Speaking about Fallout 4's shooter mechanics in June, Howard said they will*improve upon what was seen in Fallout 3. The shooting system in that game was very "meh," Howard said at the time.
"We started out with Fallout 4 knowing that, look, we can't apologize for being a role-playing game," he said. "We have to build a first-person shooter, and it needs to be a really, really good one. We spent a lot of time on that."
In Fallout 4, players can use VATS, the game's strategic combat mechanic where action slows down, allowing them to target specific body parts.
"We want players to have the edge if they use the VATS system," Howard said. "If you're building your character for VATS, it's really powerful."