Fallout 4

Overview

Fallout 4 is the fifth major installment in the Fallout series. Developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. It was released on November 10, 2015.

Taking place approximately 200 years after the Great War, Fallout 4 is set in post-apocalyptic Boston, Massachusetts, now referred to as The Commonwealth.

Fallout 4 has no level cap and the player is able to continue playing after the main story line ends.

Gameplay

S.P.E.C.I.A.L.

Fallout 4 brings back the S.P.E.C.I.A.L. system used throughout the series. It is a group of seven attributes that govern different aspects of the player.

The system is first introduced to the player during the opening sequence before the Great War, where a representative of Vault-Tec comes to the player's house to ask a few questions so they can reserve a spot in Vault 111.

Unlike the previous Fallout games, the S.P.E.C.I.A.L. set controls the updated Perk system, with each stat tied with a different group of Perks.

Every time the player's character levels up, they can choose to either put an extra point into any of their stats, or pick an available Perk.

S.P.E.C.I.A.L. stands for:

• Strength: Affects how much the player can carry; damage dealt with melee weapons.
• Perception: Affects weapon accuracy while in V.A.T.S.
• Endurance: Affects total overall health; action points (AP) drain from sprinting.
• Charisma: Affects persuasion during dialogue; prices of items when bartering.
• Intelligence: Affects the amount of XP earned.
• Agility: Affects Action Points (AP) for V.A.T.S.; sneaking ability.
• Luck: Affects recharge rate for Critical Hits; chance of finding better items.

Perks

Deviating from the previous games in the franchise, Fallout 4 merges the Skills into the Perk system. There are a total of 70 Perks, each with its own mini ranking system, totaling 275 ranks.

Perks are no longer tied to the player’s character level or relative Skill level. The 70 Perks are divided into groups of 10 under each of the 7 S.P.E.C.I.A.L. stats. Each Perk requires a different value of the S.P.E.C.I.A.L. stat that it is tied to, from 1 to 10. For each point in a stat, the same number of perks in that stat’s group is available to the player.

Each time the character levels up, the player can add an additional Perk, upgrade an already acquired Perk, or forgo Perks and instead add a level to one of their S.P.E.C.I.A.L. stats.

Apparel and Weapons

Fallout 4 allows for greater weapon and armor customization than previous games, and there is no longer a degradation system except for power armor.

Weapons

The player can create weapon modifications to customize their original weapons. These mods can be attached to the base weapons while at weapon workbenches found throughout the world. There are over 50 base weapons with more than 700 total different modifications.

The different mods include barrels, grips, scopes, and more. Each weapon mod will affect certain stats of the existing base weapon, including damage and fire rate.

Each weapon mod is built from scratch and requires its own set of base raw materials. The player can collect everyday objects in the environment -- such as radios, lamps, glue bottles, and wrenches -- and scrap them into the raw materials needed to build the weapon mods.

To customize gun weapons, the player will need the Gun Nut perk. For energy weapons, the Science! perk will be required. Occasionally a combination of the two will be required for more advanced modifications.

Apparel

Fallout 4 allows the player to equip individual pieces of armor for their arms, legs, and chest. These pieces stack over an underlying layer of armor; however, armor pieces cannot be worn over apparel that is designated as clothing. Similar to weapons, armor pieces can be upgraded and modded at armor workbench to strengthen damage resistance and add new effects like increased carry weight, faster move speed, and more.

Power armor is reworked for Fallout 4. Unlike previous games, power armor is no longer equipped like normal armor. Instead, power armor suits are effectively piloted and have their own movement speed. Power armor runs on Fusion Cores which can be found in the world. Each suit of power armor consists of a frame and individual arm, leg, chest, and helmet pieces. These pieces can be swapped, modified, and upgraded similar to normal pieces of armor. This requires a special power armor crafting station. Power armor has the most advanced modifications, allowing for enhancements such as food radiation scrubbing, jetpacks, targeting interfaces, and more.

Legendary Equipment

Players can encounter Legendary versions of enemies that have significantly more health than their standard counterparts. These Legendary variants spawn randomly at a rate of occurrence dependent on the player's difficulty level. Legendary enemies carry a unique weapon or armor piece that has a random modifier attached to it. These modifiers include explosive rounds, increased limb damage, higher damage against bugs, and more.

