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. T
here
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
