One of the oldest Far Cry games on the market has just received a new set of hugely impressive mods as part of the Far Cry 2 Realism + Redux release. Though the game was initially panned for some of its questionable gameplay decisions, Far Cry 2 eventually became a cult classic, and since it differs so much from every other game in the series, still stands on its own two feet.
While the Far Cry franchise has certainly moved on from providing an overly immersive and hardcore gameplay experience in lieu of something more universally acclaimed, fans of Far Cry 2 specifically never received a true follow-up to the experience. To that end, the full release of Realism + Redux provides an easy and comprehensive set of upgrades to virtually every aspect of the 2008 title.
Since it seems that Far Cry 2 won't get a remake anytime soon, modders going by the names of FoxAhead, Hunter, and Tom have joined forces to release what is, in effect, a massive collection of systemic gameplay upgrades for FC2. Not only have graphics been substantially improved across the board, but users can also expect vastly improved physics, proper support for 60 FPS gameplay, and better textures. Gameplay-wise, all the weaponry has been thoroughly rebalanced, with enhanced AI, less oppressive enemy checkpoint respawns, and more.
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Further improvements can be seen in the game world, too, where all the disparate changes come together to deliver an improved gameplay sandbox with more reactive and realistic enemies across the board. With these upgrades, Far Cry 2's open-world stands out from the modern Ubisoft open-world formula even more than it did before, and hardcore players looking to give the game another shot may consider this mod a must-have as well.
Those who disliked Far Cry 6's somewhat fantastical arsenal of weapons will find themselves at home in Far Cry 2 with the Realism + Redux mod, too. All the weapons are substantially more viable in their respective niche, and the enemies should be less tanky than they were in the base game. This change in particular underlines the notion that Far Cry 2's handling of the core gameplay loop is more akin to that of a "simcade" shooter like Insurgency than any of the subsequent Far Cry games ended up being.
Keeping all of the above in mind, Far Cry 2 Realism + Redux is still plenty hardcore, but way more approachable and satisfying to play than the game is by default. Its Crytek-developed predecessor isn't likely to be dethroned as one of the hardest FPS games of all time just yet, but fans of this specific Far Cry experience are likely to find it way more enjoyable than it ever was.
Far Cry 2 is available on PC, PS3, and Xbox 360.
Source: ModDB