Fallout 4, Fallout: London, was announced in June of 2021, causing quite a stir in the Fallout fanbase. The gameplay trailer dropped on May 18, 2022, garnering over 100,000 views and counting.
Lead by Dean Carter, the mod goes beyond the United States and introduces new factions, enemies, and allies. Plus, the video made it seem that there will be some kind of mystery/conspiracy players will have to watch out for, adding depth to the mod. Time to break down what was shown and see what's in store.
Intro Narration
The Fallout series is known for setting the mood and tone of their games right from the beginning, and this mod is no different. The intro starts and ends by saying the iconic line, "War. War never changes." Narrated by Jeff Ison, he speaks of the history of war as an old slideshow plays. Not only do viewers learn that the London Bridge was destroyed, but there are also different factions that rose up all over London post-disaster.
A Tommie military (slang for a common British soldier) and an aristocratic parliament are the least of the potential problems. There's the 5th Column, a group of people engaging in espionage/sabotage within their country, in the borough of Tower Hamlets, lead by Eve Varney. Past the Thames in Richmond, a different army trains for battle; the new Knights of Camelot. How significant these groups are going to be in the game remains to be seen.
Fallout Shelters
Underground shelters in the UK aren't called Vaults, another first for the series. These Vaults might not be numbered or even made by Vault-Tec. People instead took shelter in Pindar Stations, which function the same way. Historically, there were a number of these underground bunkers built during the Second World War and the Cold War, mostly in central London. One of the important ones is actually called Pindar, also known as Defense Crisis Management Centre.
It's located in Whitehall, buried deep under the Ministry of Defense. Carter and his team really did their research. Vaults usually hold interesting items to find and/or monstrous creatures to fight. There's no telling if the in-game Pindar Stations will be accessible for exploration, but time will tell.
Attributes
Half the fun of Fallout is customizing the player, from physical appearance to personality traits. The mod is no different, providing face shape, skin color, body type, and extra body marks. Adding more depth to the player is attribute points, which can be spaced out between seven attributes. An easy way to these attributes is with an acronym: S.P.E.C.I.A.L. This stands for strength, perception, endurance, charisma, intelligence, agility, and luck.
There are twenty-one points to start with, and it's the player's choice as to where those points go. How many points in an attribute determines different things. For example, how many strength points there are affects how much the player can carry and the damage of melee attacks, while endurance affects health and action point drain when sprinting. Needless to say players are going to need to be strategic.
Traits
In addition to attributes, players get to choose two traits for their character out of twelve. Traits include acrobat, chem head, claustrophobic, four eyes, gifted, heavy handed, hoarder, kamikaze, night owl, numbskull, puritan, and sleepwalker. Each trait provides something positive and negative to the player.
The acrobat trait, for example, gives an additional 10% of movement speed but then the player loses 50 lbs. of carrying capacity. With the heavy handed trait, melee and unarmed attacks have 20% more damage but power attacks do nothing. Again, players will have to be strategic with their selections. This does mean the game can be replayed, however.
POV
Most Fallout games allow players to switch between different points of view, depending on how they like to play. With the first-person POV in the mod, players feel like they are their character, seeing the world through their eyes. The first thing the player sees is them suspended in a tube of green liquid being examined by two scientists, voiced by two Doctor Who alumni. The voice acting really draws the player into the story.
With third-person POV, players are a bit detached but can see more of the environment. There's a lot of detail to take in. Dim overhead lights, surrounded by walls of steel, the ground shaking due to explosions, all make for an immersive experience. Here's hoping the rest of the game will feel similar.
Lab Break-In
The action has to get started somehow, no matter where the player is. What gets things going here is when a group of armed men blast a hole in the lab and shoot the scientists. A lot of questions arise from this: who are those men? Why were they breaking in? What did they want? And, most importantly, why did they let the player live?
It's some time before the player encounters them a second time when they're in an elevator. Whether they got what they came for or not, they're making a hasty exit, barely acknowledging the player as they leave. There's a chance the player will see these armed men again on a later, more terrifying quest; what their role is remains to be seen.
Creature Rewards
Quite a few games give rewards when the player kills a creature/monster. Fallout is known for this as well, and the mod gameplay trailer gives a glimpse of what to expect when the player needs to fight. The first enemy encounter is with small but dangerous Radshrews, which look like hairless rats.
Since the player doesn't have any weapons yet, they have to strike with their hands. Once the Radshrews are dead, some rewards they drop consist of their meat, their teeth, the infamous bottle cap currency, and other items. This begs the question, what will the bigger monsters have?
Hand-Held Device
While the player is trying to find their way out of the lab, they happen upon a device. This device looks to be important, based on what shows up on its screen. There are stats, inventory, data, map, and radio, along with health points and action points. Checking it often will keep players up to date on themselves.
Not only does this device store information, it also opens certain doors. There might be places the player can only access with their device. Hopefully, there won't be a situation where it gets lost. It may not have a specific name yet, but this device is sure to be useful in the long run.
Mr. Smythe
The plot thickens when a man appears on a big screen and addresses the player. He's well-dressed and his face is featureless, speaking politely. It's obvious he doesn't think much of the player, however. He calls them Wayfarer, possibly hinting at what the player will be called throughout the game.
There's a good chance Mr. Smythe's going to be the villain, and yet he opened the way for the player before his feed cut out. Who is he and what does he want? And who does he work for? There's more to London than meets the eye.
Mind The Gap
This phrase was repeated multiple times throughout the gameplay trailer, adding more mystery to the story. This could mean a number of things; an actual gap in the earth somewhere in London, a gap between people, meaning something metaphorical, and so on. The possibilities are endless.
The player might even meet others who know the significance of the phrase. Or be attacked for asking about it. Regardless, whether it's something sinister or not remains to be seen.
