Fallout 4: Contraptions

Fallout 4, since my Platinum trophy I have had no real inclination in booting it back up and it was even uninstalled to make room on my HDD. I hadn't got the season pass, due to my personal stand point on them, and the only hope that had stopped me trading it in was the hope something at E3 would blow me away.

E3 has come and gone and while nothing Fallout related blew me away it did intrigue me. The Contraptions DLC got my mind ticking. What could I build? What sort of twisted and borderline sadistic things could I put my settlers through? Oh the thoughts would have me locked up in real life but in a post apocalyptic wasteland, it has one chuckling maniacally to themselves.
Unfortunately that is as far as I got. See I am handicapped somewhat in my building abilities within Fallout 4. It's not through skill, time or imagination, but the fact I am playing on a PS4.
It has long been publicised that the building mechanic on the console version of Fallout 4 has had its limitations. That being said I did end up building some pretty impressive structures. I repaired the castle walls, did up the Red Rocket for my settlement trophy and built a four story base along with defenses in Sanctuary. So you could say I gave it a good go and understand it better than some.
The Contraptions DLC at its core is pretty good, but it's going to be of better use to those letting their creative juices flow on a PC.  The inclusion of signage, elevators, new options for power management, a stock to ridicule Preston and even a paint gun to shoot paint balls at him while in said stock are all great little add-on's. Unfortunately on the PS4, it just wasn't working for me. I couldn't add an elevator to my already built structure as the ceiling heights wouldn't match up. The signage is pretty cool and the way it lights up at night is awesome to behold but still very clunky to place.

Then there are the machines. A sorting machine to sort out your junk. A machine to build your armour, while another builds you weapons. You can add conveyor belts and hoppers. You have access to ball tracks to make your very own mouse trap game, unfortunately the fun is short lived as you're stuck on the ground, trying to get something to snap in the correct direction while it is flailing about in front of you not doing what you want.
A simple fix would be to have the option I have seen on PC where you can "fly" around the area and view your constructions from different angles and perspectives.

Contraptions is only a very small part of the Fallout 4 season pass, but I do have one very large concern. What is the point? Both Fallout 3 and New Vegas had great add-on content that further enriched the story being told. They were true expansions to the game's story and were well worth the price. Contraptions while sound, is a pointless venture, designed to do nothing more than kill time and get YouTube hits.

I loved Fallout 4, pre ordered it and waited in line for the midnight release, but since the completion of the main game it has let me down.

Contraptions is a good add-on if you have it already included in the season pass, have a PC and a YouTube channel to share your builds. Other than that, save your coin and put it towards the next story add-on if you're still looking to roam the wastelands.

Images I have included are some base ones I found to show what could be accomplished.

Pat Clifford (Snoogan512)

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