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Day of Defeat: Source
Valve brings us a small but great package of multiplayer action love.
by Tom McNamara
September 27, 2005 - While most people put Counter-Strike at the top of the multiplayer games they associate with Half-Life, Day of Defeat isn't too far behind, especially now that it's been overhauled and updated by Valve, complete with high dynamic range lighting. Assuming your video card supports HDR, you'll get some nice (and subtle) lighting effects that both make the game look pretty and make it a little easier to see in dark areas. Day of Defeat's HDR is not nearly as pronounced as in, say, Far Cry, which is nice because that can get a little distracting in the midst of a firefight.
Overall, DoD:S is a great looking game, a cut above Counter-Strike: Source. Nicer textures, better animation, ragdoll and a few other odds and ends. And despite being so high on the shine-o-meter, it actually runs quite smoothly, as I mentioned in the impressions piece posted yesterday. A mid-range computer should run this just fine. I would recommend a gigabyte of RAM and a vid card with 128MB of memory. As far as sound, the weapons sound great -- accurate, with details like the clink noise of an M1 Garand reaching the end of its clip, and the chinking of a Kar 98 reload. Every weapon sounds distinct. The American character voices sound a little green, but that's about the only negative.
I did the class-based system, and the multiple routes. After a day of people figuring out maps and tactics, the flow of the matches has become a lot more strategic. Where before people were playing more like UT, the Counter-Strike mentality is beginning to take hold (minus jumping around corners with an AWP). People are more careful when moving forward, and grenade use is getting more prevalent. The Kar 98 is also quickly becoming a devastating weapon, as some ninja players are seemingly capable of getting one-shot kills at a dead run.
In reality, this would be virtually impossible -- the accuracy and deadliness of this bolt-action rifle in DoD:S has to be seen to be believed. The other weapons feel a lot more authentic; the assault rifles and carbines require short bursts, preferably while crouching, and the machine guns are useless unless fired while prone or while mounted on a sandbag or window frame.
And you'll become familiar with the arsenal pretty quickly, as certain types seem to work better than others from map to map. The M1 Garand might be the best all-around weapon, as it has great accuracy, rate of fire, and damage. It can be used as a sniper rifle in a pinch and holds its own in a medium-range firefight. Unfortunately, it's only available to the U.S. side.
Other than that, the weapons function pretty much the same for both sides. The machine gun is devastating when placed strategically, and the Rifleman's grenade attachment is great for incredibly accurate placement. Overall, grenades aren't used quite as much as in CS, since you have to switch to them manually, prime, and then throw, instead of just chucking one with a hotkey.
As I mentioned earlier, the maps have lots of alternate routes -- so much so that you might find yourself using them exclusively. One map features an extensive catacomb system that goes from one end to the other, with a staircase in the middle that leads right to a flag. No one ever seemed to notice me as I came out the other side, dashing under a bridge into a covered dock.
Unfortunately, there's only four maps to choose from right now, which is a bummer. Valve is scheduled to release more of them and says they're already working on several, to be released "as soon as they're ready." With no official calendar in the picture, players may grow tired of the four in the box, which all recreate previous maps. If you're new to DoD, this probably isn't a big deal, and you'll also be familiarizing yourself with the different classes and weapons. Having no medics, engineers, or health packs strewn about will also take some getting used to. Personally, I like the authentic feel and tension this gives the game.
The more open and complex environments, with multi-storied buildings to crawl through and lots of boxes and objects to duck behind, also do a lot to make these urban battlefields feel more detailed. When you're not actively engaging the enemy, there's also ambient gunfire and explosions, so the experience can get pretty amped up. The physics model is also closer to Half-Life 2 than Counter-Strike: Source, with piles of objects that can be knocked over -- sometimes to your tactical advantage, since that machine gun has to be mounted on something.
Physics are a little exaggerated, but it's not ridiculous. I can't really complain after witnessing someone go flying back down the boulevard after getting hit square in the chest with a rocket. It's hilarious, in a good way. There are times when people should probably blow up or get a limb blown off, but I don't mind not seeing that level of chunkiness. There's still the splatters of blood to let you know you hit someone, which is good enough for me.
There is a problem with team member hitboxes, though. A prone soldier can't just be jumped over -- you have to do the crouch-jump combo to clear the guy, which can be difficult when you're in a hurry (which you typically are, because a prone soldier tends to play in a way that will draw a lot fire once his position is fixed). A guy crouching next to a doorway is effectively a wall. There's no way to nudge anyone in the game, which is one of those double-edged sword decisions a designer has to make, because allowing one guy to push another even a little bit can lead to griefing the snipers and positioned riflemen (by messing up their aim).
There's also that odd sticking/drag glitch when you get close to someone who's moving in the same direction, as we've seen in Counter-Strike: Source, but it's not as pronounced as in that game. While you can't expect the world on a plate for twenty bucks retail, it's important to point out regardless that there are a few annoyances here and there.
