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Fallout 76 PREVIEW: Bethesda's new game Isn't the Multiplayer experience you think it is (Pic: BETHESDA)

Fallout 76 is the next release from Bethesda Games Studios and whilst there might have been 5 mainline games in the series so far, it would be unfair to call the latest game a spin-off.

That's because the latest entry to add to the end of the world wasteland is just as much the massive sprawling monster-infested sandbox game that you've come to know and love previously.

Only, paradoxically, it's also the one that feels (so far) the most distinctive of the bunch.

For those who missed the big reveal back at E3 2018, Fallout 76 is set in a brand new location, West Virginia, complete with real-life landmarks and a variety of monsters befitting the state's numerous creepy folklore.

More importantly, though, it's entirely online, with a world populated by fellow players, not AI-controlled NPCs.

The map, so we're told, is four times the size of Fallout 4 (massive then) but that doesn't mean it's empty. Far from it. According to Jeff Gardiner, Project Leader on Fallout 76, the team ended up adding four times more content.

As you might imagine then, our time with the game merely scratched the surface.

We spent three hours with the game at the Greenbrier resort – an actual location in the game and home to a decommissioned nuclear bunker built in 1958 under President Dwight E. Eisenhower amid growing concerns of a nuclear strike.

So given that we've only seen the tip of the iceberg for what is supposedly a 40+ hour long game, it seemed slightly churlish to write a full-on preview.

Instead, we're focusing on just that most crucial part of '76, it's multiplayer and what impact it has on a game such as Fallout.

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(Pic: Bethesda)

Just how 'Multiplayer' is Fallout 76?

This is perhaps the most perplexing part of Fallout 76. Everything so far has billed the game as something akin to an MMO (massively multiplayer online game). And it is, for the most part, when you forget about classes and the like.

But the 'multiplayer side' in Fallout 76 is completely optional, bordering on non-existent if you don't want it.

Though during our session we were formed into groups beforehand, a lot of players will likely exit Vault 76 solo and unless you really go searching for it, that's probably how you'll experience the majority, if not all of the game.

If so, the multiplayer aspect really comes to the fore during random encounters, either through stumbling across and helping one of the other 23 players on the map, or interacting in a variety of other means.

Kill them, join them on a quest, trade. It's up to you. You have options as to how much Multiplayer you want this game to be, but with such a massive map, it's possible these meetings could be incredibly few and far between anyway.

In many ways, Fallout 76 is probably the loneliest Fallout game we've ever played in our lifetime (which for those wondering only includes extensive completions of Fallout 3, Fallout New Vegas and Fallout 4).

The removal of NPC's from the world has left something of a conversational vacuum, which is only filled, fleetingly, by these multiplayer interactions.

Some will love this, others maybe less so, but the interesting thing is that players are left alone to decide what kind of end of the world experience they want, rather than being forced into any multiplayer moments.

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“The high-level content is not just for groups who want to explore those corners of the world, it's for everyone.”

A Word from the Devs…

Daily Star: Ultimately, a year after release, what is it you feel thats going to keep bringing these players together for these experiences?

Chris Mayer, Production Director – A lot of that is going to depend on what we see on Day 1, seeing what players like to do. I think weve announced some plans like private servers, if people want the opportunity to build a server that's their own, but I think a lot of the other ideas have to wait, until we see what the players like and what they gravitate towards in game. That will help dictate the other stuff.

Emil Pagilarulo, Design director – I think theres no one answer, because we look at how popular Fallout 4 still is, and what people still do in that world. Some people go in and they just like wearing different clothes, making different workshops. A year from now players might still be into just moving their camp around and taking pictures with photo mode. Other people will want new events, so were looking forward to finding out.

Daily Star: So, how much of the game forces you into playing as a multiplayer game?

Emil Pagilarulo, Design director – I mean, it really doesn't!

Jeff Gardiner, 76 Project Leader – Im like you, I play games by myself, Im a fan of multiplayer but I love the solo experience and you can play this game solo, its very viable solo. Itll be more difficult to go to a high-level zone, but we tried to level it for solo players as well. The high-level content is not just for groups who want to explore those corners of the world, it's for everyone.

Fallout 76: S.*.*.C.*.*.L. Edition (Game + 3 Pin…

Fallout 76 and Griefing

In a room full of mild-mannered journalists it's easy to see how griefing might not have been too much of a problem during our gameplay session. Except for perhaps, one player who appeared desperate to fight everything on site (we're looking at you, VG247).

But equally, it feels as though Bethesda had already thought this part of the game through before we got our grubby mitts on the game.

First off, you can't enable PVP until you've reached level 5 in the game, which, depending on what you get up to, can take a good few hours to begin with.

Secondly, at level 5 you can then go into your settings and toggle a "Pacifist mode" on and off depending on the type of experience you want.

Keen for Mad Max levels of PVP in the wasteland? Go ahead and turn it off. Don't want all-out war with others online? Leave it on and you'll be effectively free from taking friendly (or unfriendly) fire.

Obviously the game has other measures in place to discourage griefing anyway, such as placing bounties on people's head and a big red dot on the map to ensure everyone knows you're a murdering asshat.

But truthfully, aside from one mad 20-minute burst where all players in the group had reached level 5 and wanted to engage in a little team vs team combat, the urge to grief didn't really feel that compelling.

Which is sort of what Bethesda are banking on as well, because as Emil Pagilarulo, Fallout 67 Design director told us, it's more likely that people will come to your aid when they see you fighting some obscene monster rather than steamrolling in and killing you outright.

On the flip side, those who love a bit of PVP from time to time will also be accommodated in the form of PVP events Bethesda are planning.

"There are a couple of PVP events which are really fun," Chris Mayer, Production Director explained to us. "Theres one in particular, Hunt or Hunted thats like an pre-war espionage, assassin simulator you get involved in.

NEW Fallout 76 Screenshots

Fallout 76 will launch on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC on November 14, 2018.

Fallout 76 – In Conclusion

If you're a fan of your more conventional Fallout games, you don't need to be alarmed or put off by Fallout 76, because it's as good as another entry in the mainline Fallout series.

Likewise, any question marks you might have had about the multiplayer elements should really be put to bed.

Because from what we can see Bethesda have done a superb job of tweaking the formula to breath fresh life into the series without deviating too much from what makes a Fallout game so distinctive.

Obviously, there might be a few who are disappointed by the lack of a grand reimagining to the series, especially in a gaming industry currently obsessed with 100 player Battle Royale.

However, if you're one of the many who has been dying to experience the wasteland with your fellow friends, you'll feel right at home and certainly not disappointed.

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