mechanisms is a good, engrossing game- something that allows me to lose myself for an hour or so into a world that isn't the one I'm struggling with. Fallout being a favorite of mine, I suggested she try Fallout 4 out- she's not a gamer traditionally, had never played anything first-person before... we're now a couple of weeks from our fifth wedding anniversary, and make regular 'date-nights' out of Fallout 76 together on the dual-Xbox setup in our home (and often join people from the forums, so if you're on Xbox send me a note sometime!)
So this was always going to be something we were doing together, her and I. The wrinkle is that she just had abdominal surgery a few weeks ago, and still isn't feeling great, so it took us a few days to get through the show- we wrapped up Ep. 8 last night, and we're both very happy with what we got out of this.
A few scattered notes, and THERE ARE SPOILERS IN HERE.
+Little details had us both very happy- the appearance of things like the FO4 Junk Jet in a scene gave her a laugh. For me, seeing the classic-era 10mm pistol (and later, the current-era version too) was a nice touch since we're back on the California coast here. Even just random objects in the background of scenes- Sunset Sarsaparilla ads, Abraxo containers, etc.- it shows there was an attention to not just detail, but a true love of this universe by the writers and creators for this show that goes above and beyond merely making a show and slapping a thin universe-themed veneer over it the way Halo felt like it did.
+I am adamant that the healing properties of ass jerky are likely limited.
+Still not thrilled with the look of the jumping power armor- not just that it looks like it's on wires, that was disappointing, but from a practical, in-universe standpoint as well. Max (and later Hank) jumped while their hands were empty, but Brotherhood troops appear to be issued those massive assault rifles in this show, and we regularly see them in other media holding other heavy weapons like miniguns. How would you hold a minigun and still utilize the hand-jets? One of the VERY few things that I frowned at across the eight episodes.
+Best wife line: When one of the vertibirds in the last episode got hit and spun out of control; "...NOW it feels like a Brotherhood pilot."
I frightened my cats with my yell of joy at the last shot of Hank approaching New Vegas. I also was intrigued by the apparent damage to the city in the closing animation- the big breach in the wall next to the iconic Vegas sign is worrying, and the buildings in the animation (aside from the Lucky 38) looked kind of skeletal- including what would have been some of the casinos that were running 15 years prior when we last saw them. I'll be interested to see what happened here...
+...and it brings up the question many fans are asking, 'what is the canon ending?'. Based on the damage here, and the beating NCR took over the last few years? I'm not entirely sure the answer isn't 'Legion won'.
+Meanwhile, Vault-Tec. Let's take a moment there. When people talk about evil organizations in games, I've always put them right up with Umbrella as being the worst of the worst, but... man, maybe I underestimated them after all. To not just be (apparently) behind the Great War to begin with, but then to be surreptitiously pulling the strings for the next two centuries- including destroying the capital of the NCR in what looks to be another nuclear strike!- that's beyond anything I figured they were capable of. And having gone through a few of their Vaults, that says a LOT.
Anyway. Many thoughts around this, and greatly looking forward to Season 2, which based on the tax cuts Amazon is being given, the enthusiasm from cast and fans, and the cliffhanger endings for the characters, seems to be inevitable. Rumor is that filming starts in September '24, so fingers crossed.
