Your weapons loadout will contain pistols, knives, grenades, shotguns, sniper rifles and most anything else you can think of. There are already a handful of new, player-created maps available on the 'net if you look hard enough, so rest assured, this game won't get old anytime soon.
In the map named "Flash," there are a number of great interior positions, replete with sandbags in the windows where you can steady your weapon for a more precise shot. All of the standard maps contain a multitude of buildings, most of which have free-roaming interiors! You generally learn this the hard way while you are running down a street and are suddenly head-shot by some s.o.b.
Unlike Counter-Strike, DoD: S utilizes an on-screen radar, which shows you the layout in your immediate area, as well as informing you of your objective points and the whereabouts of your teammates. Previous players will immediately feel at home, but n00bs won't have too much of a problem finding their way about. Every time I thought I found a good, safe place to lie prone and use my sniper rifle, someone would cap me in the back of the head, execution style. Most maps in other shooters seem to have at least one of those spots, which, if you can find them, are the ultimate camping zones. There is a noticeable lack of "fail-safe points" as I call them, or perches, holes, etc., where a guy can sit and snipe without worrying about enemies sneaking up on him. Here is yet another stellar feature of the game: the incredible map design. The main scheme of things has one team of Allied soldiers taking on a team of their Axis counterparts, with the intent of controlling certain key locations around the large, challenging maps. Unlike Counter-Strike, where a single assassin has a chance using stealth and surprise against multiple enemies, in DoD, the loner is, more often than not, the worm-food. If you are the type of FPS player who likes to spray a bunch of bullets and hope enough of them hit to take someone out, you will soon be laying in a pool of your own blood here, and for Pete's sake, try to stay somewhere near your squadmates. Trust me on this one, gang: accuracy is the keyword here. In addition, the weapons have been overhauled and … well, heck, everything has been overhauled!Īfter choosing a team and deciding which of the six classes of soldier you will be (anything from a close-up badass with a shotgun, to a sniper, to a psychopath with a rocket launcher, and everything in between), it's time to take to the streets. What immediately caught my attention was the extraordinary detail in the wall textures: you almost feel as if you could reach out and chip off a chunk of plaster on the interior walls. Wow, they did it again!ĭay of Defeat: Source is every bit the great game its predecessor was, and then some. I haven't slept well, my mouse hand is twitching, my eyes look like cherries in a bowl of sour milk, and I keep hearing soldiers shooting at me, even though I'm not playing at the moment. Meanwhile, go on out to the kitchen and get yourself one of those frozen things, and by the time you get back, I'll have more to say.Īre you back? Sitting comfortably? Then we'll begin … I'll be back shortly with my impressions. In fact, Valve has reported an amazing number of pre-orders, and I just hope their servers can keep up when we all start storming the beaches in an hour and 12 minutes. When Half-Life 2 was released, the technological bets were raised, and a new engine, named "Source" became the head honcho in the FPS world.Īfter playing Counter-Strike for years and then goggling at the improvements made to the Source engine facelift, I knew that DoD: Source was going be a hit on everyone's hard drive.
One of the most popular mods for the amazingly versatile Half-Life engine, the original Day of Defeat was a strategically deep, WWII-themed, team-intensive shooter that placed you in, around, and under the streets of Europe during "The Big One." In my humble opinion, it rivals (and in some cases, betters) the EA juggernaut Medal of Honor series for its realism and attention to detail. In fact, sometimes I will put a potato in the oven even if I don't want one, because, by the time it's ready, who knows? (Thanks to the late, great Mitch Hedberg) I pre-ordered this the day it was announced, and have been waiting (im)patiently since then … come on!!! Do you have any idea what I am going on about? Well, since I have an hour and 22 minutes (yes I checked) left, I suppose I can fill you in a bit. DoD: Source is going to be unlocked in a paltry one hour and 26 minutes, and yet it's like waiting for a potato to bake.