Project Reality started off its humble existence as a mod for Battlefield 2 back in 2005, with the intention of rebalancing weapons and adding more realism into the mix. It quickly took on a whole new life on its own, though, and eventually became a completely different beast. The Project Reality mod we have today is far more than just a statistics-tweak of Battlefield 2.

It has its own enormous maps, its own modes, factions, there's new guns and vehicles, classes feel more unique and so on. In addition, teamwork is much more essential. You won't just be able to drop in on your squad leader immediately after you die, and a single stray bullet can kill you off completely. There'll be rounds where you might not kill an enemy at all, or even fire off a single bullet. But trust me, that doesn't make it any less intense. There's little that's as fun as playing BF2's Project Reality mod when everyone on the team work together. Win or lose, you end up feeling like you did some good for your team, and your squad's efforts were worthwhile.

Now, after eight years of constant development, Project Reality is finally ready to hit 1.0, with the next update scheduled for release on August 2. The mod is still quite well populated, with large servers being smack full at times, and every player on it using Mumble to chat with their team. If you own Battlefield 2, then you owe it to yourself to try out the mod. Just remember, it's not just Battlefield 2 with different skins. This is a whole new thing. You might want to skim over the PDF manual before you strap your boots on.