Fallout 4 trailer breakdown: Boston, dogmeat, and a voice

Here we go!

Fallout 4 is official, and there's a pretty lengthy trailer to go with the announcement. A three-second Doom teaser this isn't, leaving us with much more to analyze, as we like to do. The main thing to know: it takes place in Boston, and we presumably begin as a resident of Vault 111.

There's lots more to see, though, and I've pulled the most important stills so we can dig into them. Notice anything I missed? Add your wiki-like knowledge to the comments and we'll figure out everything we can together.

It’s All Over But The Crying

Fallout 3 was first teased with "I Don't Want To Set The World On Fire" playing on a Radiation King radio, and this time the song is "All Over But The Crying" by the same group, The Ink Spots. And instead of a radio, it's a Radiation King brand TV—like the original Fallout intro. So far, so Fallout.

Dogmeat!

Aw, who's a good little irradiated boy? Yes you are! It's pretty clear Dogmeat will be a companion, as expected.

Back to the future-past

The Fallout games take place many years after The Great War in 2077, when the world was nuked to oblivion. Throughout the trailer we flash back to pre-war society. As usual, it's as if retrofuturistic visions from the early 20th century came to pass, with a Mister Handy here that looks more like it was designed to stab you than serve cereal. It'll probably stab you.

War. War never changes.

After that, our canine friend wanders around being a sad puppy, and we flash back again to see the mad dash to the vault before the nukes go off. It looks to be guarded by the Enclave, the main antagonists in Fallout 2 and Fallout 3. (Edit: Or not the Enclave, that was premature. I'm assuming that they are the wartime US government/military, which funded the Vault project, though their connection to any faction doesn't really matter—this was in 2077. They're pretty dead.)

The Enclave is what's left of the US government after the war, and is generally obsessed with wiping out mutants. The Brotherhood of Steel, meanwhile, is an order from the west cost, which traveled across the continent and set up shop in the Pentagon. The groups clash in Fallout 3, and it's unclear what happened to the Enclave after that, but I expect both factions will play a role in Fallout 4.

Vault 111

Our new home, at least for as long as it takes to get through character creation and tutorials.

Outside the vault

Remember stepping out of the vault for the first time in Fallout 3? I think I gasped audibly. The scope of it was just incredible to me.

That, I'm afraid, was in 2008. Today's awe-equivalent, for me, is VR—that's still fresh and amazing every time I try it—whereas giant worlds and pretty vistas are now commonplace. Still, I think Fallout 4 looks nice. It's not the most impressive-looking game I've seen recently, but I like that it doesn't look too good to be true. As in, I'm hopeful that we won't have another 'downgrade' controversy.

Bunker Hill Monument

A clear view of the Bunker Hill Monument tells us, without a doubt, that we're in Boston.

Old Ironsides

Another bit of Boston, this looks like the USS Constitution, except with what appear to be rocket engines. Huh.

Scollay Square

I think this is my favorite clip because it looks the least Fallout-ey. Not that I don't like Fallout. I love Fallout. But amid all of the totally welcome more-of-the-same, I'm happy to see something that looks oddly noir-ish mixed in. Also, the colors, Duke! Remember how oppressively yellow Fallout 3 was?

Super Mutants

Looks like a couple of Super Mutants to me. No big surprise there.

Oh, this is pretty

This is just nice to look at, with more primary colors on display. The dry grass has a nice look to it, too, and I like the design of the Protectron.

Ack!

Eek! This looks like a new Deathclaw. This frame also shows us some nice diffused lighting, a definite upgrade over Fallout 3's Gamebryo tech.

Eek!

Ack! Angry ghouls.

Vertibird

It seems that The Brotherhood of Steel are in control here (speculating), though the Enclave is your typical Vertibird user. Most importantly: will we get to fly one of these things? That'd be neat, but it feels like a small chance.

Speaking of the Brotherhood, though, they're pretty into collecting technology, so I bet we get to visit The Institute, also known as MIT, and maybe meet some androids?

Edit: Maybe The Institute itself is control?

Fenway Park

I can't quite tell if we're inside, or outside, Fenway Park here. Pretty sure we're inside, as the previous shot is of its now-armored exterior. The stadium looks be a settlement called Diamond City.

Paul Revere statue

Here we can clearly see the Paul Revere Monument. Yep, we get it, it's in Boston. There is nothing else in this image worth noting. Certainly nothing behind the statue.

Massachusetts State House

Here's the Massachusetts State House and a nice view of the city.

Boom!

We flash back again, and not everyone was lucky enough to make it into the vault. At this point, I have to wonder if these flashbacks are just part of the teaser, or if there's more to them. If you head a few screens back to the Scollay Square slide, you'll notice something called the "Memory Den." Is it just a bar, or something else?

Nuka Cola

Of course there's a Nuka Cola machine.

Brotherhood of Steel power armor

That's what that is, I assume. Edit: Could be wrong, as some commenters have pointed out, as the BoS isn't the only one with power armor. Looks like their armor to me, though.

More interestingly, is this some kind of player home? A staging area? Somewhere to craft? The bobblehead suggests it's our hideout, or one of them.

"Let's go pal"

The most surprising thing about the trailer isn't something you see. At the end, the vault dweller—us—speaks. Fallout protagonists don't talk! Well, not audibly, anyway. Now, maybe this was just for the trailer, but it could indicate that the character is voiced this time. If that's the case, I have to assume we'll still get lots of dialogue options, and that there'll be a female voice as well. If I assumed anything else, I'd be very sad.

It's all speculation for now, though. We'll know more after Bethesda’s E3 Showcase on June 14th, when we'll see "the world premiere of the game."

So, what'd I miss?