I've never played any of the Fallout titles. Will Fallout 4 be following a story that will basically equate to me entering a movie halfway through? Thanks for any info.

No each game stands on its own.

They'll probably be some references to 3 or other games in the series but they're not a big deal. Just easter egg type things.

Although we don't know any of the story, it would be unlikely.

New cast, new location, etc. It's basically the difference between the original Star Trek and, say, Star Trek The Next Generation, or Star Trek Voyager. Having prior knowledge helps understand the universe it's set in, but not required to enjoy it.

Probably not, but i would recommend playing FO3 and New Vegas to get into the lore and see what you can expect from this future title. If that is not an option for you i don't think you'll miss much other than a few easter eggs.

All Fallout titles have been stand-alone games, you don't have to play the previous games to understand the new ones.

I recommend playing the original Fallout to truly understand the Fallout series and setting; but it's not required. Each game does a great job of explaining itself to the fullest.

While I recommend any gamer to play FO1 and 2 because they give an overall great experience, I recommend you play 3 to know BETHESDA's take on the lore- their way of telling the story.
So when you play FO4 it'll either be "Oh. Well I expected that to happen anyway..." or "Wow! That's a massive improvement over 3!!!"

I don't think almost any game does this nowadays.

Fallout 3 is what I consider to be one of the greatest creations of humanity. But then I am biased towards it since it helped me through such a rough spot in my life in 2009.

Doesn't look like you'll need knowledge of Fallout 3 to understand whats going on, Beth games are kinda self contained like that, but I would suggest atleast giving it a go at some point. If you get it on PC be warned that you're going to need to do a fair bit of fixes to get it to run on post-XP operating systems. They aren't that hard, just that editing .ini files can be kinda scary if you don't know exactly what you are doing.

You don't need to play Fallout 3, but you really should. It's a fantastic game.

I think you will be fine without playing other Fallout games before. It would help to get more of a vibe on the lore and setting of the game. It might actually help to play the game for the first time without knowing anything of the lore and experience it for the first time like your character.

I am trying to do that by not reading too much in the story or looking too much at the trailers and such. The first time playing the game only happens once and I find it better if I experience it playing and not watching a demo or such.

No, each game is stand alone, however, I recommend playing all the other Fallout's. . .well 1,2,3, and NV modded on PC if possible.

Thanks to this awesome YouTube channel you do NOT have to play any previous Fallout game just to understand the Lore.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7pGJQV-jlzD17YNNbt103xp0PkkUCoPU

But... you would be missing out.

It is going to be its own story, that will probably have some small references to Fallout 3 but you aren't going to be confused about any thing if you haven't played any of the previous games.

My first Fallout game was Fallout 3, and while some bits of it were confusing at first, I was able to enjoy the game.

Just check out the link KC posted and use the Fallout wiki and you should be fine.

I'm sure you won't have to play 3 to enjoy Fallout 4. You may not understand some of the references to the other games. FONV had a ton of references to the originals, some very obvious and others I bet many may miss.

I second this, especially the part in red. You do not need to do so, but you might want to. It will at least give you an idea of the series as Bethesda sees it. Fallout 3 is supposed to come with Fallout 4 pre-orders on Xbox One and will be playable on your One.

I doubt it. all the FO game stood on their own. But all reference NPC's and actions taken in the other game. But you have time. Why not play FO3 and then FONV now?

Hell I'm not even expecting a peep about the Glorified Britta Filter, to be honest.

I think you're good, OP.

BUT, if you're up for some reading, go browse the official Wiki for Fallout, get acquainted with the lingo and factions and events.

Here's all you really need to know: The USA as we know it has sorta been stuck in a 1950's aesthetic(not sure this is true for the rest of the world) and ideals but technology has continued advance. This has lead to the construction of various robots and the advent of laser and plasma weapons(along with power armor). The USA has been waging a war on Communism and an actual war with China. This escalating war led to all parties involved eventually dropping atomic bombs on each other. Those not sheltered by vaults or killed by the blasts would go on to become Ghouls and eventually either become feral or stay sane. Since all Fallout games have taken place in America, it isn't known how the rest of the world has fared since the bombs fell.

To add:

- The Vaults were never meant to save everyone. Most of them were social experiments on the inhabitants who were 'lucky' to get a place in one of the Vaults.

- Super Mutants were people who had been infected by the FEV virus from either being dipped or in another way. The Western Super Mutants managed to hold on to their former intelligence. Few centuries ago or so, the Master led an army of Super Mutants to try and make a new world for Mutants only. He has since been defeated. The Mutants on the East, however, as far as we know, are the typical "BWAHAHAHA DIE STUPID HUMAN BWAHAHAHAHA!!! TOO FUN!!!" brainless types. These Mutants originated from Vault 86.

- Brotherhood of Steel- Mainly want to collect pre-War tech. The Eastern chapter split off to actually help people.

- Enclave- Former US government. Want to purge the land of mutants to rebuild America.

- Institute- A bunch of super rich scientists from Boston (where Fallout 4 takes place) that creates Synthetic androids, treat them like crap and are surprised when the Synths don't like that. The Synths run to...

- The Railroad. Basically think of the Underground Railroad from real American history, except this time, the slaves are Synthetic androids. Kind of offensive if you ask me, but whatever.

Actually we don't know much about the Institute. We only meet one guy who is like you say. We don't know about the other guys from the Institute.

And to add... the Institute is the MIT - Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

*Cough* East coast super mutants are from vault 87 *Cough*

If you dont think you can or ever will get around to playing FO3 Then read the fallout wiki article for the quest "The Replicated Man", that should introduce you tp the more important plot elements in FO4