"More than just a graphics change"

I'll just flat out say it right now, I play CS 1.6.

Now that I got that out of the way, time to start on the meat of this review.

Graphics - 8
Probably the best part of the game. Every thing looks clean and sleek, the original maps from 1.6 have been remade with some changes. Since this is the Source engine, CS can now handle items such as: barrels, boxes, trash, ect. Sure, it looks good, but how does that affect the game?

Well, it really doesn't. You can duck behind a barrel or shoot a can to distract an enemy, that's all though. Models look unique and good, it's a hit or miss. Valve is adding new models, some of them look silly and others look good. As I said at the start, it's look fine. You should be able to run it at decent FPS if your computer was made in the last 5 years.

The gun models do look too cartoony, almost like a fairyland, it's too bright and looks cel-shaded, an example would be the AWP.

Sound - 5
Disappointing to say at the least. The guns sound too weak, items bouncing off the wall sound like a can, it sounds like you're in a circus or a fair. It doesn't sound like war, it sounds like when you go on the Merry Go-Round.

Gameplay - 2
Ouch, this is where the game falls flat. And since it is the main bad point, I'll add sub-lines.

Recoil
A big difference transfering from the HL Engine to the Source is the things that go on, recoil is here also. You can spray like a moron and get like 2 kills, while in 1.6 - if you spray, you are kinda screwed. This is often a main point of 'Source is for Noobs' theory.

Models
The models look fine, but how do they move? Like a tank. They feel big, bulky, and look silly when they get killed. The animations of these aren't very smooth and fluid.

Misc.
If anyone dies and they had grenades, you can pick them up. This can be good and bad, as it can really overpower Grenade Stacking strategies.

The 'Source is for Noobs' Theory
Many of the people who flame Source are current or past 1.6 players, they believe that 1.6 > Source (1.6 is better than Source) and 1.6 will reign.

It's often considered that 1.6 is challenging/hard and Source is fun/easy. I'm not going to take sides but I'll lay it like this...

1.6 or Source
If you would like to get better at Counter-Strike. Then play 1.6, as it has a good but hard learning curve. You can transfer over to Source and kick butt if you want.

If you just want to have fun, then play Source. It's not going to kill you if you do not play 1.6

Overall - 4 (NOT AN AVERAGE)
It's Source, it may or may not become more popular than 1.6, we'll see. I feel like they just shoved CS into the engine for a bonus, feels rushed and not very good.

+ Counter-Strike
+ Looks Good
- Easier Recoil
- Little Challenge
? Feels like a circus
? Source or 1.6 arguments

Reviewer's Score: 4/10, Originally Posted: 04/04/06