Felt in the mood to replay this after finishing New Vegas again (I was put in the mood for that after finishing the show). While I'm not finished this playthough, I highly doubt my opinions will change as I know this game pretty well.

This playthrough is heavily modded, using the Welcome to Paradise Wabbajack list as a base. I added the Be Exceptional progression rework, as well as True Damage and SCOURGE to re-balance the combat. I also installed miscellaneous weapons and armors from the previous games.

I think it's important to preface with this because I think this Fallout 4 is the best example of Bethesda's games getting exponentially better through mods.
What Bethesda is consistently amazing at with their games is world and atmosphere, and they have always been world class in this regard. I haven't played Starfield so I can't comment on it, but Skyrim and Fallout 3 are both incredible at developing a setting. Both those games are carried by this.

Why I love this game despite its myriad of notable flaws is that it combines their deftness at creating worlds with their best gameplay loop. An unusual quirk of Bethesda games is that almost every item in the world is interact-able in some way. In Fallout 4 this is given a new purpose, as literally every item that can be picked up can be used in crafting. Quests often revolve around completing dungeons, like all Bethesda games, but the new crafting system adds so many more personal sub-objectives to the dungeon crawling. If you're eyeing a particular upgrade for your power armor or your favourite gun you can just tag the required parts and go hunting.

The exploration is also boosted by the beautiful world and music. This is a great example of art direction > graphical fidelity. Even without graphics mods the game still looks good, and with a few tweaks it can look legitimately breathtaking. The soundtrack is also great. As always with Fallout, the radio stations add great classic songs from the 1930s-60s. My favourite in this game is probably "End of the World". The original score is also great. My favourite ambient track is easily "Rebuild, Renew". It just sounds incredibly soothing and hopeful, a powerful contrast against the destroyed world around you.

I won't deny the games main story is heavily flawed, especially compared to New Vegas' complexity, but there are still bright spots worth commending.
Nick Valentine might just be my favourite fallout character. His inner struggle with what it means to be a digital copy of a dead man is very compelling, and his voice performance is perfection. He's also a sick ass android detective.

I truly love this game, warts and all. New Vegas zealots can suck a fat one.

I think this game's development is one of the most impressive feats in the history of the medium. The whole thing was made in 18 months and it turned out as amazing as it is. The game is buggy as shit but I'm glad they prioritized the writing over everything else.

I have a hard time articulating why this game is so great honestly. You just need to experience the world and characters for yourself.

One of the best games ever made.

The best New Vegas DLC. The Divide is the most overtly apocalyptic setting in the game and provides an excellent background for the events of the expansion. Ulysses is also a pretty interesting character, and discovering his motives and how they link with the Courier's backstory is fascinating.

What puts this above Dead Money for me is that the gameplay is actually fun. This is a very endgame DLC so they just shower you with interesting loot and ammo to take on the formidable forces of the Divide. I do think Dead Money's story was stronger though.

An excellent conclusion to an excellent DLC lineup.

ED-E is also my goat of all time.

I want to make it known that it is 100% praise when I say this is the stupidest thing I've played in a minute. They really cut loose with the plot and weaponry with OWB and after the previous 2 DLCs played everything so straight it was a welcome breath of fresh air. I also enjoy the format of this DLC. Unlike the rest of New Vegas' expansions it follows the traditional Bethesda style of DLC (e.g. the Dragonborn expansion for Skyrim) that can be returned to and completed whenever the player wants. While I do think the definitive endings in the 3 others are a positive, I think this was a smart choice for this OWB specifically because of its much lighter tone. This story doesn't really need a definitive ending anyway. On top of the great writing and weapons, the backstory it provides for locations and monsters from the base game are also really cool and interesting.

This was the only one of New Vegas' DLCs that I hadn't played before this playthrough and I really enjoyed it. Another solid entry in the catalogue.

Story-wise it's absolutely fantastic. Gameplay-wise its not my favourite.

As a setting, the Sierra Madre is an absolute triumph. The blood red skies and haunting sound design accompany a staggeringly dense series of levels. Its a uniquely bleak atmosphere for an already bleak and melancholic game. The lack of Fallout's usual levity is especially evident in the companions. They are all uniquely scarred both physically and mentally. The only one of the three with any sense of humor is Dean Domino, but even he is revealed to be the despicable mastermind of the entire Sierra Madre scheme. The story's overt themes of letting go to begin anew links all three companions, and their stories are all quite compelling.

This bleakness is also weaved into the gameplay, and while it does aid in the oppressiveness of the atmosphere it isn't exactly fun to play. The devs took New Vegas' core gameplay and created a sort of halfway point between the normal and hardcore modes. It's a more survival oriented experience but doesn't fully commit. Combat gets pretty repetitive as well, as there is only 3 new enemy types which all look the same. There is also a much greater focus on melee combat, which is much less dynamic than gunplay.

I also swear that the games already prominent technical issues went into overdrive. My number of crashes was easily in the double digits and I persistent issues with the audio cutting out. Unfortunately no part of this game will let you forget it's rushed development.

Overall this is a very creative DLC. The story is amazingly well written and the setting is a true achievement, but the gameplay gets stale over it's runtime. A solid start to a strong lineup of expansions.

This kind of game is typically not my thing. I usually prefer games with more of a focus over pure sandbox, but here I am 60 hours deep and I've really enjoyed my time with it.

Despite many of the gameplay systems being very surface level, No Man's Sky has kept me hooked with the intangible desire to just keep exploring. The planets are more often than not quite beautiful and cohesive, which is impressive given that they are all procedurally generated.

My main complaint is that ship v ship battles are insanely simplistic, which to me is a big part of the fantasy of space exploration. Does this kind of game need super deep combat? Not necessarily, but it would be very welcome. Hope this is part of a future update (which are all free by the way).

Overall, the game is really good. Excited for any future updates and to see how Light No Fire turns out. Glad Hello Games stuck with their game and came out the other side more successful than ever.

This goes alongside Arkham Origins in the category of unfairly maligned superhero games. Fixed almost all my issues with Shattered Dimensions. Controls are much more fluid with almost all of SD's jank removed. The focus on 2 protagonists instead of 4 allows for a much more focused and compelling story (written by Miguel's creator himself Peter David). The voice actors for both spider-men, Josh Keaton and Christopher Daniel Barnes (from Spectacular and the TAS respectively), each do an amazing job and have great chemistry with each other.

Only probIems I had were the length and the stagnant environment. I beat the game in one 6 hour sitting and the entire game takes place in one building, which did get a bit old towards the end.

Great game especially if you're a fan of the characters.