Vault Dwellers and Sole Survivors, grab your pip-boys and hope that you’ve invested enough in your Science and assorted Crafting skills! The first DLC for Fallout 4, “The Automatron” has a release date and a shiny, explosion filled trailer to set it off!
There is plenty of information that we can extract from this trailer, but here is the short list from the Bethesda blog announcement:
What we know overall is that there will be plenty of robots to blow apart, robot parts to scavenge and reassemble into our own super robo-companion, and we will witness the return of “The Mechanist.” If you haven’t invested in the “Science!” or “Robotics Expert” perks yet, you may want to get on that if you’re going to be playing this DLC!
Trailer Breakdown
There are a few things we can deduce from this trailer. Starting from the beginning here are the main points that provide new insight in to this first DLC:
“This is the third time we’ve been attacked by robots like these.”
In the opening sequence, this line is delivered by a female robotic voice as the camera pans over some robots not yet seen in Fallout 4 and a warehouse where several robots are in the middle of production. By adding the words, “like these” to the end of that line, it is established that this is an ongoing problem. When we enter this DLC, we will not be witnessing these events from the beginning – rather, it is a problem already in progress.
“It’s time to uncover their source and confront their leader.”
As these lines are spoken, again by the female robotic voice, we see a few more robots and the opening of a vault door. Since the voice is asserting that we “confront their leader,” we can safely assume that the source of this voice is not that of The Mechanist nor the Robo-Brain. Quite possibly, it could be that of an NPC ally or contact with the name “Automatron”, given the female gender of the title depending on how the title is pronounced. This time when we view more robots, we begin to see some robo-splicing, such as a Protectron’s head atop a Sentry Bot’s body.
Robotic Frankenstein Monsters
Moving along, we get to see our first glimpse of the robotic creation station in action. Much like our Power Armor station, the Robot station will allow us to swap out parts of various scavenged robot limbs and pieces in order to splice together our own creations. It has been stated several times that we will be creating our own robotic companions, so this is where it will be happening.
“You see junk. I see the building blocks of life. Mine in particular.”
When this line is spoken in an androgynous robotic voice, we get to view more customizations and possible combinations for our robotic companions. Indeed, our possibilities will be vast and potentially devastating! What is not shown is the source of this voice. Perhaps the “devious Robobrain” that was described in the DLC announcement post?
Robots. Lots of them.
The following series of sequences show off quite a bit of robotic combat. Looks like we’ll be able to play Mad Scientist and swap out literally any robot piece with that of another in-game robot. Mr. Handy thrusters with a Sentrybot arm cannon? Why not!? Assaultron legs with Protectron arms? Do it up!
Chain Lightning Gun
Around the 0:50 mark, we get to see the all-new Lightning Chain Gun in action as it arcs across several advancing robots. We may not have asked for a such a weapon, but that certainly does not mean we won’t be eager to mod it to new heights!
“Now you’ll face the full might of The Mechanist!”
At last we get to see The Mechanist in his full glory, flanked by an Eye-bot. Looks like he retained his original costume, if he is in fact the original Mechanist from Fallout 3. As the camera pans out for an epic crowd shot, we see a sample of his robotic army laid out in a menacing formation.
Automatron Release Info
The Automatron DLC will be available for download for the Xbox One, Playstation 4, and PC on March 22, 2016. It will be available for season pass holders, or for the price of $9.99 USD, £7.99 GBP, or $14.95 AUD.
