It looks like that ATI really wants to get Nvidia where it hurts the most, in Ubisoft's "The Way Its Meant To Be P‍(‍l‍)‍ayed" Far Cry 2. As you may know, Far Cry 2 is a TWIMTBP title, which means that Nvidia had a strong influence in marketing of this game and after all, almost every important Nvidia AIB partners are bundling this card with its GTX 200 series cards.

The new Catalyst 8.11 driver is the second time that ATI pushed for improvements in Far Cry 2 following the previously released hotfix that deals exclusively with Far Cry 2 performance. As far as we know, Far Cry 2 is doing well with the HD 4000 series and some might say that ATI is even better than Nvidia in the game, at least if you are looking at the price/performance picture.

The guys at PCGamesHardware.de did some benchmarks with Crossfire and SLI setups and ATI's HD 4870 Crossfire is a bit slower than Nvidia's GTX 280 SLI, but with the new version of the Catalyst driver, ATI might take the lead.

There was also an interesting story about ATI's DirectX 10.1 gains in Far Cry 2, which Ubisoft explains as a simple gain that can be found used with DirectX 10 cards, as well. ATI apparently wants to claim the performance crown in Far Cry 2, as it would mean that even the almighty "The Way Its Meant To Be P(l)ayed" is no longer safe.

Also read

Ubisoft says DirectX 10.1 as good as DirectX 10

Nvidia bets on Far Cry 2

Far Cry DirectX 10.1 is not to ATI’s benefit