First impressions on Fallout 4 reveal trailer:

Fallout 4 has been announced, with more information to be released at E3. All that is currently available to speculate on is the trailer, which seems to be full of hidden goodies and hints as to what may or may not happen in the upcoming sequel to Bethesda's Fallout 3. What might they reveal? Lets take a look.

We may be playing as someone who saw the bombs fall

The choice of music matches the feelings evoked by the flashbacks to the pre-war. "It's all over but the crying" neatly encapsulates the fears behind a nuclear war in the fifties. That once that button was pressed, it'd all be over but the crying, the pain, the tears, and the death. There would be no going back. Humanity and the earth would never be the same again.

The flashbacks also hint that perhaps we'll be playing as a character who was there in the Pre-war era. Of course it could just be showing how far humanity has fallen, but the flashbacks as well as the footage of people running to a Vault hint that your character could be there, as either a child or young adult. In fact there seems to be a child that the camera follows as if he was the main character.

If true this could mean that this could be the earliest after the bombs we would be seeing. While humanity is still reeling from such a sudden and destructive end. That or the vault, playing on Vault Tech's history of testing things on its inhabitants might mean that people were kept in some sort of stasis. Or it could be a story, told to your character and shown to you by being there yourself. Either way it gives a wonderful look at what it was like in that panicked moment where time seemed to stop.

It appears to be set in Boston

A still frame taken from the trailer shows a square that a few Boston gamers have claimed to be from Scollay Square, albeit in the aftermath of nuclear war.

Scollay Square in Fallout 4?

As well the monument to Paul Revere found in Boston.

The Statue of Paul Revere in the shadows

Even the Massachusetts State House, with it's golden dome makes an appearance.

The golden dome of the state house against the sun

This likely means we will be dealing with the Commonwealth and the 'Institute'. Players of Fallout 3 will recognize those names from the quest "The Replicated Man" where you're tasked with hunting down an android whom escaped to start their own life as a reference to Blade Runner. This means that androids could play a significant part in the story, or not be shown much at all, depending on if the previous speculation of it being fairly recently after the bombs fell is true or not. While the Commonwealth managed to escape relatively undamaged and therefore bounced back quicker than the rest of the US, the Institute is something more akin to the Big MT from New Vegas, where brilliant minds gathered to work on scientific discoveries. However unlike the Big MT, presumably they didn't all stuff their brains in a bunch of robots. You can be almost assured that they'll be mentioned or at least have some part in the story.

Like Skyrim, it will probably be an upgraded version of the Gamebryo engine.

Gamebyro has a very distinct walk cycle animation, and you can get a glimpse of that amidst all their rapid cuts to different scenes, At 1:51 you see a man walking to the left towards what looks like a bar or a cafe, with the sudden angular turn that fits into what we've seen from Gamebyro before. As well the walk cycle of the man with the coat and hat at 1:40. This means a variety of things including the potential for dual wielding weapons, though if that was a feature you'd think they'd have shown it off in the reveal trailer. Either way since it's releasing only on PS4, Xbox1, and PC there will no doubt be quite a few tweaks and additions, graphically and otherwise.

It might not have loading screens

Now this gets more into the realm of guesswork and speculation, but the scene with the dog walking in and out of the home without a transition could hint that we won't have to load interiors. If the game is going truly open world with no loading screens, which would only be made possible by the additional RAM in the current run of consoles, this might be a way to tease that without making promises they may have to renege on at a later date. Ultimately however, there is one major change that I feel is the most shocking and earth shattering thing on this list.

Spandex is back you guys!
                               

At the end, as the dog and presumably player character meet, you can tell that the player is not wearing the denim version of the vault suits from Fallout 3 and Fallout New Vegas, The stretchy fabric with bumps along the seams suggest that it is in fact the return of the spandex vault suits from the original Fallout 1 & 2. Why this is changed cannot be certain. What this hints at in the future is unknown. Is this an alternative universe where denim was never invented? Is it just an oversight? Or is it a hint that we are in fact playing in a time closer to the original Fallout series than ever before? Who knows! But spandex is back and everyone can be happier for it.

E-Tank

Skyrim: You Rat Dragon Bastard.

Skyrim!

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, The latest entry in Bethesda Studios' award-winning Elder Scrolls series, is a freeform RPG with many of the pros and cons of Bethesda's games. Such as their genuinely beautiful worlds, their mediocre at best writing skills, or their belief that everyone has to be able to become the leader of every guild ever made. You explore, gain skills, adventure, dungeon crawl, do quests, meet interesting people and creatures, and kill them for profit.

The combat system is a major step up from their prior entry, Oblivion, Losing the floatiness and lack of impact from each blow, and gaining the ability to dual wield While you can use axes, swords, daggers, maces, and even spells in this way, you lose the protective ability to block. Additionally, weapon balance is better than ever, each type having slightly different damage and speed to give players an incentive to try new things.

The skills have been streamlined massively. All the weapons have now been condensed into archery, one handed, and two handed. Armorer has been changed into the more nebulous Smithing, and Mysticism as a category has been rolled somewhat into Conjuration.

Some of these perks include:
Get the key to a lock you have picked.
Never break a lock pick.
Able to bribe guards.
Decapitate enemies.
Zoom in and slow down time while aiming a bow.
Do 15x sneak attack damage with a dagger.
And many many more.

Another change is the removal of the Armorer skill in exchange for the new Smithing skill, which allows you to upgrade and craft new equipment, and even jewelry. The system is surprisingly fun, giving a real feeling of accomplishment for finding a rare ore out in the middle of nowhere.

Also new are the Shouts, an ancient draconic language capable of magical effects. From throwing a burst of force at them, to breathing fire or frost, or even calling down lightning on all who stand against you. You unlock them by killing a dragon and absorbing its soul, usually after a knock down drag out fight. My one complaint with these fights is they are more geared towards heavy armor and weapons users once the dragon is on the ground, while thieves and assassins are left to try and pepper the dragon with arrows while ducking in and out of cover.

Bethesda still hasn't yet gotten this writing thing down, as it is the weakest point of this game. The majority of missions, especially guild missions, are stuck within three potential answers.

"I'm doing this for the guild or my own personal honor."
"I'm doing this because I'm an asshole, or I'm doing it in spite of the fact that I'm an asshole."
"I'm doing this because I want to get paid."

Generally the responses are the same general non-commital "eh", meaning you can basically be nothing but an asshole to everyone in the guild and yet they'll treat you generally the same. Though I must stress, it is much better than Oblivion, where you weren't even the main character, or Fallout 3.

Now, rambling aside. Time to rate how much it is worth, in my opinion.


Currently on steam, you can purchase Skyrim for $60.00

I personally enjoy this game quite a lot, and with the modding community attached to it, it is easily worth sixty dollars. Though if you can't afford it, wait for a sale or the Game of the year edition.

~
E-Tank