I personally prefer DoD:S over CS:S, for a few reasons. While it's nice that DoD is a pretty game, I also like how you can't bunny hop or fire a weapon while jumping or sprinting. I like how HDR makes it less likely for a camper to hide in the shadows. I like how the game can't really devolve into guys with AWPs scoping a chokepoint and ignoring objectives, to the detriment of their team's success. I like how even the sniper rifle doesn't guarantee a one-shot kill just because you hit the guy somewhere on his body. The game requires skill and greatly encourages teamwork and tactics, instead of the long-term advantage coming from sheer experience with the game itself.
Closing Comments
I expect to be playing DoD a lot more than CS:S. In fact, I've found it to be a more satisfying game than Battlefield 2, which suffered from a lack of servers at launch, a lack of ranked servers, rank exploits, strange performance issues, high system requirements, air superiority, and a frankly rudimentary and partially arcane server browser implementation. Load times also leave BF2 in the dust. On the other hand, there's only a small handful of DoD:S maps to go around, and the community will likely be waiting on pins and needles for the next batch. So although I dig the game, I have to rate it as-is, and there frankly isn’t a lot of content to go around, as great as that content is. I recommend DoD:S to the multiplayer action crowd, but don't come crying to me when things start getting stale.
9.0 Presentation
Excellent server browsing, a clean interface, and unobstrusive gameplay introduction round out the package nicely.
9.0 Graphics
It holds its own with current titles; HDR is subtle, textures are sharp, animation is fluid, and the physics are fun to both watch and interact with.
8.3 Sound
It's no Call of Duty, but DoD:S has great weapon sounds and ambient noise.
8.4 Gameplay
More immediate and satisfying than BF2 and less frustrating than Counter-Strike, but only having four maps is an Achilles heel.
9.0 Lasting Appeal
We fully expect batches of regularly released maps and various updates to keep things fresh.
8.4 OVERALL
(out of 10 / not an average)
8.7 Reader Average
Valve brings us a small but great package of multiplayer action love.
by Tom McNamara
September 27, 2005 - While most people put Counter-Strike at the top of the multiplayer games they associate with Half-Life, Day of Defeat isn't too far behind, especially now that it's been overhauled and updated by Valve, complete with high dynamic range lighting. Assuming your video card supports HDR, you'll get some nice (and subtle) lighting effects that both make the game look pretty and make it a little easier to see in dark areas. Day of Defeat's HDR is not nearly as pronounced as in, say, Far Cry, which is nice because that can get a little distracting in the midst of a firefight.
Overall, DoD:S is a great looking game, a cut above Counter-Strike: Source. Nicer textures, better animation, ragdoll and a few other odds and ends. And despite being so high on the shine-o-meter, it actually runs quite smoothly, as I mentioned in the impressions piece posted yesterday. A mid-range computer should run this just fine. I would recommend a gigabyte of RAM and a vid card with 128MB of memory. As far as sound, the weapons sound great -- accurate, with details like the clink noise of an M1 Garand reaching the end of its clip, and the chinking of a Kar 98 reload. Every weapon sounds distinct. The American character voices sound a little green, but that's about the only negative.
I did the class-based system, and the multiple routes. After a day of people figuring out maps and tactics, the flow of the matches has become a lot more strategic. Where before people were playing more like UT, the Counter-Strike mentality is beginning to take hold (minus jumping around corners with an AWP). People are more careful when moving forward, and grenade use is getting more prevalent. The Kar 98 is also quickly becoming a devastating weapon, as some ninja players are seemingly capable of getting one-shot kills at a dead run.
In reality, this would be virtually impossible -- the accuracy and deadliness of this bolt-action rifle in DoD:S has to be seen to be believed. The other weapons feel a lot more authentic; the assault rifles and carbines require short bursts, preferably while crouching, and the machine guns are useless unless fired while prone or while mounted on a sandbag or window frame.
And you'll become familiar with the arsenal pretty quickly, as certain types seem to work better than others from map to map. The M1 Garand might be the best all-around weapon, as it has great accuracy, rate of fire, and damage. It can be used as a sniper rifle in a pinch and holds its own in a medium-range firefight. Unfortunately, it's only available to the U.S. side.
Other than that, the weapons function pretty much the same for both sides. The machine gun is devastating when placed strategically, and the Rifleman's grenade attachment is great for incredibly accurate placement. Overall, grenades aren't used quite as much as in CS, since you have to switch to them manually, prime, and then throw, instead of just chucking one with a hotkey.
As I mentioned earlier, the maps have lots of alternate routes -- so much so that you might find yourself using them exclusively. One map features an extensive catacomb system that goes from one end to the other, with a staircase in the middle that leads right to a flag. No one ever seemed to notice me as I came out the other side, dashing under a bridge into a covered dock.
Unfortunately, there's only four maps to choose from right now, which is a bummer. Valve is scheduled to release more of them and says they're already working on several, to be released "as soon as they're ready." With no official calendar in the picture, players may grow tired of the four in the box, which all recreate previous maps. If you're new to DoD, this probably isn't a big deal, and you'll also be familiarizing yourself with the different classes and weapons. Having no medics, engineers, or health packs strewn about will also take some getting used to. Personally, I like the authentic feel and tension this gives the game.
