Day of Defeat: Source

Game Review: Day of Defeat: Source

Day of Defeat started out like many multi-player shooting games, as a Half Life 1 modification. And DoD just like Counter Strike was discovered by Half Life developer Valve and made into a full fledged game. And with Half Life 2 and the incredibly powerful source engine a reality, Day of Defeat: Source was made. I myself have not played the original Day of Defeat, but I can be pretty sure it is a lot like this game.

Like Team Fortress 2 the game is a class based multi-player FPS. What this means is that you can choose a class, which is basically a preset soldier with all his weapons already equipped, and get into the action. This differs dramatically from the style of shooting games Quake founded. Quake style games such as Halo have everyone starting with the same equipment and the stronger weapons are all scattered around the stage.

Now, onto the gameplay. All of the classes seem quite balanced, which is a very good thing. The classes are generally very specialized, which means that for instance, the sniper class is very bad in close-quarters combat. This adds to the team element of the game. There are some odd choices when it comes to classes however. For instance, not only does the German rocket class have a less versatile weapon, he also has a slower rocket launcher. This could be said to make up for the "Weaker" American support class, although many now agree that the American support is better. The assault class, who's main weapon is focused around close combat, has a pistol as a side weapon. This is questionable because the pistol is rather worthless to the assault class, considering it has the ultimate close range weapon. Also, even though the game seems to be built in a way that people can push objects to block doorways and such, in practice it is rarely seen and is rather hard to do.

If you have a microphone plugged into your computer, you can easily use this to quickly communicate with you teammates. If you don't have a microphone, you can also use the voice commands that are built into the game.

The game takes place in ww2 so there is very little protection in the game. A single shot to the head will kill anyone. This makes the game quite methodical sometimes, as you know you could be quickly and easily taken out at any second. This element of the game makes communication even more important, so it is great that Valve implemented such good microphone support.

The graphics in the game are whats to be expected from a Source engine game, great. Of course they are a bit dated since the game was released a while ago. This was the first Source game to support HDR and when it is enabled just makes the game even prettier. The frame rate will hold steady on pretty much all newer systems.

The sound in the game is also top notch. The game is made so that you can stop and listen to enemy footsteps and determine where the enemy is coming from. This adds a whole new strategic tool to the game, and can really be powerful in the hands of a strong player.

The community is what you would expect from a multi-player shooting game. Although less immense than Counter Strike, Day of Defeat also has a strong community following it. You will never have a problem finding a server to play on. While some people are deterred from multi-player games by the sometimes immature community, that is not something to worry about in Day of Defeat.

Overall, Day of Defeat has a lot going for it. If you have an interest in ww2 shooting games or multi-player games in general, this game might be for you. It has a strong community, great graphics, and a slightly more mature vibe than Counter Strike: Source. Even though it is a bit dated in this day and age, I suggest that you pick it up and give it a try!

Overall Score: 9.5