This hugely limits the variety of roleplaying options in Fallout 4, which turns off many New Vegas fans who like to be able to return to their game as a new person each time. They have a son, Shaun, who was kidnapped. Depending on their gender they were either a soldier or a lawyer. In Fallout 4 the player character's life is far more prescribed.
They could be an old prospector, a young hot-head, a recent widow, a gambling addict, a wannabe singer who took on a delivery job to try and pay their way to the big city. One of the biggest differences between Fallout 4 and Fallout: New Vegas is just how much they tell the player about the player character.