If you’ve ever wondered about the ‘original’ Fallout 3 title that was cancelled in 2003 – Van Buren – you’re not alone. This mystical title was supposed to be a follow-up to 1998’s Fallout 2, developed by Black Isle and acting as a sizeable expansion to the already substantial post-apocalyptic universe created by Interplay.
Well, wonder no more. Recently, a new super-sized mod for Fallout 2 was released by a team called PJ Hexer and Co, and it’s dubbed ‘Fallout Yesterday – Van Buren’. Through this mod, you can explore a fan-made recreation of Van Buren inside Fallout 2’s engine, with the game-sized mod having been painstakingly built based on everything we know about the cancelled Fallout game.
Go Back in Time
Van Buren is one of the most talked about topics amongst veterans of the Fallout franchise. Fans coming into the series for the first time following the launch of the Fallout television series will never have heard of it, but it’s an important topic in the overall history of Fallout. In 2003, Van Buren – which was the codename for Fallout 3 – was cancelled, and it wouldn’t be until 2008 that the Fallout 3 we know and love was released by Bethesda Game Studios.
In the new mod that was released just days ago, and updated even more recently, players can explore what Van Buren might have been. Per the description on the mod, it features:
Multiple races, hundreds of new Traits and Perks, items, weapons, gameplay additions, dozens of new locations, 7 different vehicles, and new companions.
It’s a hefty mod that’s around 5GB in size with all the files being downloaded, but it’s well worth utilising Nexus Mods to get your hands on the best and most faithful recreation of Van Buren I’ve ever seen. Unfortunately, the original game will never see the light of day, but mods like this are keeping the lights on for Fallout historians worldwide, and that’s a beautiful thing.
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