Companions

There are 12 companions that the player can choose to accompany them in the world in the base game. Each human companion is a possible romantics prospect, regardless of the player's gender. The player can only have one companion accompany them at any given time, or choose to not have a companion at all.

Dogmeat

A loyal German Shepard, Dogmeat can be given different commands, such as retrieving objects and looting dead bodies. He can detect nearby enemies, and will arch his back and let out a growl to help warn the player.

While mortal in the previous Fallout games, Dogmeat cannot die in Fallout 4.

Codsworth

The player's old housekeeping robot. Codsworth tried to keep the player's household going after the fallout for 200 years, always waiting for him/her to return.

He is constantly concerned for the player's well-being and mental state.

Preston Garvey

Preston Garvey is the leader of the militia group, Commonwealth Minutemen. The player first encounters Garvey in Concord, while he and his group are being held up inside the Museum of Freedom against attacking raiders.

He later makes the player the General of the Minutemen and forthwith serves as their second in command.

Robert Joseph MacCready

A former member of the gunner gang, who is down on his luck and desperate to find work as a mercenary, despite his former gang members interfering constantly. Nick has a son, who is struck with a deadly disease.

He is a rogue and scoundrel and heart and so loves everything that involves committing a crime. MacCready is a recurring character from Fallout 3.

Piper

A reporter from Diamond City. She wants to expose the truth about the Institute and wants for the people of Diamond City to care more about the outside world again.

Piper started writing at a young age, after her father was killed for trying to expose corruption in the city guard.

Nick Valentine

Nick's a synth (a robot that looks like a human), who also happens to be a super sleuth. He thinks he is a prototype between the first generation of synths and the last, which explains his unique ways of interacting with humans.

After saving the mayor's daughter he became a well respected citizen of Diamond City.

Deacon

Deacon is a high ranking member of the freedom fighter's called The Railroad. He is a spy that went after the player for a while, to figure out if he would be a fine addition for The Railroad and if the player decides to join up, Deacon becomes available as a companion.

He constantly jokes about maybe being a synth, trying to annoy the player.

Cait

Cait is an Irish pit-fighter, whose got a serious chem addiction. She is harsh and has a grim outlook on life, which see blames on her parents, who sold her into slavery when she was young.

John Hancock

Hancock is a ghoul, who serves as the mayor of the town Goodneighbour, which he founded after the mayor of Diamond City decided to kick all of the ghouls out.

He became a ghoul be using an experimental radiation drug and to this day considers the kick he got worth the after effects, plus he likes the quasi immortality that ghouls have. Hancock is an everything goes kind of guy and isn't afraid of killing, but he holds to his own moral code.

Paladin Danse

Danse is a member of the Brotherhood Of Steel, currently holding the rank of Paladin. He originally grew up in the Capital Wasteland.

Because of something that happened in his past he holds a deep hatred for super mutants. Danse is very devoted to the Brotherhood and it's ways.

Curie

Curie is a Ms. Nanny robot (the female version of a Mr. Handy), who was part of a secret research crew in Vault 81. She was programmed with a feminine personality and a French accent.

Curie can be turned into a synth if the player so chooses and can be romanced afterwards.

X6-88

X6-88 is an advanced Institute synth designed for retrieval of other synths that have gone rogue.

He is an unflinching in his programming and holds the Institue above everything else.

Strong

Strong is a super mutant. He can be found locked up in a cell at the top of Trinity Tower along with his teacher, Rex Goodman, where the two have been imprisoned by other super mutants.

Building Settlements

In Fallout 4, the player can find workbenches in multiple sites around the world, allowing them to enter a construction mode. This enables the player to build their own structures around the immediate area, from individual houses up to self-contained settlements.

Similar to the weapon modification system, the player can scrap items and demolish run-down buildings for the raw materials. These materials will be used to construct all parts of a building, including walls, windows, stairs, roofs and doors. Each having different styles available and requiring their own set of materials.

The player can build multiple houses and buildings, which will bring in people from the Wasteland to visit, and eventually live in the settlement. Businesses can be built, turning settlers into merchants. If the player allies with the Bunker Hill trading community, they will get access to Brahmin trading caravans that will visit their settlements.

Story

Nate, Nora and their little boy, Shaun live a happy and sheltered life on the outskirts of Boston, when they get approached by a Vault-Tec worker, with a proposition to enter Vault 111, should nuclear war ever occur. The player chooses to accept the offer and just minutes afterwards the Great War begins.

