For those that somehow managed to miss it, Bethesda finally announced one of the most anticipated games of all time, Fallout 4. The hype machine began rolling the other day with a countdown site serving as a precursor to the game's official announcement and first trailer, the latter of which effectively broke the Internet.
With the release of the trailer, fans of the post-apocalyptic franchise no longer have to live in a world where Fallout 4 is an uncertainty. Over the years, the game has been the topic of much speculation, with supposedly "leaked" info keeping fans hungry for more. Bethesda will satiate that hunger during their first ever E3 press conference for sure, but in the meantime, it's time to look back at some of that leaked information, compare it to the trailer, and attempt to verify or discredit it.
One of the first rumors about Fallout 4 was that the game was set in Boston. This rumor came about amidst reports that Bethesda had sent people to scout on location in Boston itself, and later was given even more credence when leaked script pages backed up the Boston setting. As we know by the trailer, this rumor has turned out to be factual.
With at least one Fallout 4 rumor proven to be true, it opens the door for other rumors and leaked information about the game to be taken more seriously. One of the game's biggest leaks, if the information is true (which it very well might not be, so take this information with a massive grain of salt until Bethesda confirms or denies it), came from an ex-employee that was fired and wanted to exact revenge by spilling the beans on Fallout 4 via Reddit.
So let's take a look at what the user, going by the name SandraReed on Reddit, claimed about Fallout 4 when they took to the Internet for their tirade nearly one year ago. First of all, they back up the Boston setting, though that could easily be them simply trying to add legitimacy to the other claims made in the Reddit post.
SandraReed goes on to make some statements that appear to be outlandish, but could at the same time very well be true. They say that in Fallout 4 players will not have a choice between gender until after they finish the story, at which point they are allowed to alter the gender of the protagonist from male to female if they so choose. This would be a significant departure from Bethesda's other games, which have all, for the most part, allowed users to select whatever gender they wish and greatly customize their character beyond that as well.
Forcing players to play as a male would be incredibly controversial, and likely draw the ire of many gamers. However, as long as it makes sense within the context of the story, and not just some arbitrary restriction, it may be best to just let Bethesda tell the story the way they want to tell it. After all, SandraReed claims that players are able to switch genders once the story is completed, so perhaps the gender of the protagonist is a central component of the plot at hand, but becomes irrelevant once the story concludes.
There was a similar controversy in regards to South Park: The Stick of Truth when it was revealed that players could only be male in that game despite it allowing character customization, but anyone that has played it knows that it likely wouldn't have made sense to allow the main character to be female.
When SandraReed originally took to Reddit, more than just their claims of gender restrictions seemed strange or like long shots at the time, but have now been more or less confirmed. SandraReed claimed that we'd see the first trailer for Fallout 4 in June of 2015, and as it turns out, they were right. They also point to the full game's release being in October of 2015, which seems crazy since the game has just been announced, but the Bethesda Store itself (before it was updated) actually listed the game for a TBA 2015 release.
The Reddit post also mentions last-gen versions of the game, which at the time didn't make sense, as 2015 would be a full two years into the life cycle of the eighth generation consoles. However, there is evidence now backing up that claim, as the CSS code in the Fallout 4 teaser site mentions both the Xbox 360 and PS3. Bethesda hasn't made any mention of last-gen versions, but SandraReed claims they're coming in December of this year, a couple months after the current-gen versions launch.
In the conclusion of the Reddit post, SandraReed lays out a "road map" of Bethesda's plans for Fallout 4 for the rest of the year and beyond. This is what they claim:
- June 2015 - Fallout 4 reveal at E3, trailer only
- July 2015 - First gameplay trailers
- August 2015 - More information
- October 2015 - PS4/Xbox One/PC release
- November 2015 - First DLC
- December 2015 - Second DLC, as well as PS3/360 version release
- January 2016 - Third DLC
- March 2016 - Fourth DLC
- April 2016 - Fifth and final DLC
- June 2016 - Fallout spinoff revealed, in development by Behaviour Interactive
- October 2016 - Fallout spinoff released for PS4/Xbox One/PC
The many claims made by Reddit user SandraReed could be lucky guesses, and not all the leaked information has been confirmed by the new trailer. However, there is evidence backing up at least some of the claims (which were made 11 months ago, remember) and so one has to wonder if the other rumors posted by the angry ex-Bethesda employee have a chance of being true. Thankfully, we won't have to wait long to find out, as Bethesda is planning to bring Fallout 4 to gaming's show of shows, E3, in just a couple of weeks.
Fallout 4 is coming to PC, PS4, and Xbox One. No release date or window has been confirmed by Bethesda, but expect more information on that front in a couple of week's at E3.
Source: Destructoid, Reddit