» Sat Feb 13, 2016 8:52 am When my son begged me to play this game, I thought well, the last attempt with Fallout 3 was somewhat interesting at first, but got old fast..I never went very far with it. But then I decided to give this one a try. The idea of attempting, however rudimentarily, to rebuild civilization after a nuclear holocaust, was intriguing for a game. It was more than a shooter. I soon found myself immersed. It's a kind of exorcism of the demons of the Cold War....little aqua house and swoopy car relics and the music on the radio.... Along with super mutants, feral ghouls, and two headed cows to remind you what you woke up to after it all went down. Not terribly realistic there, but this is a fictional metaphor for many things we fear...not to get too deep here.
I've watched the progress of video games over the years from little dots on a screen to beautifully animated and detailed worlds and characters. I've done some 3d modeling of realistic humans and some attempts at learning how to animate them. So I'm in awe of what goes on under the hood of a game like this. It's fascinating to watch the NPCs mill around and hang out when you build them a bar, to see them work in the fields you plant, go about routines. In an open world with construction going on, to make these characters update what they do to occupy a settlement is just mind-boggling.
What Bethesda has done here is to create an open world full of stories, which is their trademark since Morrowind. But also, this one plays like an interactive movie, with a very poignant and relevant overall arc, yet it is still an open world, where you can build and salvage, make decisions, and work with companions and their stories. There are some great moments - I won't go into spoilers. I hope there will be a way for all the factions to work together and not repeat the mistakes of the past, but from what I have inadvertently read, that may not be the case... I may skip the ending.
The Minutemen, for me, are the simple heroes of the game, and an echo of ideals which are worth perpetuating. They are rebuilders and defenders of settlements, drawn from the settlers themselves. I only wish we could persuade and recruit some of the raiders (they are just humans trying to survive, after all -- they simply need an attitude adjustment) instead of having to kill them all -- that would be another level of depth to think about.
Which brings me to Preston Garvey. Yes, Preston. Who, for me and a lot of other people, has been bugged since early in the game. He keeps telling me he's got my back and will follow me anywhere, yet he's too bugged to permit dialogue options, so...well, most of you know the story. This unfortunately breaks the most important aspect of the game for me, as my character's heart lies with the minutemen.
My character had an interesting time with Curie and Nick and Codsworth, and Piper (whose crush did get annoying after awhile) but now she has to go around with that clunky gung-ho Palladin Danse....and well, I just know that's not gonna work out. The Brotherhood has a lot of prejudices she is just not cool with. After all, one of her favorite hangouts is the Slog, and the ghouls there are cool people, making the best out of the fact they are all burned up from radiation! One of the more realistic and poignant aspects of the game... And Nick the Synth is one of her best buds. She needs to team up with Preston, as the Minutemen are her people, accepting of everyone who is trying to build a better world, and she's grown rather fond of him.
I started a thread elsewhere on the PG bug, but it seems to be a bit bogged down.
http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1589914-preston-garvey-still-bugged/
I was hoping for constructive ideas on events, etc, that might nudge Preston back into availability as a companion. It happened for some other people I've heard from, but so far no luck for my game. My character is level 40 now, and this happened around level 10. I have no intention of going back to a save that early in the game and redoing everything.
But I don't want to just complain, or argue what bug needs to be fixed more than others. I do want to offer my view of this brilliant game, the amazing work on concept, development and execution that's gone into it, and an encouragement to the capable minds at Bethesda to please find a fix, any fix, to get Preston back into action. After all, you've created something that touches people emotionally here -- I've read some intelligent and passionate discussions about whether synthetic individuals can have self-awareness, for example. Be proud of what you've created here, it is food for thought. And you've got the brains to figure out how to get arguably the most important male NPC back in the game. I have confidence in you.
Less shelters, but not less nonsense in a nutshell....