The player and his family hurry to the shelter, while the first nuclear strikes hits Boston and barely make it to safety. Inside the Vault they are greeted by an Overseer, who beckons them to go through some medical checks, including a full body scan inside some kind of machine.

Instead of receiving a medical check the player and his family are cryogenically frozen. Some time later the machines are reactivated and the player has to watch unknown people kill his/her wife/husband and take his infant son, talking about the boy being chosen for something. Time passes again and the machine now starts to malfunction, setting the player free.

The player leaves the by now completely abandoned Vault and steps out into the world. They soon meets their old house-keeping robot, Codsworth, who informs him/her that over 200 years have passed since the Great War began. The player now has to come to terms with this unknown, post-apocalyptic world they are thrown into and find their son.

Downloadable Content

On September 9, 2015, Bethesda announced that they will be offering a Season Pass for $29.99 USD, which will include access to all of the DLC for Fallout 4. On February 16th, 2016 Bethesda announced an expansion to their DLC plans and released information on the first three add-ons: Automatron, Wasteland Workshop, and Far Harbor. Also announced was a price increase of the season pass starting March 1st, from $29.99 to $49.99 USD. All players who bought the Season pass before March 1st for the $29.99 USD price will still have access to all DLC.

Automatron

Release: March 22, 2016

Price: $9.99 USD

A mysterious man named the "Mechanist" arrives in the Commonwealth, and unleashed his army of robots on the wastelands, lead by their leader "Robobrain". To defeat the Mechanist, the player can build and modify their own robot companions, mixing hundred of limbs, armor, abilities, and weapons - including a new lightning chain gun. The robots can also have customizable paint colors and voices.

Wasteland Workshop

Release: April 12, 2016

Price: $4.99 USD

Wasteland Workshop builds on the Settlement building gameplay. The player can now design and place cages to capture live monsters in the wastelands, including humans. The captured animals can then either be tamed or trained to fight other captured animals, or even the human citizens of the settlement. The DLC also adds new design options for the settlements, including nixie tube lighting, letter kits, and taxidermy.

Far Harbor

Release: May 2016

Price: $24.99 USD

A new case arrives at the Valentine's Detective Agency, leading the Sole Survivor and Nick Valentine off the coast of Maine to a mysterious island called Far Harbor, to search for a lost young woman and a secret colony of synths. Higher level of radiation have changed the island to a more feral world, and home to an escalating war between the Children of Atom and the Synths.

Far Harbor adds a large new area that is filled with new faction quests, settlements, creatures, and dungeons; also featuring new, higher-levels armor and weapons for the player.

Contraptions

Release: June 2016

Price: $4.99 USD

Another addition to Fallout 4's settlement building, Contraptions added several new building options to the game, mostly centered around the theme of mechanized and automatic equipment. The DLC's main category involved conveyor belts and manufacturing machines that could produce items from the base game such as clothing, weapons, ammo, and general items. Other additions included often requested pieces like gun racks and mannequins for displaying armor, elevators, and a new category of buildings dubbed "warehouses" that followed a similar layout to the "barns" category added in Far Habor.

Vault-Tec Workshop

Release: July 2016

Price: $4.99 USD

Vault-Tec Workshop follows Contraptions and Wasteland Workshop in being primarily a settlement based add-on, but also includes a basic quest line to tie the DLC's location into the story of the world. The player receives a radio transmission from Vault 88's security system, drawing them to Quincy Quarry where they deal with the raiders trying to break into the vault. Once inside, the player meets Overseer Barstow, who is now a ghoul. She tasks the player character with clearing out the building area of Vault 88 before sending them on a series of quests that involve gathering materials needed for the vault's original planned experimentation while also granting the ability to construct the vault from scratch through the new "vault" structure category in the settlement building menu. After the vault is built and established, a few settlers arrive, including one enthusiastic man named Clem, and the player then proceeds to subject him and the others to several Vault-Tec approved experiments that range from producing power to reading minds. How these experiments are conducted is up to the player and can range from the typical nefarious nature of true Vault-Tec experiments or be geared to actually be helpful (much to Overseer Barstow's chagrin). The DLC also gives the player the ability to build vaults at any settlement they own, expanding the creative options all across the Commonwealth.

