Fallout 4 is not a remarkable game. It merely serves as "more Fallout", stripped of some of what made New Vegas and (to a lesser extent) FO3 so memorable. I'm friends with a "hardcore" Fallout fan who vehemently defends FO4, insisting that it's this "great game", worthy of being mentioned in the same conversation as the best of the series (he probably should have played New Vegas). Maybe "more of the same" is the point here, and that's why it managed to deliver such a strong experience for my friend. Who knows?Yes, yes, we've been over this countless times before. Is this yet another thread made to harp on the shortcomings of what many hoped would be one of the defining games of the current console gen? Not really, and I promise to be brief about my current experiences with the game and why my perception has changed a bit since the game's launch.I shelved FO4 after my initial 20 hours back when the game launched in November. My reaction can be summed up thusly: MEH. With The Witcher 3 delivering one of the best open-world RPG experiences I've ever had the pleasure of playing, you just don't follow that with this tepid "walk a really long distance...and kill that" quest design. So into the backlog it went.Firing it back up after finishing The Witcher 3 and all of the DLC, I kept my expectations firmly in check in an attempt to appreciate the game for one of it's most discerning attributes: atmosphere.Early into my getting reacquainted with the game, a radiation storm hit and I tried taking shelter in a trailer, closing the sliding door. Pretty sure this didn't help to stave off radiation poisoning, but looking out the broken window I realized something...if you can forgive some of the more average elements of game design, the game's atmosphere is really worth soaking in for the sake of immersion.FO4 is at it's best when you're just wandering, pure and simple. Especially in the more sparse areas of The Commonwealth, where the game tends to look a lot better with the blending of urban and vegetation (the Financial District is a bit of a shit show, with awful textures and some seriously atrocious dips in framerate). If you just take to exploring the world, not thinking too much about the quests or the disappointing RPG elements at play, the game tends to have a lot to offer in terms of "sandbox" styled play.For the moment, the most interesting quest involves a certain persona known as "The Silver Shroud", but even that devolves into the typical "go here, kill this" quest structure that Bethesda seems to fall back on. I doubt I'll find anything with the depth, emotional weight, or creativity of Witcher 3 quests such as the Blood Baron, but maybe that's asking too much of Bethesda at this point, given their lousy track record. To be honest, they haven't written a compelling questline since Oblivion's "Paranoia" (with the conspiracy theorist/schizophrenic wood elf).Still, I'm finding myself reinvigorated for what FO4 has to offer, and there's a sort of ironic beauty to the world they've crafted here. There are moments when I find myself feeling really immersed in the wasteland, and given my extensive and lengthy trip to Boston two years ago, I appreciate the famous landmarks that they've included.FO4 is less than what fans deserved (especially those expecting the depth and nuance of New Vegas), but it's nowhere near as bad as some people make it out to be. My "MEH" has turned into an affectionate "Hey, not bad."