"An excellent game made even better."

To anyone who plays computer FPS games, Counter-Strike will immediately bring a game to mind. The revolutionary weapon-purchase system, incredible community, and megabyte upon megabyte of custom maps. However, with Half-Life 2 on the horizon, Counter-Strike is showing its age in the Half-Life engine. Counter-Strike: Source is the new age of Counter-Strike. With greatly improved graphics, remade levels, and what looks to be a promising community taking shape, this could prove to be the true heir to Counter-Strike. Is Source worth its weight in gold, or is it a shoddy port of a once-great game?

[Get outta there, it's gonna blow!]

Counter-Strike: Source, (hereafter referred to as CS:S or Source) is, put simply, Counter-Strike in Half-Life 2's Source engine. It doesn't offer much difference in terms of gameplay from Counter-Strike 1.6 (freely available from Valve's game distribution platform, Steam, to owners of Half-Life and Retail Counter-Strike packages), but the new graphics and fun it brings to the game is most definitely worth your money.

[Taking fire, need assistance!]

Gameplay – 8/10

Gameplay is the exact same as Counter-Strike. At time of this writing, Source features nine maps to battle through, ported over from Counter-Strike, as well as a map to test your speakers and a benchmark test. The maps feature only two gameplay modes; de_ or Bomb Defusion, and cs_ or Hostage Rescue. It's unfortunate that another popular mode, as_ or Assassination, was not ported over to Source, and it's also unfortunate that no SDK or editing tools are available for Source at this writing, as part of Counter-Strike's popularity revolved around it's excellent editing community and Worldcraft/Hammer editor, with additional gameplay modes being invented by mappers. It's also unfortunate there's little balance between the amount of Defusion and Hostage Rescue maps; Source ships with three Defusion maps; Office, Italy and Havana, and six Defusion maps; Aztec, Cobble, Chateau, Dust, Dust2, and Piranesi. However, each map offers different styles of play. Enjoy sniping? Cobble or Piranesi might be good choices. Are you the close-quarters-battle type? Office is the perfect option. Some maps, like Italy and Chateau, offer options for multiple styles of combat, allowing you to change your tactics each round for an exciting round.

[Go, Go, Go!]

Graphics – 10/10

This is what Source is all about. It's graphical goodness is impressive, and it runs excellently on systems with lower specifications as well. As one wanders around the impressively-sized levels, there are stunning graphical effects at work all over. In Office, for example, one could wander through the hallways not noticing the paintings hung ever-so-off on the walls, the water bottles that are dispensed from the beautiful vending machine at the touch of a button, or the detail inherent on the work desks. Tattered files poke from giant filing boxes which fly across the room at a single shot, casting a perfect shadow all the way. Smashing a keyboard sends a spray of keys across the desk. Each tiny button on the telephone is rendered. The outdoor areas are equally as impressive, as towering apartments loom over the office building in the distance, while ascending a level in the complex allows you to see the extent of the snowfall in streets in the distance. The Source engine is indeed impressive in it's graphics abilities and will be able to power games like CS:S for years to come.

[Fire in the hole!]

Sound – 8/10

Sound in Source is impressive. It's also an integral part of gameplay. You'll hear the dull sounds of bullets flying into wood walls, the metallic ping of them hitting a file cabinet, bullets into water, and everything imaginable in between. Sounds are played in relation to your player, so if that bullet impact sound is on the right, you can bet your enemy is shooting from the left. The noises of the guns are impressive as well, with each having their own distinct sound, so you'll be able to identify the Auto-sniper rifle by its popping sound and its fast rate of fire, while you'll identify the Magnum sniper rifle by its deep booming shot and slow rate of fire. These distinctions in sounds of weapons will help you make decisions in the midst of a firefight on your actions, and are thus integral to gameplay.

[Roger that.]

Control – 10/10

Control in FPS games has always been great for its WSAD movement and mouse control, and Source does not fail. For those who like arrow keys or alternate setups, you can create endless combinations of controls through the options screen. The default setup is recommended, allowing you to quickly switch between two weapons, such as your rifle and grenades, or command hostages without breaking a sweat, all in the middle of an intense firefight.

[Storm the front!]

Replay Value – Try or Buy? – Conclusion

The replay value of Source is excellent. Multiplayer offers endless hours of fun, even with a shallow amount of maps, and when all your buddies have left, you can create your own server and practice with bots to gain skill with a certain weapon type or just for a relaxed match. For it's price, Source offers better replay value than many other games on the market.

Source is definitely worth a purchase. As stated above, it offers better replay value than many other games and will keep you occupied for hours upon hours trying to protect the bomb site once more.

In conclusion, Source is an excellent game, and is an excellent port of the original game we've played in the Half-Life engine. Expect to see the Gameplay score rise once a SDK and Editor is released, as we'll see loads of new gameplay modes and maps being released within weeks of an editor release. Source is a game any true FPS gamer should have in their collection.

Final Score: 10/10

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 10/30/04