The more open and complex environments, with multi-storied buildings to crawl through and lots of boxes and objects to duck behind, also do a lot to make these urban battlefields feel more detailed. When you're not actively engaging the enemy, there's also ambient gunfire and explosions, so the experience can get pretty amped up. The physics model is also closer to Half-Life 2 than Counter-Strike: Source, with piles of objects that can be knocked over -- sometimes to your tactical advantage, since that machine gun has to be mounted on something.
Physics are a little exaggerated, but it's not ridiculous. I can't really complain after witnessing someone go flying back down the boulevard after getting hit square in the chest with a rocket. It's hilarious, in a good way. There are times when people should probably blow up or get a limb blown off, but I don't mind not seeing that level of chunkiness. There's still the splatters of blood to let you know you hit someone, which is good enough for me.
There is a problem with team member hitboxes, though. A prone soldier can't just be jumped over -- you have to do the crouch-jump combo to clear the guy, which can be difficult when you're in a hurry (which you typically are, because a prone soldier tends to play in a way that will draw a lot fire once his position is fixed). A guy crouching next to a doorway is effectively a wall. There's no way to nudge anyone in the game, which is one of those double-edged sword decisions a designer has to make, because allowing one guy to push another even a little bit can lead to griefing the snipers and positioned riflemen (by messing up their aim).
There's also that odd sticking/drag glitch when you get close to someone who's moving in the same direction, as we've seen in Counter-Strike: Source, but it's not as pronounced as in that game. While you can't expect the world on a plate for twenty bucks retail, it's important to point out regardless that there are a few annoyances here and there.
I personally prefer DoD:S over CS:S, for a few reasons. While it's nice that DoD is a pretty game, I also like how you can't bunny hop or fire a weapon while jumping or sprinting. I like how HDR makes it less likely for a camper to hide in the shadows. I like how the game can't really devolve into guys with AWPs scoping a chokepoint and ignoring objectives, to the detriment of their team's success. I like how even the sniper rifle doesn't guarantee a one-shot kill just because you hit the guy somewhere on his body. The game requires skill and greatly encourages teamwork and tactics, instead of the long-term advantage coming from sheer experience with the game itself.
Closing Comments
I expect to be playing DoD a lot more than CS:S. In fact, I've found it to be a more satisfying game than Battlefield 2, which suffered from a lack of servers at launch, a lack of ranked servers, rank exploits, strange performance issues, high system requirements, air superiority, and a frankly rudimentary and partially arcane server browser implementation. Load times also leave BF2 in the dust. On the other hand, there's only a small handful of DoD:S maps to go around, and the community will likely be waiting on pins and needles for the next batch. So although I dig the game, I have to rate it as-is, and there frankly isn’t a lot of content to go around, as great as that content is. I recommend DoD:S to the multiplayer action crowd, but don't come crying to me when things start getting stale.
9.0 Presentation
Excellent server browsing, a clean interface, and unobstrusive gameplay introduction round out the package nicely.
9.0 Graphics
It holds its own with current titles; HDR is subtle, textures are sharp, animation is fluid, and the physics are fun to both watch and interact with.
8.3 Sound
It's no Call of Duty, but DoD:S has great weapon sounds and ambient noise.
8.4 Gameplay
More immediate and satisfying than BF2 and less frustrating than Counter-Strike, but only having four maps is an Achilles heel.
9.0 Lasting Appeal
We fully expect batches of regularly released maps and various updates to keep things fresh.
8.4 OVERALL
(out of 10 / not an average)
8.7 Reader Average
I am impressed with this game so far. It is good. I am enjoying it more than Battlefield 2... definitely more. It feels much more realistic. You shoot a guy with a rifle, he dies. It doesn't take ten shots to bring a guy down.
I have only one real complaint. They took out the bayonette and melee attack with the rifleman class (where you could use the rifle butt to kill a guy). Apparantly, it wasn't "historically accurate".
Whatever... it was fun. They should have kept it in.I think the IGN reviewer got something wrong. There are five maps, not four. I have only been playing one map, "Avalanche" so far. It is great.
One thing awesome about this game is when one team wins, there is like ten seconds where the victory music plays and the losing team's weapons won't fire during this period... the victorious team can execute the surviving players on the losing team!
This is a good review, I must admit.
The rifle-propelled grenades are awesome... you can put them exactly where you want with sickening accuracy. I was playing yesterday and there were two guys in this sniper spot. I fired a nade just as the guy shot me... the nade fell right into the hole in the roof as I died. I was dead and the nade blew up, killing both the snipers.
A hole in one if I ever saw one.
This game is great... if you guys are fans of first person shooters and like games like Battlefield 2 or Call of Duty, I would recommend this game.
You can buy it stand alone for $20 I think. Or you will get it as part of the Half-Life 2 Silver package, along with Counter-Strike Source, and a lot of other games.
visit http://www.steampowered.com/ to purchase it online... you will download "Steam" this game launcher program, and can purchase the game with a credit card... then you download the game and play it right away... no waiting for shipping or anything like that. You access it using an email address and password.