Following the disappointing launch of Fallout 76, a team of modders and fans of other games in the Fallout franchise have set out to recreate what could be the next best game in the Fallout series. The team aims to take the well-developed, story-driven world of Fallout 2 and essentially port it to the Fallout 4 game engine as a mod called "Fallout 4: Project Arroyo."
Following the acquisition of the Fallout franchise by Bethesda, Fallout has become one of those widely recognized games with millions of followers worldwide. To be fair, Fallout didn't get there overnight or by the actions of Bethesda alone. The first Fallout game as well as its sequel Fallout 2 were both created by Interplay in 1997 and 1998 respectively.
OldSchool — Fallout2
These games performed well at the time, but they haven't aged particularly well due in large part to their clunky overhead point-and-click user interface. This was acceptable back in the day, as many games featured a clunky interface, but it has made it difficult for younger gamers to get into these classics. Diehard fans of the new Fallout games are just about the only people that have been interested enough to even attempt to play the originals.
The team of modders see the value in Fallout 2 though. Things were quite different 20 years ago when this game was made. Unlike Fallout 76, which has a weak story and utilizes gameplay features to hold your attention, games made in the 1990s had to rely on a captivating story in order to have any hope of success. And that's essentially what the modders are giving us.
By recreating Fallout 2 inside of Fallout 4, however, these issues are overcome. The modders are currently hard at work crafting a unique in-game location for Fallout 4 that will mirror the world of Fallout 2 and contain its key landmark features including towns such as Modoc and Vault City.
NPC characters are also being recreated in this new world, and the dialogue and story featured in Fallout 2 is being copied over into the new mod as well. To keep pace with the original game, the modders are also recreating Fallout 2's perks and tweaking the leveling system to ensure a smooth gaming experience.
If the mod team carries Fallout 4: Project Arroyo through to fruition, then soon everyone will be able to experience the fantastic Fallout 2 stories through the eyes (and graphics) of Fallout 4. Hopefully Bethesda will pay attention if this mod proves popular and target its future Fallout games to be more story oriented just like Fallout 2.
