Approaching the Besthesda booth, we note a large Vault Door leading to Fallout 4‘s demo space. I wasn’t sure what to expect, since the E3 reveal had shown no gameplay, but I was in for a pleasant surprise. Bethesda have correctly and thankfully realized there will be huge interest and have built a cinema to accommodate, there’s easily 200 people inside… and it’s in German. Great.

We weren’t allowed to take any photos or video of the footage unfortunately, but I will describe it as best I can.

Fallout 4 Demonstration

At the start of the reel, an “explainer” cartoon showcased strength and the Pip-Boy, demonstrating the return of Specials. You can choose multiple perks based on the core special, and you will see a skill tree that is represented as a Vault Tec pamphlet.

After that, the gameplay demonstration begun, with a strong focus around the different weapons of the game, how they worked and what effects they could cause. Obviously this is a huge part of the game, but it was really disappointing not to really see much else. I will say though that the combat looked fun and we definitely wanted to go play some Fallout 3 afterwards to scratch that rekindled itch.

The familiar Wasteland world surrounds you, but this time it looks somewhat less brown, with some more vibrancy. You will find yourself balancing your food/water/radiation meter, and issuing several commands to Dogmeat.

The demo focused a lot on the VATS system, that is now at will, and on and hitting enemies in specific body parts to create various effects, something that has been a staple of the franchise since its inception. Although it felt new and exciting to see an enemy’s arm or leg blown off and watch them limp along or crawl, it didn’t feel different enough from the previous game to warrant so much focus. It’s still awesome to watch, but like in Fallout 3, it simply isn’t so cool after the 50th time or so.

A particularly stunning set piece was shown, during one battle sequence the player was fighting various powerful enemies at once and looked done for. Out of nowhere a Brotherhood dropship appeared and dropped two Knights right next to the player, who immediately went to work taking out the enemies in Power Armored fashion (literally). Suddenly there was an explosion, as the dropship was shot down and crash landed into a nearby building causing massive damage and the building to all but collapse. Pieces of it fell on enemies and barely missed the player. A Behemoth, standing nearly 20m tall, came charging at one of the Knights and the player promptly pulled out his Fat Boy and dispatched in. The poor Brotherhood Knight was caught in the explosion and was never heard from again.

One thing I want to draw particular attention to is: using the environment during combat. While the environment has always been a huge part of the series, it wasn’t very included in combat. In Fallout 4 there is a big emphasis on defeating your opponent by being creative, not just shooting him in the face more. During the demo the player shot some exploding tanks that absolutely annihilated his enemy into tiny bits that flew all over. This caused a fire that then caused further explosions and carnage. This is something the game badly needed and I feel like it will help keep the combat fresh and exciting as you trek through the wastland.

Random Observations

• The Wasteland looks more beautiful than it has ever been. The graphics are gorgeous and make the world feel more realistic and lifelike than ever before. I can’t wait to see more of the world.
• Combat is nearly identical to Fallout 3. They have not changed the formula much. You still have Action Points that replenish over time that allow you to use V.A.T.S. You can still fight without it, like any other shooter. The HUD is extremely similar as well.
• Radiation seems to be handled a bit differently this time around. Your Health is shown by a bar on the lower left and when you get radiated your HP bar starts filling with red for each point of Radiation you have, reducing your Max Health by the radiated amount.
• Many of the weapons in the previous title are returned, including the fan favorite Fat Boy, which looked even more awesome. The mini nukes fired whistle as they fly into the destination, giving you that moment of “Oh Shit!” as you realize what’s about to happen.
• Many of the same Perks from the previous games return, along side new ones, but they are handled a little bit differently this time around. There is now a Perk Skill Tree and every Perk has ranks that allow for improving it.
• You can hold your breath while sniping.
• Comics return as collectibles again.

And that’s all we have for this title for now, as there were no hands-on opportunities or new assets released. We expect more information to be revealed soon, as the game is due in just a few months!

Visit the Fallout 4 Wiki

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