When Todd Howard showcased Fallout 4 at Bethesda's first E3 press conference, they surpassed fan expectations. Aside from the announcement of the ambitious release date of November 10th, 2015 and Fallout Shelter, there were a lot of other reasons to get even more excited about the newest adventure into the Bostonian Wasteland.
What We Know About Fallout 4 So Far
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Dogmeat Cannot Die
It was revealed in the newest gameplay demo that you will be reunited with the Fallout series favorite canine companion early on in the game after emerging from Vault 111. The fate of your loyal companion was a huge concern of most fans when Fallout 4 was first announced, GR Staff included.
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rnDuring the live stage demo this week Todd Howard confirmed that, while Dogmeat can be badly injured, he cannot truly die. You will also be able to trade with Dogmeat. If you don’t care for a canine companion, you also have the option not to recruit him as a companion. -
Character Customization Upgrade
The one thing that seriously needed an overhaul in the Fallout series was the ability to create a character that vaguely resembled a human person who reminded you of, well, yourself. It’s only fitting that their groundbreaking new character customization was revealed in the trailer after your character wakes up, the day the bomb drops. You can switch between a female or male character and alter every feature by simply selecting the area of the face you want to alter. -
Voice Acting & Dialogue Choices
For the first time ever, the main character will be fully voice acted and each dialogue option will appear on screen, a lot like a Telltale game with each option being represented by a primary button on the controller. Speaking with other characters will resemble what we have become accustomed to seeing in other fully voice acted RPGs like Mass Effect and Dragon Age. The main difference is that you still have the option to go through the entire game in first-person if you prefer not to play in third-person. -
Workshop System
Aside from just being able to purchase or claim a home in game, you’ll also have the ability to deconstruct and rebuild almost everywhere in Fallout 4 giving you the ability to create your own settlement wherever you want. Of course by doing so, you will leave yourself vulnerable to attack from bandits and various other enemies found in the Wasteland. In order to defend your settlement, you’ll have to set up various forms of defense like turrets and land mines.
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rnBuilding these bases will also give you the ability to craft better armor and weapons yourself. If defending various settlements throughout the wasteland just isn’t your thing, than that’s fine too, the option to build custom structures and settlements is completely optional.
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Advanced Weapon Crafting and Armor System
No piece of junk goes unused in Fallout 4. While Todd Howard didn’t go into detail about stims and drugs in the game, he did assure the crowd at the live stage demo Tuesday that every piece of junk can be deconstructed into useful crafting material. Those materials can then be used to modify weapons and craft armor pieces including guns that shoot explosive Teddy Bears.
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rnThere will also be several different combinations of crafting material needed to create different items like scopes and weapon upgrades. Armor crafting is also more advanced allowing for layered customization and more realism. We all saw that guy climb into the Power Armor in the trailer, right!? That was amazing!
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Cross Platform Mods
PC mods have become integral to the core experience of playing Bethesda RPGs but never before have PC mods been available to console players. Bethesda has confirmed that after Fallout 4 launches mods will become available on the Xbox One allowing for a wider audience to have access to user generated content. While Todd Howard did not say that this feature would be available on PS4 in the future, he did mention that they are considering it. -
Classic Leveling System
The leveling system was not showcased as much as other features of the new game. From what was briefly seen at Bethesda’s press conference and in the new gameplay footage, it looks like no drastic changes have been made. I certainly hope that remains the case since the leveling system and perks have always been one of the best things about Fallout. -
Godsworth Lives!!
You wake up as the lone survivor of your vault and somehow your family's robot companion has been able to remain completely functional for two centuries in your absence. Since the story details haven’t been released I’m guessing there’s an explanation for Godsworth's longevity, but who needs explanations when you have a robot sidekick with a British accent? -
How the Story Begins
Not much of the story’s plot was revealed but the primary context for where the story begins was discussed. After customizing your character a Vault-Tec employee comes to your door, adding context for what is inevitably about to happen. The sirens go off and you and your family rush out of your home seeking shelter from a nuclear attack. This is of course where explanation on the plot gets a little vague as certain details have not been released.
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rnDo my spouse and baby enter the same vault? If the main character could in fact see the explosion than how the hell did they survive it after 200 years? Was that just a gimmick for the trailer? You know, things like that. The one clear thing is that you do in fact wake up centuries later and find your neighborhood demolished, your Robo-Butler wanting to make you lunch, a friendly dog, and a huge mystery to solve. -
Pip Boy Collector’s Edition
Of course, it is already sold out everywhere but it’s only got a $119.99 price tag which is cheaper than I would have imagined it being, considering that it comes with a Pip-Boy. The Pip-Boy that comes with the collector’s edition will allow you to put your smartphone into it and utilize a third-party app that will launch with the game, perfectly replicating the Pip Boy interface so you can use it in conjunction with Fallout 4 as you play. -
Jet Packs!
Although it was not specifically mentioned the newest trailer for Fallout 4 clearly shows the main character flying through the air via jet pack while wielding a mini-gun and wearing Power Armor. Hopefully this will help solve the tedious task of trudging to new locations on foot. -
The Return of V.A.T.S
Fallout 4 seems to have improved upon the first-person gunplay but Bethesda certainly knows how to implement the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” philosophy in their design by keeping V.A.T.S pretty much exactly how it has been in the last two games. It’s something that seriously sets Fallout combat apart from other games and I really appreciate them not trying to completely overhaul it for the sake of just doing something different. -
A Harsher Wasteland
It seems that the Deathclaws and other monsters of the wasteland just keep getting bigger and badder with every iteration of the Fallout franchise. I’m sure that the Deathclaw we see in the trailer is at least twice as big as the ones in New Vegas. Add to that, the fact that there appears to be some form of finishing move where you get to look into the eyes of the beast before it decapitates you, and you’ve a got a recipe for some truly terrifying encounters. I can’t wait to see what other re-imagined monster encounters await us in Fallout 4. -
Companion System Upgrade
They did not talk about any limits on companions in game but it seems like they know there have been issues with companion interactions in the past. It seems that you’ll be able to switch between companions and will be able to point to certain objects in the environment and ask them to interact with them. You will also be able to tell them where to go.
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rnThe only companion demoed so far was Dogmeat so all we’ve seen is that we can tell him to fetch a wrench from a garage and move from one place to the other. There was no demonstration of a companion menu wheel or anything like that. -
Upgraded Creation Engine
The result is a prettier and more vibrant game than we would normally find in a Fallout world. New Vegas was one of the best examples of Bethesda’s start at creating a prettier wasteland but even that required PC mods in order to really add to the game. With Fallout 4 the environments promise to be more vibrant from the start with the implementation of full physics-based rendering and dynamic volumetric lighting. There will also be a more dynamic weather system. One example given by Todd Howard at the stage demo was radiation storms that can flare up randomly, originating from the “glowing sea” where the bombs fell.
