Far Cry 3, while bogged down by the now antiquated (yet still occasionally charming) approach to open-world design popularized by Ubisoft, remains one of the very best in the series. Its captivating villains, great gunplay, and stunning tropical island are all highlights that would go on to inform the rest of the series, but rarely be bested. Since its release back in 2012, Ubisoft has revisited the project a few times, but has largely left it untouched.
Aside from the recent Far Cry 3 next-gen update, Ubisoft’s lack of meddling has meant that the game lacks a lot of improvements that it needs. Fortunately, a brand-new project is in the works to not only vastly improve the game, but reintroduce cut content that fans have been missing out on this whole time. Titled Far Cry 3: Project Medusa, this enhancement for the original game could make it worth revisiting once again.
Far Cry 3: Project Medusa is an upcoming mod from modders Scar and MysteryGamerPL that aims to restore the game to its alpha and beta states. It is doing this by, as aforementioned, reintroducing cut content, tweaking the visuals to resemble the original trailers and gameplay footage for the game, and altering character models and environmental details to achieve a similar effect. Ostensibly, Project Medusa is making Far Cry 3 look as it did when Ubisoft first revealed it.
It is an interesting project that goes beyond simply giving the game HD textures or revamping certain outdated mechanics to make it more palatable to a modern audience. Far Cry 3: Project Medusa is, in effect, a form of preservation, and is a novel approach to modding that appears to be a passion project for these modders. It takes what is one of Ubisoft’s greatest games ever made and reverts it back to its former state, the one Ubisoft showcased but never delivered.
Previously, Scar had created a mod for Dying Light that looked to achieve a similar effect to Project Medusa by restoring it to its E3 visual style. The differences in environmental detail, lighting, and color, while not drastic, are certainly noticeable and give the game a completely unique ambience that is far closer to the original E3 reveal than what we ended up getting. As Ubisoft frequently alters the overall style or look of a game by the time release rolls around, it isn’t hard to see why this modder duo want to change Far Cry 3 back.
While Far Cry 3: Project Medusa is perhaps not quite as exciting as a full-blown brand-new Far Cry game, it should appeal to those who want to revisit the Rook Islands in a whole new light (quite literally). It currently doesn’t have a release date, but its developers have released a trailer to their YouTube channel. At the very least, it’ll provide an option that’s closer to Ubisoft’s original vision for Far Cry 3, which was ultimately lost between the game’s initial alpha reveal and the finished product we all grew to love back in 2012.
- Released
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November 29, 2012
- ESRB
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M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Nudity, Strong Language, Strong Sexual Content, Use of Drugs
- Developer(s)
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Ubisoft Montreal
- Engine
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dunia engine