Counter-Strike: Source Final *READ NFO*, reviewed by g

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You said the "Counter-Strike feeling" is missing. I have to disagree. Since '99, the year in which the CS community really started to grow, a lot of games have been released on the market, but none of them has that distinct Counter-Strike feeling. What is that? It's the feeling of realistic weapons with realistic gameplay, yet with an arcade flavour. Fast paced but not too fast (Unreal Tournament and other ADHD space crap), smooth running, basic-looking but not ugly.

CS:S has that feeling. And it has been improved. A better atmosphere by clever use of colors, dust, weather effects. Weapons feel like they really pack a punch. Shooting the para gun now feels like you're bringing down entire buildings. Things are lying around and they can break. There are a lot of new gun sounds and they are a lot better.

But this game has so many nice little details. For the first time in CS, we have rooms lit up by gunfire. And the models look and move very realistic. Squeeze your eyes a little, put your face close to the screen and you're in an action movie. Part of a team. Part of the action. And every time I tried other games - BF:Vietnam, Far Cry and so on - CS has had me coming back. For six years. Counter-Strike: Source will keep me happy for the coming six years.


P.S.

I would prefer the word 'kills' over 'frags'. Fragging is what you do in Unreal. Walking and flying around on some stupid alien planet, shooting stupid nerds in stupid robot suits with guns that even Jean Luc Picard would consider stupid.

Arnaud! Whatever you smoke I don't wanna touch it.

It's the feeling of realistic weapons with realistic gameplay, yet with an arcade flavour. Fast paced but not too fast (Unreal Tournament and other ADHD space crap), smooth running, basic-looking but not ugly.

You have got to be fucking kidding dude.

umm it does not look ugly at all, and what lowres textures are you talking about?

i put everything on high detail, 6AA and 16Aniso and it looks fuckin great to me at an ingame fps of 60-70 average with 30 players on the map

i do have the luzifer one

Indeed... 1280x1024 with 2xAA and 4xAF, max detail on everything and the game looks completely amazing.  AND I still get 60-80fps, unless I'm staring at water, but then it only drops to somewhere around 40.  The graphics are great, I haven't noticed any low-res textures and I'm having alot of fun playing the game.  For some really cool looking effects, walk into a room after throwing in a smoke grenade and start firing..

Good overall review .. but theres a few things that I have to disagree on ...


I have played CS 1.3 to 1.6 (if I recall correctly) and here are my thoughts about the transition based on the points I would have had different oppinions on :


The footsteps : The footsteps for me on CS:S are extremely sharp and precise, to a certain extent you can be called wallhacker (you know, the little kid who didnt get the trick yet and wonder how the fuck you turned the corner and opened fire to harnest a direct headshot). So maybe its hardware related or something else ... My sound is usualy cranked pretty high, and I wear noise-canceling headphones on a 5.1 card, might help



The GFX : The game for me doesnt even need AA and AF, simply because Ive never played below 1920x1200 in resolution
At that ress, even if you slap in some filtering, you wont see the difference (for techies that get nosy : I play on a WUXGA screen of 16:10 ratio )



The headshots : I personaly have a very big graphical and sound feedback when I get a headshot... Theres a huge spark followed by the same sound a watermellon would make if you stabbed it with a screwdriver


I do agree about the frags though, sometimes they do feel a bit less interesting... As well as the darkness of the maps,  which can be annoying sometimes...

Anyway keep it up !

As well as the darkness of the maps,  which can be annoying sometimes...

try buying nightvision, it fucking rocks! without any performance loss!

nice review. i agree it doesnt quite feel like cs

and its too laggy... both my ping and the framerate and the mouse response
 probably because the game just doesnt run as fast, maybe in a year or 2 when hardware has gotten betteri, it will feel just as responsive as the old CS

i also thought the footsteps were too quiet.
grenades are much nicer tho, u really feel like you got fucked up when u get hit. flash is also nicer.

so it needs a little tweaking, more costumes, more maps, more mods, and itll be nice

[red_avatar]

Something you mentioned and that stuck in my head:

you said the players are friendlier. I find this too - and it makes the game loads more fun. It's not that hard to realise why the amount of nice people is higher compared to 1.6

You need a credit card to buy the game - meaning that mostly older gamers will be playing now. The younger ones who generally are the ones causing the trouble won't have the money - before that, HL cost only 15 dollars or so and was easily affordable.

All the lamers and the jackasses won't buy CSS though - why would they? They only get one game to screw around with while HL Generations gave them much more for 4 times less.

Plus, people aren't as serious since it's a new game so to speak and no one has yet anything to prove. Some people on 1.6 just get angry and call you a hacker because you beat them and, if they are part of a clan, that's often enough to make them defend their ego and have a go at you. When everyone is new at a game, they can hide behind the "I need to get used to it" line and ergo won't have to fall out on others.

And of course, hacks and cheats are still rare for CSS so the options for a lamer are severaly limited.

In the end you're left with an enjoyable community with people playing for fun rather than for their ego, with no pressure and no one needing to prove anything.

Originally posted by kierrato
The footsteps : The footsteps for me on CS:S are extremely sharp and precise, to a certain extent you can be called wallhacker (you know, the little kid who didnt get the trick yet and wonder how the fuck you turned the corner and opened fire to harnest a direct headshot). So maybe its hardware related or something else ... My sound is usualy cranked pretty high, and I wear noise-canceling headphones on a 5.1 card, might help

Why do you brag about a 5.1 card when you are using headphones?  Last time I checked, headphones only come with 2 speakers, which would make it 2.1 (if you have really nice headphones that include the high's and lows.  Any headset that has a mic on it, isn't a high quality headset by the way.

Anyways, the graphics are a little too late to be the next generation.  Gameplay is the same as 1.6 with the expection to the added phyics.  In the end, its nothing really more than a more tweaked version of Condition Zero Multi.

its still boring ass cs. Even with the new engine the game is BORING

im happy that you didnt mention the word realistic in the FL. Its a reality flavoured arcade fps. Crosshairs.
with the aging gfx and not so different gameplay..I dont think this game deserves a score that high. Its pretty similar to the last CS version afterall.

Ageing Gfx? Doesnt this run on the HL2 engine?

And the thing about players being friendly, is very understandable for a new game, but i think in a year, maybe less, when its widespread and clans are in full swing etc, it will start to ebb towards what CS 1.6 is now.

Having said that i havent installed this yet so dont know ;S

[g]

About the low res textures.. You can find some on dust2, if you run up the hill out of ct spawn towards the double doors leading to bomb spot b, then turn right and walk in the hole that's in the wall to the right of the double doors.

the dark brown rocks.. they look horribly pixelated and low res.

there are some other instances of this around certain maps, but hey, i dont care.
i was just mentioning it since i have to give both ups and downs about the graphics.
personally i feel the game looks great overall.

also isotope, i guess you have a point, in a couple years or so the game will feel more responsive.
that's my biggest gripe atm.

[dfcbkmrf]

Why do you brag about a 5.1 card when you are using headphones?  Last time I checked, headphones only come with 2 speakers, which would make it 2.1 (if you have really nice headphones that include the high's and lows.  Any headset that has a mic on it, isn't a high quality headset by the way.

Anyways, the graphics are a little too late to be the next generation.  Gameplay is the same as 1.6 with the expection to the added phyics.  In the end, its nothing really more than a more tweaked version of Condition Zero Multi.

Medusa Headphones have 3 speakers per phone giving positional sound!