Dissecting the Fallout 4 Reveal Trailer
June 3, 2015
Fallout 4 is finally here! With Bethesda’s world premiere of the first trailer for the much anticipated game, Fallout fans around the world can now look forward to returning to the wasteland – and this time it’s in Boston.
The trailer may be a mere 3 minutes long, but there’s plenty of information hidden throughout. There are hints to locations you’ll be visiting, factions you’ll be fighting with (or for), and enemies you’ll encounter in Beantown. We at GCE poured over the trailer for these clues to better understand the wasteland of Fallout 4, and we now present our findings to you.
The video starts out with a look at a home in an assumed suburb of Boston. The video glitches between present-day and past, showing us glimpses of the shiny world right before nuclear fallout. There’s a Mister Handy, Sugar Bombs, and rocket paraphernalia everywhere. We’re also first introduced to a furry friend, which indicates that once again players will have the ability to add companions along the way, including dogs. However, the focal point here is the crib, which our four-legged pal gives a sniff as if he recognizes a smell. Could this place be the ancestral home of the game’s protagonist?
We’re then treated to scenes of this Boston suburb and the surrounding area as they glitch between past and present again. It seems that nuclear war is imminent, and people are rushing to claim their place in a vault. However, as any Fallout fan can tell you, that doesn’t always go as planned, and it appears as if people are being left out of the vault.
What happens next is a sequence of shots that give clues about locations, factions, weapons, and more in Fallout 4. After our dweller emerges from Vault 111 (a new vault never seen or mentioned before in the series), we’re given our first location at the 1’37” mark: Bunker Hill Monument.
Right after that at the 1’39” mark we catch a glimpse of the USS Constitution, which is stationed at Charlestown Navy Yard, across the Charles River from downtown Boston (which is close to the Bunker Hill Monument). And are those rocket pods we see attached to the old naval vessel? Could this be a futuristic warship? Or is it just a relic of the past that merely looks different given the alternate reality of Fallout? I guess we’ll have to wait and see.
There’s no time to blink as at the 1’41” mark we’re treated with a look at our first city, and after some research this appears to be Scollay Square (as indicated by the building on the left), our first location in downtown Boston. And are our eyes deceiving us, or is that the Mysterious Stranger we see? Who knows, but this looks like a bit of a slum town given the dank surroundings and the overall creepy look of the place.
Further along, starting at the 1’43’ mark, we get quick shots of the wasteland, including a caravan, some Brotherhood of Steel members, and a Protectron. We also get a shot of what appears to be a Mirelurk, and what must certainly be a Deathclaw (so we’ve got that to look forward to). However, contrasting with the BOS members is a Vertibird, which could mean that we’ll also be seeing the Enclave in Boston (more on that later). Oh, and there are definitely feral ghouls in your future.
At the 1’50” mark is perhaps the grandest location seen in the trailer. Baseball fans will recognize the green building as the famous Fenway Park. However, our time with Fenway is cut short as at the 1’51” mark we’re given a new scene…or is it?
Before we get too far, let’s focus on that Eyebot for a second – the Eyebot is typically an Enclave robot meant to spread propaganda across the wasteland. Could this new town be run or at least watched closely by the Enclave? Plus, what is this new location? There are plenty of clues as the shot pans up, showing a town with shops and businesses, including Swatters (an assumed weapons store), and the Diamond City Surplus (possibly a general store). Given the look, it appears that this might be a town called Diamond City and OMG THIS IS A CITY INSIDE FENWAY PARK!!!
Not only are the town and it’s businesses baseball themed, but if you look closely near the end of the scene you’ll see a set of lights in the top right corner, which are exactly like those used by stadiums to illuminate the field during night games. Given that the intro shot before the town was that of Fenway and an opening door, it’s safe to guess that Diamond City was built inside Fenway Park. Could this be Fallout 4’s Megaton? Is Fenway run by the Enclave? What remains of the Green Monster in left field? I guess we can only speculate at this time.
After our trip to the ol’ ballpark, we get a glimpse of the Paul Revere Mall at the 1’56” mark. Looming overhead is a giant zeppelin, and near the end of the shot a Vertibird comes into view, possibly indicating again that the Enclave has a firm foothold in Boston.
However, the 2’00” mark gives us a better glimpse of a Brotherhood of Steel member flying out of the city, and if you pause the video just right, you’ll see a billboard for Galaxy News Network (GNN), which could mean the return of everyone’s favorite DJ, Three Dog (AWOOOOOOO!!!). If anything, this indicates that we’ll have radio stations and music to listen to via our Pipboy once again.
The 2’03” mark doesn’t give much except a possible clue as to another landmark you can visit in Boston: the Massachusetts State House. That’s the gold-domed building, and it’s in the downtown Boston area, right near the aforementioned Scollay Square. This is the only gold-domed building I’m aware of in Boston so odds are that’s what we’re seeing.
After seeing some poor folks get blasted by a nuclear detonation after being left out of the vault from the beginning of the trailer, we’re brought back to present-day. Here we see our little doggie sniffing around a building that is revealed to contain Power Armor, various weapons, and other Fallout staples such as a bobblehead and comics. If you pause at the 2’23” mark, you can see all of this in one shot.
Let’s start with some assumptions: players will be able to collect Vault-Tec bobbleheads once again for added perks, they’ll be able to find ability-boosting comics and other reading material through Boston, and the ability to wear the always bulky but highly protective Power Armor typically worn by the Brotherhood of Steel.
But what about that wall of weapons on the left side? Well, it appears there’s a 9MM SMG and a pistol in the bottom right corner of the board. The larger one in the middle looks like a laser rifle, but not as it appeared in Fallout 3. It could be a newer weapon, or a modified laser rifle. Whatever it is, it most definitely takes microfusion cells. As for the weapons above and to the left-hand side, we can’t be sure what they are, although they seem to resemble tesla weapon technology from Fallout 3.
Most importantly, if you back up to the 2’19” mark, you can see another weapon on the floor of the garage, partially covered by a sheet. Peeking out of the sheet appears to be none other than everybody’s favorite meat-grinder, the minigun. With that and the Power Armor, gamers should be prepared to max out their Strength if they want to carry all that death and destruction!
Lastly, starting at the 2’24” mark, we’re introduced to our Lone Wanderer. Our hero is fitted with a Pip-Boy, as well as a Vault 111 suit and a rifle. Not much is revealed about the hero apart from his assumed connection to the home at the beginning of the video, and his headquarters (which is located in a Red Rocket service garage).
Our hero and his companion walk off into the wasteland in search for adventure, and we’re treated to the logo for Fallout 4 before fading to black.
War…war never changes.
There you have it – everything you may have missed in the Fallout 4 premiere trailer. What are your thoughts? Did you catch something we didn’t? Are you as excited as we are about returning to the wasteland? Let us know on Twitter, on Facebook, or in the comments below.
