Fallout is a video game series by Bethesda Game Studios which places the player in a post-apocalyptic world stuck in the 1950s era. The story starts with a nuclear war which utterly destroys the world as we know it. You play as one of the survivors in the wasteland and you control everything including the decisions your character makes in the boundless virtual world.

Fallout 4 is the newest version of the franchise and is coming out November 10, 2015 after the 5 year drought Bethesda left us with after the release of Fallout New Vegas on October 19, 2010. Many gamers were left in awe when Bethesda’s game director Todd Howard announced at their conference at the E3 Gaming Convention, “We don’t want to keep you waiting, so Fallout 4 is coming out November 10th this year.”

The game includes new things to do in-game compared to past Fallout games. You now can build settlements that attract people from the wasteland. But you must defend your settlement from raiders, so you are able to add defenses around your place such as walls, turrets, traps, and so on. Bethesda have also implemented the ability to customize armor and weapons. With a workbench, you can build unique weapons that fit your need and customize your T60 power armor you get in-game. You get to customize each piece of your armor like changing the style of your left arm, right leg, torso piece, helmet, and etc. None of this was available in the past versions.

Each random thing in the game can be used to make something else. For example, if you wanted to make a new scope for a gun, that useless wonder glue you found in a cabinet is no longer deemed “useless”. You can use it, and many other pieces of junk to create new things in the game. You can also scrap things from broken houses to create your settlement.

In every Fallout game, you get to create your character to whatever you want them to look like or be like. You can customize their facial features down to the detail where you can customize the shape of their chin. As for skills in the wasteland, you begin with their S.P.E.C.I.A.L. skills. S is for strength, P is for perception, E is for endurance, C is for charisma, I is for intelligence, A is for agility, and L is for luck. Each provides a set of important skills, which on a point scale of one to ten (ten being the best) you can rate that certain letter (as in for S.P.E.C.I.A.L.). Each skill in the beginning has five points, you can take away or add points to it. You have an extra five points to add onto any skill you want, and can even distribute it to multiple skills.

Throughout the franchise, you have the chance to obtain companions that accompany you throughout your travels in the wasteland. These companions follow you, talk to you, and most importantly, defend you. In Fallout 4 you have a unique companion you get at the beginning of the game. To fallout gamers it’s a dog known as “Dogmeat” and it follows/protects you throughout the game. But Dogmeat isn’t like any of the past companions, he has a new action that allows you to point to a spot and he’ll move there or fetch anything in the area you pointed to in-game. This is useful if the area is tricky to get to if you’re just too lazy to go and get it.

Fallout 4 comes out on three different types of consoles, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and on PC. “I play PC because you have more options to play with. You can add mods that cheat the game or expand the story. On regular gaming consoles you can’t do that,” says freshman, Nathan Cunningham. While currently only available on PC, Bethesda is making modification support for the Xbox and Playstation so you can modify the game on those consoles as well.

The game has become very immersive over the development of new gaming technology. For PC it can be bought online on Steam. For other consoles you can also buy it at any retailer that sells video games like Best Buy, Walmart, Target, and GameStop for $59.99. Just remember you’re S.P.E.C.I.A.L and good luck in the wasteland!