When the PC version of Far Cry 3 launches this week in Europe and next week in North America, players will need to download a "critical" patch to fix a number of issues with Ubisoft's new action-shooter. Patch 1.01 fixes a range of bugs across the game's single- and multiplayer modes, and more.

The update brings improved stability and performance to Far Cry 3's multiplayer mode, as well as added options to the game's online leaderboards. In addition, the patch fixes a voice chat issue that would mute players by default.

Concerning the game's cooperative mode, patch 1.01 for Far Cry 3 fixes graphical issues on loading screen hints and issues that would prevent maps from showing up the first time a user enters Public co-op. Additionally, the patch makes it so flare gun kills are not considered assist kills and that "health regeneration option no longer has inverted functionality."

Lastly, Far Cry 3's day-one patch for PC adds improved stability and performance for the game's single-player campaign and fixes issues related to "flickering" on certain water textures. Additionally, the update adds a new sound when players zoom in and out of the camera with the mouse scroll button.

For the full Far Cry 3 patch 1.01 notes, check out the official Far Cry 3 website. It is not clear if the same patch will be released for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of the game. A Ubisoft representative was not immediately available to comment.

Far Cry 3 will cast players as Jason Brody, a man stranded on a strange tropical island similar to the setting of the first Far Cry. Gamers will head out into this "savage paradise" and "slash, sneak, and shoot" to survive in a world that has "lost all sense of morality."

The game was originally targeted to launch in September, but was delayed to December 4 in North America over the summer. It is due out across Europe this week. For more on Far Cry 3, check out GameSpot's previous coverage.