First things first, let's talk about
the exterior, for that's the first impression and the most important.
It looks so awesome, the guy at the counter was almost as equally
excited as I was, and I actually feel a bit guilty for not letting
him unpack it there, because I really wanted to unbox and film it
first hand. So the box is a nice looking plastic box wrapped aroung
in a transparent layer with the cover art, branding and other stuff.
That layer can be simply discarded, mine was even slightly
deteriorated, so... yeah. But the actual box is a treat to look at.
The plastic it's made of is fairly rigid, of good quality, and has a
solid vintage design. But the contents inside are the best part.
There's the game, of course, both a
leaflet with the Steam code, and a physical disk inside a beautiful
steel case showcasing the power armor helmet and an embosed Fallout 4
logo. What I've realized is that the case is the size of a blu-ray
case, not a DVD case, which is not a big deal, but it goes to show
that they've made universal steel cases for all versions. There's
also a leaflet advertising their season pass for the game, also the
upcoming Doom 4, Dishonored 2, and Elder Scrolls Online. But the
"pièce de résistance" you've been eager to read about is
the awesome Pip-Boy replica that holds most of the space inside the
whole package. It is amazing! One complaint I've heard from some
people is that it's too "clean", and not worn out. The
Pip-Boy is the most unique object you find in any Fallout game. Other
characters may wear their Pip-Boy, sure, but you can't ever loot
another one in any circumstance. In the context of Fallout 4, without
spoiling anything, you find the Pip-Boy 3000 just laying around in
the vault, there's only that one and you really need it to progress.
The parallel I'm trying to make is that the physical Pip-Boy in the
box is an exact replica of the one in the game, and it is so
detailed. It clearly shows a lot of passion went in the making. If
you need more context to why it looks new, and not like it was worn
by someone who met a stampede of deathclaws, think of it like it was
shipped to you brand new directly from Vault-Tec, just as it says on
the box. The Pip-Boy is made of a great quality plastic, functional
dials (well, just technically, not really dialing anything) and even
a couple of orange lights, giving it that vintage raw look. On the
inside, where the arm straps, it's padded with a very soft,
high-quality foam lining that's not wearing off too soon. It's
somewhat large, but it's understandably so because it should fit most
human arms, if I may re-use the joke. However, it does have a wide
velcro strap that's very useful. The front screen swings up easily
and it's made so it can fit most smartphones. Additionally, it comes
with a selection of foams for different types of phones so they don't
slide around. Well, they mostly thought of Samsung and Iphone, but my
weird brand cellphone works with one Iphone 5-sized foam, kinda, so I
don't think anyone would have a problem with stuffing their
smartphones in there.
The idea of placing the phone inside
the Pip-Boy is so you can use the official Fallout Pip-Boy app from
Bethesda, which can be synchronized with the game via a wireless
network and you can actually use the physical Pip-Boy in real time.
Of course, it depends on each one's playstyle, as I found I'd rather
use the in-game PB, but it's still a cool feature.
There are only two disappointing
things I've found, and none are major issues, don't worry. One of the
issue I have is with the Android app. While testing both the Android
version and the Iphone one, I observed that the Android app doesn't
have any sort of scaling feature, points going to the Iphone app,
which has both resizing and repositioning options. It might be
added/fixed at a later date, but I don't get why it's not included
right now. The other issue I have is with the balance, as the upper
side of the screen weighs more, and that's without a phone inside. I
need to strap the velcro really tight to have it in a fixed position.
But all that if you really want to use it frequently. Otherwise, if
you only want to brag to your friends or show it off on various
conventions, there a nice display stand you can rest the Pip-Boy on,
place it next to the screen and enjoy admiring it while blowing up
some super mutants or some nasty yao guai. Yao guai are mutant
bears...
#WelcomeHome
No comments:
Post a Comment