TL;DR: Good game, not a great Fallout game. 8/10

Fallout 4 is a solid and entertaining first person shooter open-world game, but a slightly disappointing Fallout game. The armor/weapon crafting and settlements are a huge addition, and Boston felt like a very cool and well-executed setting with outstanding and memorable set pieces. The game definitely has glaring flaws that'll disappoint hardcore Fallout fans; the decision to not allow compromise between the factions was probably the biggest, with the watered-down dialogue and RPG mechanics being a close second. Ultimately, it's a good game and worth the price.

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Pros:
>Much newer-feeling than previous entries in the genre
>Power armor is awesome and feels really good to use
>Crafting and upgrading weapons and armor gives a lot of "junk" items purpose, adds a lot of cool content, makes gunplay much more interesting, adds a scavenger hunt in addition to the regular game, feels rewarding, and creates an immersive feeling of being a post-apocalyptic scavenger
>Settlements are fun to build
>Extremely cool locations and set pieces
>Very interesting open world and locations, many of which have vertical aspects
>More vibrant color palette than previous Fallout games
>The game does a good job of setting up the Institute as an intriguing boogeyman
>Better UI makes looting a pleasure
>The game does a good job of making each of the four factions interesting, compelling, and unique which ultimately makes the decision of which one to side with difficult
>Probably the most memorable introduction to a Fallout game (and many other games)
>"Cinematic" conversations make dialogue interactions more interesting
>Companions are interesting, fairly well-written, and have depth, leading to interesting character interactions
>No level cap

Cons:
>RPG mechanics are very watered-down; the player is forced to play as Mr. or Mrs. "WHERE'S MY SON?" rather than creating their own character
>Only four dialogue options which often seem to all lead to the same conclusion
>Dialogue choices are only presented with a one-word summary, which is often misleading or straight-up deceptive
>All of the factions are arguably "good;" while morally ambiguous and possibly misguided, none of them ever seem outright evil, massively limiting the player's ability to roleplay as an evil character
>None of the factions are completely good, either; all of them are stranded in shades of grey so much so that it prevents the player's faction choice from being completely satisfying, and at times frustratingly difficult
>Whether the Synths are sapient or not is never conclusively explained (Institute says no, Railroad says yes) leading to the faction choice being (likely unintentionally) more difficult
>The game allows for extremely little compromise between the different factions, leading to frustration that the player cannot lead to a meaningful and satisfying compromise between the factions
>The twist halfway through the game can be predicted within several minutes of playtime
>The Minutemen seem very incometent at protecting settlements, which often leads to extremely repetitive and frustrating side quests to defend them, making the faction feel more like a one-man army than a united militia
>The game seems to run out of content after the main quest is completed and the player finishes upgrading their weapons; many of the side quests are short and forgettable
>Very few towns which seem to lack more than a handful of interesting characters
>Although cool, some things seem to be a missed opportunity (the Combat Zone, the Glowing Sea, the Synth dialogue, etc)
>World-builders seemed to run out of ideas at a point; many areas seem same-y, even by Fallout standards

TL;DR: Good game, not a great Fallout game. 8/10 Fallout 4 is a solid and entertaining first person shooter open-world game, but a slightly disappointing Fallout game. The armor/weapon crafting and settlements are a huge addition, and Boston felt like a very cool and well-executed setting with outstanding and memorable set pieces. The game definitely has glaring flaws that'll disappoint hardcore Fallout fans; the decision to not allow compromise between the factions was probably the biggest, with the watered-down dialogue and RPG mechanics being a close second. Ultimately, it's a good game and worth the price. Wall of text: Pros: >Much newer-feeling than previous entries in the genre >Power armor is awesome and feels really good to use >Crafting and upgrading weapons and armor gives a lot of "junk" items purpose, adds a lot of cool content, makes gunplay much more interesting, adds a scavenger hunt in addition to the regular game, feels rewarding, and creates an immersive feeling of being a post-apocalyptic scavenger >Settlements are fun to build >Extremely cool locations and set pieces >Very interesting open world and locations, many of which have vertical aspects >More vibrant color palette than previous Fallout games >The game does a good job of setting up the Institute as an intriguing boogeyman >Better UI makes looting a pleasure >The game does a good job of making each of the four factions interesting, compelling, and unique which ultimately makes the decision of which one to side with difficult >Probably the most memorable introduction to a Fallout game (and many other games) >"Cinematic" conversations make dialogue interactions more interesting >Companions are interesting, fairly well-written, and have depth, leading to interesting character interactions >No level cap Cons: >RPG mechanics are very watered-down; the player is forced to play as Mr. or Mrs. "WHERE'S MY SON?" rather than creating their own character >Only four dialogue options which often seem to all lead to the same conclusion >Dialogue choices are only presented with a one-word summary, which is often misleading or straight-up deceptive >All of the factions are arguably "good;" while morally ambiguous and possibly misguided, none of them ever seem outright evil, massively limiting the player's ability to roleplay as an evil character >None of the factions are completely good, either; all of them are stranded in shades of grey so much so that it prevents the player's faction choice from being completely satisfying, and at times frustratingly difficult >Whether the Synths are sapient or not is never conclusively explained (Institute says no, Railroad says yes) leading to the faction choice being (likely unintentionally) more difficult >The game allows for extremely little compromise between the different factions, leading to frustration that the player cannot lead to a meaningful and satisfying compromise between the factions >The twist halfway through the game can be predicted within several minutes of playtime >The Minutemen seem very incometent at protecting settlements, which often leads to extremely repetitive and frustrating side quests to defend them, making the faction feel more like a one-man army than a united militia >The game seems to run out of content after the main quest is completed and the player finishes upgrading their weapons; many of the side quests are short and forgettable >Very few towns which seem to lack more than a handful of interesting characters >Although cool, some things seem to be a missed opportunity (the Combat Zone, the Glowing Sea, the Synth dialogue, etc) >World-builders seemed to run out of ideas at a point; many areas seem same-y, even by Fallout standards