The fifth and final add-on for Fallout 3 introduced something that nobody saw coming: aliens. (Or, more appropriately, Zetans.) I firmly believe that Fallout 4 will see the return of these hostile extraterrestrials in an upcoming piece of downloadable content. From the unknown nature of these creatures to the borderline unfinished story of Mothership Zeta to the Zetans’ current existence in Fallout 4, the Commonwealth seems incredibly prepared to receive a hostile alien invasion in the months to come. Let’s take a look at what we know – or rather, don’t know.
The Existence of the Zetans
What, exactly, do we know about the aliens of the Fallout universe? We know that they are ponderous, beaming several generations of people for study into Mothership Zeta in the Fallout 3 add-on. We also know that they have extremely advanced weaponry which has made an appearance in Fallout 4. That’s about all we know.
Therefore, with so many questions to be answered, it seems only logical to include a new Zeta-esque DLC for the Fallout series. Through the study of existing notes and computer terminals, players have weeded out the true origins and history behind a lot of the series’ main contenders such as Vault-Tec, The Brotherhood of Steel, and more, but without more information, the Zetans are lost on us.
Here I’ll give a brief of example of what we currently don’t know of the Zetans. Where do they come from? Are they nomadic? How many are there? What is the extent of their weapon power? What is their mission? Are they actually hostile or do they only attack us because we’re always “that a**hole who appears out of nowhere and started shooting”? Just think, those were only a couple of the ideas that popped into my brain.
Fallout‘s History with the Zetans
Way back before Fallout 4, Bethesda had players tangling with alien lifeforms in, or rather above, the Capital Wasteland of Fallout 3. If you missed that juicy bit of downloadable content it’s time for a recap!
So, here we are, the Lone Wanderer, just walking around and minding our own business when we suddenly receive a strange radio transmission. Being the wonderful wasteland savior that we are, we decide to investigate. When we arrive at the signal’s broadcast location: a crashed alien recon craft. On our approach, we are suddenly beamed up to the alien Mothership Zeta orbiting Earth above the Capital Wasteland.
The player is then subject to a good alien probing and locked up with previous patients. After the Lone Wanderer’s arrival the “inmates” stage an escape and begin their assault on the ship. In the climax of the first stage of the DLC, we get to use an old, dead astronaut’s garb to perform a spacewalk and access a teleporter, bringing us to the next part of the ship.
The Zetans try to scare us by firing their Death Ray, but let’s be honest: we’re the Lone Wanderer and we’re out of f**ks to give. Long story short, we slaughter every alien aboard and use the Death Ray to destroy another approaching alien vessel.
I don’t know about you guys, but if I was a Zetan that got wind of this genocide, I would be pretty pissed. As I mentioned above, we don’t know how large the Zetans’ forces are. They could send hundreds of thousands of Motherships in retaliation (if we, the players, are lucky).
Zetans in Fallout 4
Believe it or not, the Zetans have already made an appearance in Fallout 4. Though it seems little more than an Easter Egg to some, I think it’s this inclusion that drives home my DLC theory. As you can read in GameSkinny’s 5 Best Fallout 4 Weapons and Where to Find Them, the Alien Blaster Pistol is retrievable in the Commonwealth of Fallout 4.
After reaching level 20, a streak of light burns through the sky and you are prompted by your companion to investigate. Upon arrival at the crash site, seasoned Fallout players are gifted with a familiar site: a crashed Zetan recon craft. There’s no, “Beam me up, Scotty!” this time, though, just a trail of green blood leading to a nearby cave.
As the new and improved Sole Survivor of Fallout 4, with love in our heart (supposedly) you’d think we’d go in, stitch up this poor intergalactic traveler’s wounds, maybe have a cup of tea and call AAA for him right? Maybe if we had, we could’ve learned a bit about him and his kind. As you probably assumed, being the savage we are, we slaughter the poor, helpless bugger and steal all of his shit – go humanity!
Here’s where things get interesting though: the Alien Blaster Pistol uses unique AB Rounds and is entirely modifiable. Once the “Science!” perk is upgraded, the blaster can be given a new grip, optics, barrel, and firing mechanism. Originally coming with between 300 and 500 AB Rounds (depending on how long it took you to kill the poor guy), the blaster can’t be used after the rounds are depleted, unless you change the firing mechanism allowing fusion cells to be used instead.
Some may argue that the optional fusion cell use counteracts my argument, but the mods are what get me excited. When people start playing with Alien Blaster improvements, they’ll want more. They’ll want Alien Blaster Rifles and a whole new line of AB weaponry. They’ll want the return of the Alien Disintegrator and Atomizer. Bethesda is often good at delivering what the player base wants, and dagnabbit we (or at least I) want aliens!
What do you think of a possible Fallout 4 Zetan invasion? Share your thoughts in the comments!
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