After a 24 hour countdown gimmick, Bethesda Softworks has finally released the first official trailer for the highly anticipated Fallout 4:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GE2BkLqMef4

The landmarks confirm it is set in and around the Fallout universe’s post-apocalyptic version of Boston, an area referred to as the Commonwealth in previous entries in the franchise.  Notable landmarks that appear to have survived the nuclear holocaust include the Massachusetts State House, the Paul Revere Monument, Fenway Park, and Old Ironsides herself, the USS Constitution, which looks to have been transformed into an airship or something of that nature.

Naturally some grumbling has ensued already.  One of the more frequent complaints popping up around the web is that the graphics look too much like a last-generation game rather than something as new as this. Since this is early in-game footage, it’s tough to say how it’ll look when it’s ultimately released, but nothing in the trailer struck me as detrimental enough to hamper enjoying the gameplay.  It’s also possible that Bethesda chose to sacrifice some graphical fidelity to create a bigger and better world for the game, which is usually preferable to a really pretty hallway.

Then there are the other kinds of complaints:

https://twitter.com/mylittlepwnies3/status/606114290542772225

I love when people attack for a point you weren't making. I know Fallout has customisation. Generic male stereotype template is problematic!

— Matt Andre (@MattAndre) June 3, 2015

Note to Bethesda: as big of a deal as the Fallout 4 trailer is, just imagine the press you'd be getting right now if it had starred a woman.

— Galarian Holly Green (@winnersusedrugs) June 3, 2015

Considering that trailer appeared to star a dog and everyone’s talking about it anyway, probably not much more than they’re already getting.

They even acknowledge that, if the previous games in the series are any indication, Fallout 4 will almost certainly have full character customization so people can play as whatever they like, meaning that these complaints are just about which particular character model they chose to round off the end of the trailer.  We’re at the point where the trailers have to fill quotas for minorities now.

Also that suggestion is terribly ironic considering what happened to Ubisoft when they decided to note the fact that they had a female protagonist in the ads for their new game.  If Bethesda had featured a female character at the end instead, she no doubt would’ve had the wrong body type and therefore reinforced negative images of women.

Anyway, much to my everlasting shame as a gamer I have not had the pleasure of playing the previous Fallout titles, but since this one is set pretty close to home I’m definitely interested in picking it up when it ultimately comes out.  How about you, gamers of the HotAir comments section?

Fallout 4 will be available for PS4, Xbox One, and PC and is expected to release sometime in late 2015.  You can pre-order it at Amazon already, if you are so inclined.