DoD: Source is the rare game that intelligently combines tactical gameplay with relentless but accessible action.
User Rating: 9.1 | Day of Defeat: Source PC
The legendary FPS Half-Life spawned a phenomenal number of huge mods, two of which have been updated with the Source engine of Half-Life 2, Day of Defeat and Counter-Strike. Counter-Strike, of course, is one of the most popular games ever, but is notorious (and rightly so) for not being friendly to any new players, and a majority of the CS: Source community are the old players from the original CS, the one's that have been playing for at least six years. However, Day of Defeat is truly so much better and so much more accessible than Counter-Strike that it should have no problem drawing in new players. Day of Defeat is pretty unique, in that it's packed with the realism that annoys a lot of people. A couple hits will kill you - often just one will with some guns. But unlike those other games that frustrate with their realism, Day of Defeat combines it with a fast pace. Not to mention that unlike in CS, where spraying bullets everywhere randomly is the name of the game, DoD simply doesn't allow you to do that. If you do not aim, you will never ever hit, because weapons have a fairly large recoil, especially with the automatic guns. This prevents morons who simply run around, grabbing the gun with the highest rate of fire, from succeeding, because they simply get picked off by a player smart enough. All this lends new and crucial importance to cover and covering fire. If you stand out in the open, you will die, quickly. Despite this, you respawn quickly, and where to go on the map is extremely intuitively mapped out, unlike the afore-mentioned CS and many other games as well. This also creates a strange unity within the teammates even if nobody has a mic, you'll be surprised how often people stick together and help each other out. Since DoD is so easily understood, is easy to pick up but is honestly unlike most shooters out there, it's a true winner in the gameplay category. The graphics are basically, as you can tell from the name, a souped-up Source Engine. Luckily, Valve's engine has aged extremely well, and with the additions that the DoD team has added in, the engine is pretty much on par with the modern games currently. The sound is absolutely stunning, second only to the Call of Duty games in my opinion - but this stuff isn't scripted. One thing really cool is how the gunfire echoes around the entire level, and so you'll hear echoed sounds throughout the level that can even help guide you to your comrades in battle. All in all, very good sound. The value is stunning in a way, since this game is truly a steal at 20$. All my ratings are rated not as a budget game, but as an actual game, and so this game is really worth the money. It's only weakness is that there are currently four maps, but with the promise of more and the afore-mentioned extremely cheap price, this is still an excellent buy. All in all, DoD: Source combines extremely smart but yet accessible gameplay with a $20 price that ultimately renders it a must-buy game. 
