There's about two months to go before Fallout 4 officially releases, and fans of Bethesda's post-apocalyptic franchise are beside themselves with elation. With the knowledge that the forthcoming sequel's dialogue is more than Skyrim and Fallout 3 combined, anticipation is certainly warranted. Plus, the fact that players will be privy to the experience of fresh gameplay components such as the ability to craft and customize weapons, armor, and settlements should be enough for gamers to hole up in their respective Vaults to wait it out until the title ultimately drops.
Fallout 4's hype train continues dishing out good news, and this time it has a great report for fans who reside in Germany. According to the German site PC Games, Fallout 4 is primed to be completely uncut and uncensored when it's finally released, meaning that all of its features will be available just as Bethesda had intended them to be.
According to the translation care of Google Translate, PC Games' article says:
"Fallout 4 will appear uncut in Germany! As the manufacturer Bethesda tells the apocalyptic RPG appear uncut in Germany. This gives German players with the USK offshoot an identical version in comparison to the versions for the British or American market."
For the uninitiated, the USK is basically Germany's ratings board version of the United States' ESRB, and in the past, the group edited out gameplay aspects in previous Bethesda releases that they considered too violent, such as the carnage of exploding skulls and human dismemberment. In fact, the Bloody Mess perk in Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas only retained the 5% Damage bonus, and took away the German audience's ability to turn enemies into a pile of blasted guts and gore.
While there's really no telling why Fallout 4 is receiving more lax treatment from the USK than prior entries in the series, it's worthy to note that the most recent franchise release for Fallout: New Vegas' Game of the Year Edition in Germany was sold unedited. And since Fallout 4's pretty similar to its precursors, it's more than likely that the German ratings board has decided that the effort to alter or ban violent material in games is a waste of time due to the fact that the Internet provides an avenue for consumers to get almost whatever they want, especially when so many mods are being developed.
Today's announcement regarding the German rating of Fallout 4 is another win for Bethesda and gamers alike, for the anticipation continues to mount as the next trek into the Wasteland draws closer. And if Pete Hines, Bethesda's Vice President of Marketing and PR, is correct in his presumption of the sheer thrill fans are feeling for the title, then his statement that Fallout 4's sales could make it the studio's "biggest release ever" might turn out to be right.
Fallout 4 is set to release on November 10, 2015 for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.