New Fallout 2 mod lets you play Black Isle’s Fallout 3

With a few caveats

Fallout Yesterday

A dedicated group of RPG fans has created a functioning version of Black Isle’s Fallout 3, built entirely in Fallout 2’s engine. The project is based on Black Isle’s vision for Van Buren, the original Fallout 3’s codename before Black Isle’s parent company Interplay closed and it got the Bethesda RPG touch, and the fan project is fittingly called Fallout Yesterday – Van Buren (thanks, PC Gamer).

Black Isle planned Van Buren as another isometric RPG like Fallout 2 and the original Baldur’s Gate, though Chad Nicholas, a senior tester at the time, said Interplay pressured Black Isle to include turn-based combat and a real-time combat option, similar to what Bethesda later used in their Fallout 3. Van Buren follows a prisoner who may or may not be a criminal, depending on your choices, who’s suddenly sprung from their cell and let loose into the night. 

Van Buren takes place in the American Southwest, and if that rings a few bells, there’s a good reason. Obsidian used a fair bit of Van Buren in Fallout New Vegas, which we ranked as one of the best Fallout games.

Fallout Yesterday released the Van Buren fan project’s 0.6 update on Github, which adds new quests and locations, plus “hundreds” of weapons, traits, and perks to the game. The group is also hosting the Van Buren fan project’s open code on GitLab if you’re keen to mess around with it yourself.

You can also download it from NexusMods, where the team has a helpful little reminder. While you can complete the full game at present, you’ll need a Science and Repairs build for it to work.