Play Fallout 1 and Fallout 2 on Android - some assembly required

Do you remember the days before you got your first Pip-Boy 3000? They were a little rough, but they were fun, and they can now be re-lived on your Android device. I speak of Fallout 1 and Fallout 2, both of which have found a new home on Android, sort of.

The short of it, if you don’t mind the technical jargon right up front, is that the mods are applied to a Windows 95 virtual disc, with Fallout 1 and 2 installed, that is then run through emulation on your Android device. And no, the Samsung smartwatch that got Windows 95 running this past week does not have enough resources to run things effectively (at least not according to the specs sheet,) but I like where your head is at.

The process to get things running is not short, nor all that simple. The end result is said to be a bit buggy and you’ll need a fairly high end Android device if you want to go for the full game experience or play at game resolution beyond 640 x 480. Likely, most of us will opt for the reduced ambient noise and video-free offering here, else risk our poor little mobile processors not being able to keep up. That said, they’ve tested things on, amongst others, the Note 2, Galaxy S3 and even the HP TouchPad – the latter of which is used in the video demo for this project.

That’s enough with the tech talk and warnings, Fallout 1 and Fallout 2 were great games that lead into an even better experience as found in more recent releases in the franchise. For those new to the games, I’ll just say that you’re looking at a futuristic, post-apocalyptic-esque, war torn world in which the main character is armed to the teeth with all manner of things that go bang and boom. And plenty of mutated creatures, irradiated by nuclear fallout, that would like to eat you, or worse, as you navigate huge open worlds.

I won’t go on about the games, but suffice it to say that there are a few ideas in there that one might argue have an almost Star Trek level appeal to gadgetry. Such as the aforementioned Pip-Boy 3000. Sorry Trekkies and Dick Tracy fans, Pip-Boy is what I envision on my arm when I think wearables – an illogical device for day-to-day, but hey, its cool. Actually, all of the fitness and health data collected by current fitness bands, and some smartwatches, would work just fine on the Pip-Boy UI…

Take a look at the steps involved and let us know, are you going to give this a go? How bad do you want Fallout 1 and 2 on your Android device?

Update: complete and original information on running emulated games on Android available on XDA, courtesy of Roland Deschain: 

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