Nuka-World

Release: August 2016

Price: $19.99 USD

Nuka-World is Fallout 4's second story and landmass based expansion, similar to Far Harbor. The player learns through a radio broadcast of a location known as Nuka-World, an amusement park built around the theme of the Fallout universe's quintessential beverage, Nuka-Cola. Upon arrival, the player discovers Nuka-World is overrun by raiders, and is sent through "The Gauntlet", a series of traps and enemies meant to kill those who enter for the entertainment of the park's denizens. At the end of the Gauntlet, the player faces the raider gangs' current "Overboss" in a Mad Max-esque thunderdome, and upon victory, is dubbed the new Overboss by Porter Gage (a recruitable companion). The player is now responsible for clearing out the other areas of the park (Galactic Zone, Kiddie Kingdom, Dry Rock Gulch, Safari Adventure, and World of Refreshment) and giving each area to one of the three raider gangs of Nuka-World: The Pack, The Disciples, and The Operators. Alternatively, the player is able to "deal with" each of the raider gang bosses and therefore release Nuka-World from their tyranny. Outside of the new area, players are also able to take over settlements in the Commonwealth and give control of them to one of the raider factions, allowing the player to essentially become a raider gang, similar to the many others found throughout the Commonwealth (an often requested feature from the community).

Versions

Pip-Boy Edition

Limited Edition for $119.99

• Fallout 4 game in a collectible metal case
• wearable Pip-Boy that can hold most modern smart phones
• a Pip-Boy pocket guide
• Vault-Tec perk poster
• RobCo Industries stand, for the Pip-Boy
• a capsule case

Amazon UK Bundle

Sold Exclusively on Amazon UK for £59.99

• Fallout 4 game
• History of Fallout book
• Soundtrack CD

Mighty Bundle

Sold exclusively by retailer MightyApe in New Zealand

• Fallout 4 game
• 80-page hardcover Fallout 4 Franchise Book
• Fallout Vault Boy Vinyl figure

Fallout 4 Nuke Pack

Sold exclusively in Australia by EB Games.

• Fallout 4 game in a collectible metal case
• Fallout 4 lunchbox
• 37"x10" Fallout 4 print
• Vault Boy mini bobblehead.

Marketing

Announcement

Bethesda Softworks tweeted a teaser #PleaseStandBy on June 2, 2015, and updated their Fallout website to feature only a countdown clock, expiring on June 3, 2015 at 10:00 AM EDT.

A few seconds before 10:00 AM on June 3rd, Bethesda released a teaser trailer for Fallout 4 on their website and YouTube. The trailer showed a desolated Boston, Massachusetts with various landmarks, Vault 111, and a male character wearing a jumpsuit from the aforementioned Vault.

E3 2015

At their first ever E3 press conference, Bethesda revealed the opening story and gameplay footage, featuring an updated V.A.T.S., locations, and armor and weapon customization. Also revealed is a brand new feature to the Fallout series: crafting and building settlements. The player can gather in game materials to "scrap", allowing them to construct individual buildings and entire settlements, equipped with electricity and defense systems. NPCs and merchants can travel to the constructed settlements and set up residence.

S.P.E.C.I.A.L. Videos

Starting on September 10, 2015 - two months before Fallout 4's release - Bethesda released a weekly video series describing each of the S.P.E.C.I.A.L. stats.

Each video, around two and a half minutes in length, takes the form of satirizing the stereotypical Cold War educational videos of the United States during the 1950s, keeping in tune with Fallout's parody on the American retrofuturism and political jingoism of the time period.

Legal

The future of the franchise was in doubt after a legal battle that saw the rights to previous Fallout games, along with the rights to Fallout 4, between Bethesda Softworks and Interplay Entertainment resolved with Bethesda regaining the rights to the whole franchise.

System Requirements

Bethesda's Todd Howard announced that the PS4 and Xbox One versions of Fallout 4 will run at 1080p and locked at 30 FPS, while the PC version will have no resolution or frame rate restrictions.

Minimum

• Windows 7/8/10 (64-bit OS required)
• Intel Core i5 2300 2.8 GHz / AMD Phenom II X4 945 3.0 GHz or equivalent
• 8 GB RAM
• 30 GB free HDD space
• Nvidia GTX 550 Ti 2GB / AMD Radeon HD 7870 2GB or equivalent

Recommended

• Windows 7/8/10 (64-bit OS required)
• Intel Core i7 4790 3.6 GHz / AMD FX-9590 4.7 GHz or equivalent
• 8 GB RAM
• 30 GB free HDD space
• Nvidia GTX 780 3GB / AMD Radeon R9 290X 4GB or equivalent