In the weeks since its release, "Fallout 4" has been the subject of thousands of online reviews, game-play spotlights, and character build videos. What’s amazing is all of this content has barely scratched the surface of the massive post-apocalyptic world that is the commonwealth. With a plethora of side quests, faction battles, hidden bunkers, gruesome creatures and custom weapon caches—the irradiated ruins of Boston are a dangerous and fascinating place to explore alone or with a companion. Now that I’m on my second character build and play-through, I thought I would compile a list of a few interesting tidbits from the game that I’ve discovered so far.

1. Customization gives you more options this time around

This should be fairly obvious if you’re at all familiar with the "Fallout" franchise, but with the newest release the choices are more numerous and take place early on in the game. I have to say that initially I was not prepared for the sheer amount of decisions I’d be making, from the simpler ones like what my character’s face was going to look like to the more difficult ones like what kind of mods to invest my precious adhesive stash in. Aside from character creation, which remains essentially the same, the "Fallout 4" system is completely reinvented. Armor can be mixed and matched and customized to fit your playstyle. For my current run, I’ve customized a set of combat armor with black paint to “shadow” it, making me stealthier, and a lighter build so as to free up some of my carry weight. Weapons are also a lot different. While it seems like there are less variants than in previous games that is not really the case. A lot of builds like sniper rifles are unlocked through mods like adding scopes or improving the barrel and receiver of your gun. For stealth players, mods are especially important because you can greatly improve a gun’s range and you can slap a suppressor on almost every muzzle available. I currently use a suppressed .50 Caliber sniper rifle to pick off raiders from a far-away ledge before sneaking in and clearing out the remaining few with a specialized silenced pistol. I made sure to invest points early on in perks that would give me access to the mods I needed to play the way I want to play and the experience is greatly improved because of it. Any way that you want to roll through Boston, you can do it in "Fallout 4."

2. Quests are more immersive

One of the things I found tedious in previous "Fallout" games was the way the quests, especially radiant quests, felt generic and recycled. That is not the case in "Fallout 4." Aside from the infinite settlement rescue quests given by Jacob Garvey in the minutemen storyline, quests have been greatly improved. Within my first day of playing, I participated in an old-West-meets-the-nuclear-apocalypse style heist in “The Big Dig” and served as a mercenary for a shady family of wealthy socialites in “The Secret of Cabot House.” These quests are given by Bobbi No-Nose in Goodneighbor and Edward Deegan in Bunker Hill, respectively. Both are multistage thrill rides with plenty of opportunities for exploring and picking up unique items. Another aspect I like about quests is the random encounters. A couple of times I’ve come across a Mexican standoff in the middle of an abandoned building or a murder about to be committed at the edge of a river. Player choices have very immediate consequences in these interactions and these small radiant items really enrich the "Fallout 4" universe.

3. Factions actually matter

This game does a fantastic job making everything feel interwoven. My actions with the minutemen affect my reputation across the commonwealth, while my choices regarding the railroad may impact future choices in dealings with the institute. Whereas in "Fallout 3" and "Fallout: New Vegas," factions were next to non-existent and player involvement felt more like being an errand boy than actually belonging to the factions, "Fallout 4" allows you to experience a variety of engrossing quests with the four main factions in the commonwealth before deciding which factions, if any, have your loyalty. A great example of this is the Brotherhood of Steel, which makes a return in "Fallout 4." In "Fallout: New Vegas," the Brotherhood was merely a shadow of its former self, retreating underground and living out their days in isolation from the rest of the Mojave wasteland. When players discover the hidden bunker, they have the option to help the Brotherhood of Steel in ousting the current elder. This involves running several errands and securing items off of fallen patrols in the surrounding area. This feels like busywork, and when you get the offer to become a member of the Brotherhood, it seems more an honorary title than an invitation to join their ranks. After that point, there is not much else to be done except wear the power armor they give you, which is cumbersome and not very fun to use. In "Fallout 4" however, the Brotherhood is back in full force, boasting airships and vertibirds equipped with turrets. Meeting up with a group of scribes in the Cambridge ruins, I was given the option to help them in recovering technology to aid in a rescue. After fighting alongside the paladin and killing a few synths, I was given the choice to join the Brotherhood. What I really liked about this moment was the sense of the gravity of my decision. Preston Garvey accompanied me on this quest and reminded me of my obligations to the minutemen, seemingly suggesting that I should decline the offer. It was really cool to see the factions overlap and see the reactions of one group to another firsthand.

4. Nods to previous games are fun and tasteful

A lot of times, developers can’t resist slapping a game full of references to the lore of previous entries in the franchise. Bethesda does a nice job of connecting the "Fallout 4" universe to the universe of the previous games without overdoing it. There are subtle references to the Capital Wasteland and the Mojave scattered throughout. In Goodneighbor, I met McCready, a gun for hire available as a companion. Through dialog, I found out that he grew up in Little Lamplight, the cave community run by children in "Fallout 3." If you look closely at his hat, you will recognize that McCready is the grown-up version of the kid McCready in that game. Kellogg also references California and the NCR from "Fallout: New Vegas" in the Memory Den. These were just a few of the nods to previous games I found and it was interesting to see "Fallout 4" welcome characters from other games, embracing and expanding their story in the new universe.