Fallout 4

To understand the premise of the world you will have to simultaneously project yourself forwards and backwards in time. Back to the 1950s to pick up their ideas of what the future would be like, and then forwards to 2287, taking with you much of the shiny chrome and leatherette vibe of 1950s diners, jukeboxes and drive-in theatres, and adding robotic house-keepers, jet-packs, and flying cars amongst many others.

Loosely, the player – as male or female protagonist – witnesses the murder of their spouse and abduction of their child. After some time consuming cryogenics, the protagonist escapes the vault, designated ‘Sole Survivor’ and heads off, determined to track down their son and gain revenge for their partner’s murder.

Pick a Side, Any Side

Throughout the game you will come across four different factions and you choose which you want to support.

The Brotherhood of Steel: As the macho sounding name implies, this faction is bursting with war ready heroic soldiers. Join up with them to battle synths, mutants and ghouls: the brotherhood’s aim is to eradicate all these beings from the face of the land. They are also anti-modern tech, gathering and hoarding early tech in order to save the city from corrupting influences. Definitely a faction for those who like to shoot things without worrying about moral sensibilities first!

The Railroad: This faction deals with the issues of artificial intelligence and machine learning: at what point does sentience deserve respectful treatment. The Railroad work to save synths from poor treatment, particularly from their sworn enemy the Institute (see below to learn why), and as such, they have to work in secrecy, from a secret location, operating in the shadows and by stealth. This means your quest to join them starts with the hunt for their secret base, and once found, you have to pass a test in order to be admitted to their ranks!

The Minutemen: The equivalent of home-bodies, the Minutemen look to maintain the status quo, drive out outsiders and avoid too much drama and conflict. If you do not actively pick a side by choosing one of the other three factions, you might end up a Minuteman by default, almost, just from the way the game plays out. Following a massacre which decimated their numbers, the Minutemen are happy to accept the help of anyone who is willing to lend them a hand.

The Institute: This shadowy cabal stretches its malign influence into the early hours of gameplay, but players will not come across it until later. Suffice it to say that if you wonder how people vanish to be replaced by android synths you may be rather interested in this highly technologically advanced establishment – although you may not always appreciate their means of achieving their desired ends – or perhaps you will love, and decide to team up with them!