Day of Defeat Source (PC)
Published and Developed by Valve.
Rated M for mature

When the first Day of Defeat was released as a modification of the ever-popular Half-Life, it quickly became an astounding success. As opposed to its King-of-Mods counterpart, Counter Strike, Day of Defeat abandoned terrorist bombings for World War II flag-point capturing.

Last year, with the release of Half-Life 2 and the upgraded 'Source' physics engine, developer Valve announced plans for a revamping of its popular shooters to this new technology. For nearly a year, Day of Defeat Source has been frustratingly classified as 'Coming Soon.'

So was it worth the wait? Without question.

Day of Defeat Source is a frenzied study in house to house firefights between German and Allied forces. You take the fight to the enemy in four starting maps ranging from the Anzio beach in Italy to the streets of France. Each map features its own set of tactics and challenges, helping to keep each round of fighting a bit different from the one proceeding it. However, after a few hours of play, the maps become rather monotonous. Although most of the favorites from the original Day of Defeat have been transferred, I would have liked to have seen a more extensive map collection on release.

There are five weapon sets to choose from, with each force having their own unique firearms. And although each set has a similar purpose (infantry, assault, support, etc.), the varying weapon's strengths and weaknesses keeps things interesting.

The graphics are on par with the other Source title, Counter Strike Source. Character models are bold and smooth with terrain being textured and varied. And because of its relatively small maps, you wont need a state of the art machine to run it.

Valve has also added two new features that I can't help but describe as really cool.

The first of these is a new sound feature designed to add to the realism of combat. As opposed to a background score or simply silence, the game transfers the real-time gunfire into an ambient sound. If two opposing machines guns open-up on each other, for instance, the muffled pounding of rapidly fired bullets will be apparent to all. This really helps to make an immersive, believable atmosphere.

The second new feature is designed to reward the winning team. In the original, as soon as a team won, there would be a few seconds of victory music. You could still move around, but firing was disabled. So, although you would be face to face with your enemy, there was little else you could do but jump around and spin in circles. Now, however, firing is only disabled for the losing team, allowing the winners to hunt down and kill them in cold-blood. Although this may seem like a small part of the game, the ability to release your tension in this way is satisfying beyond belief.

Day of Defeat Source makes for a fun, pick-up-and-play experience. However, despite the delayed release, there are still a plethora of bugs to be worked out. The most annoying of them causes you to get 'stuck' in a fellow player, preventing either of you from moving, and forcing one to team-kill. And, although this is technically a finished title, there's still a 'Report a Bug' option on the main menu.

Despite its flaws, Day of Defeat Source is undeniably fun. I give it four gold stars, out of five.

Rating: 4/5

~Khyron