"Incomplete at release, but just as good as CS 1.6"

I don't think I need to say much about this, but let's wrap it up from the start: if you love CS, it's a "holy crap =O" experience, and if you don't like CS then it's just more CS only Source style...

Graphics: 10/10
There's still some glitches, but this is easily the best looking game out there. They still only have 2 skins (one for each team) but this "full" version is really just the beta with all the maps. Never fear, the rest of the content will arrive soon, and when it does, this will easily be the most versatile and impressive game graphically.

Game-play: 9/10
It's basically just more Counter-Strike, but it's a different feel, as with Condition Zero, so it'll still have a bit of a learning curve before it becomes second nature like CS 1.6 is. That said, the lag is still a bit of a problem, but all games have that problem in the first week or two. After a while it'll be perfect.

Sound: 8/10
Nothing too impressive, but it definitely gets the job done. I've been told it's very cool with 5.1 surround sound though. Can't confirm this myself. The weapons don't sound as powerful as they did in CZ, but they're more powerful sounding than CS 1.6's weapons.

Physics: 9/10
The physics are still a little bit glitchy and they aren't applied anywhere near the level that they are in HL2 itself, but come on, when you can shoot a computer and then shoot the parts out and they all look like real products (fake brand names though) then that deserves at LEAST a 9/10... This is easily the best multi-player game for physics, and rivals Doom 3 and Far Cry for overall interactivity.

Net code: 8/10
I haven't found a "perfect" server yet, but almost all the servers have players with pings under 70, so lag is minimal at worst. It's still enough to make game-play a little weird at times, but Valve should have this fixed in no time.

Overall: 9/10
Not perfect or complete yet, but it IS Counter-Strike with all the cool modern effects and graphics.

Buy? YES! It comes with all versions of Half-Life 2 anyway, so you have no excuse not to.

(By the way, this game will probably become a full 10/10 overall once the custom content comes and the rest of the official updates complete game.)

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 10/10/04