Image caption: Fallout 76 takes place in a futuristic America where nuclear war has transformed the country, the geography, and even the flag itself.
On June 10, 2018, “Fallout 76,” a game renowned for post-apocalyptic adventure and role playing, was unveiled by Bethesda Software Studios as the first online multiplayer shooter for the “Fallout” franchise.
It is also the first Bethesda game to allow players to test the game early through the B.E.T.A. or “break-it early test application.”
To those who are unknown to the franchise, “Fallout” takes a different turn of American history and incorporates the idea that the Cold War had not finished and that America currently has tensions between the Soviet Union and China. By the 21st century, America and China are at a war for resources, which eventually prompts Vault-Tec, a fictionalized American defense corporation, to assemble vaults around the United States to conduct experiments.
This tension eventually causes both nations to drop Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) and the actual game begins after the fallout settled. The timeframe of the game takes place before events of all four iterations of “Fallout,” which acts as a precursor to the whole franchise. In “Fallout 76,” the player takes control of a vault dweller in West Virginia which is celebrating America’s tricentennial anniversary of its founding. Their mission is to find their Overseer.
Other than its storyline, around Oct 22, Bethesda brought out “Fallout 76’s” B.E.T.A. to gamers that pre-ordered the game on the Xbox One. In review, there were certain successes and failures. One success was that the general game left players immersed in scenic locations. As for the drawback, the Visual Assisted Targeted System (VATS) is unable to slow down time but acts as an auto aim to target potential foes.
After playing the B.E.T.A. when it first came out for the PlayStation 4 on October 30, my first impression was positive. The B.E.T.A. requirements, in regard to the PlayStation 4 and probably the other two consoles (Xbox One and PC), are around 97 gigabytes of memory. This means that the B.E.T.A. is technically the entire game. For the gameplay, it is coordinated to be either a solo or multiplayer experience with other vault dwellers. The premise to “Fallout 76” allows players to gather and hoard potential loot. The drawback that I had noticed in the B.E.T.A. is that there are no non-player characters (NPCs) in the game, but their substitutions revolve on robots and recordings.
Throughout the experience, there were at times where the B.E.T.A. actually glitches and something funny happens. For instance, I was swarmed by ghouls, which are individuals that were irradiated and their primary goal was to attack me. With the help of a teammate, the ghoul threat subsided, and I was able to carry on.
Despite the game’s specs, first impressions and the storyline, questions that arise from “Fallout 76” are: why is a game like this so violent? For WCU students, is it truly prudent to actually have a video game that allows players to experience a nuclear holocaust?
According to Stefanie Fogel from Variety, she quotes Tom Nichols from Motherboard in saying that “ICBMs are not fun. Or funny.” If “Fallout 76” is a satire game, what is the true definition of a violent video game?
In a past WebMD article from Aug. 19, 2005 by Daniel J. DeNoon, psychologist Elizabeth Carll touched on violent video games, saying that they, “‘increase […] aggressive behavior and decrease their helpful behavior.’” This means that individuals experience a repressive mood that can play out on their day-to-day life.
After playing “Fallout 76’s” B.E.T.A., aggressive behavior like hoarding or shooting at foes could trigger a pattern of aggression if stuck on an area or even if a glitch occurs that extinguishes the entire account. I never truly experienced any anger in my playthrough, but I did experience a sense of anger when bugs or glitches took over the gameplay experience.
Regardless of the rhetoric or the symbolism that “Fallout 76” brings to the world, it is still classified as a video game to not be taken seriously. If so, then laughter truly dies in the darkness.
Nicholas Bartelmo is a third-year student majoring in History. NB790429@wcupa.edu