Since then, PC enthusiasts have tested the limits of the game, installing their own modifications to increase the game's level of detail.
Photographer and game enthusiast Raphael Smith has installed a handful of these mods on a PC that only cost him $950 a few years ago.
The resulting screenshots are so realistic and lifelike that they can easily be mistaken for photographs, and that's not an exaggeration.
You've never seen game graphics look this good.
Note: All screenshots used with permission.