by Mike Favila, Editor

I have to confess.  When Fallout 4 came out, I overplayed it like crazy for the first 40 hours.  It just consumed my nights, embarrassingly so.  I had been a huge Fallout 3 fan and had just replayed it through before the release of the current game.  Given that I had other actual real world concerns to handle, I thought to myself, “Maybe I’ll just take a little break.”  That break turned into a month or so.  I never ended up going back because it was just so engrossing.  Though it was fun, I had postponed getting the endings so much that I never even finished it.

That being said, with the release of the new Far Harbor add on, I am officially back in. This new world is so expansive and comprehensive it almost seems like a whole new game. Mechanics still serve to exist the same way but the story line is different enough to justify it as a separate story.

Though the main storyline is about hunting down a synth, it doesn’t seem as heavy handed as the main Railroad vs Brotherhood vs Institute narrative that seemed to just eat the last half of the game.   I don’t know if it’s just experience, or comfort within the world, but the story Bethesda lays out between the factions in Far Harbor is just a lot less combatative.  It doesn’t seem like you have to shoot everything to get through the main narrative.

There seems to be a lot more diversity in relationships as well.  Although the main character could always have  a same sex relationship and treated companions very evenly, there wasn’t as much representation within the other characters in the story.  Early on in the town, we meet Andre, who we resuscitate from an attack.  Looking to exact revenge for his dead partner, you have to talk him out of it or risk having him wreck havoc.  That being said, when your character gets it on with one of the Robobrains, (the Brain Dead quest) an LGBT relationship seems positively pedestrian.

There are a number of fun fights here, whether its proving you are a Fog legend that can take out the greatest of mirelurks, or dealing with different scavenger crews wandering Far Harbor.  Being on Level 63 makes that less important, but I did enjoy not having to stress about whether I was going to make it out of a fight or not.  It was a nice experience just being able to focus on the dialogue and interactions with the new characters inhabiting the world.

In a way, Far Harbor reemphasized what a great sandbox Fallout 4 is.  I was enjoying all the new quests that it I was inspired to finally finish the main quests of the game.  I took a few hours to get the different endings for the Brotherhood and Institute, and continued my game with the new content as the Minutemen leader.  It was nice to be able to go around and see the new destruction with the Brotherhood zeppelin and the ruins of the Institute.  Whenever I got tired of exploring the old quests, I would go back to Far Harbor.

If you haven’t picked up the Far Harbor add on, it’s definitely worth it to pick up the Season Pass, which gives you everything Bethesda Games will ever publish for Fallout 4.  So good!  I hope they keep the new content going until Fallout 5 comes out.  One can only hope.

Rating:

ComicsOnline gives Fallout 4: Far Harbor Add-On  5 out of 5 warring factions!

Share a Nuka Cola with your friends about ComicsOnline by our Facebook and Twitter pages for more movie reviews and everything geek pop culture!