The TPS Report - Games, Beats 'n' Blogs

Bump-mapped textures and improved lighting rejuvenate the visuals big time

If you somehow hadn't heard, the most popular online game of all time has been re-released this week. Although not a full-blown sequel, this new rendition of the old classic, now titled Counter-Strike: Source, is more of a facelift and a revamp than anything else. Perhaps more importantly, it's our first glimpse of Valve's new Source engine, the basis for Half-Life 2.

Preliminaries

If you're wondering how to get started, first off you need to grab Steam, Valve's free download service. This is basically an online store, a download manager, anti-cheat software and a server browser all in one. Steam is the kind of software I'm fond of because it embraces the technological advances that the likes of Napster and Kazaa spearheaded, rather than stomps them down like most have done. Importantly though, it sidesteps the whole, well, illegal aspect. The end result is that now you can download all of Valve's games at the click of a mouse.

Death animations and poses now rival anything seen in more recent shooters

Counter-Strike: Source is one such product on offer via Steam. To play it you need to pre-order Half-Life 2 first though, as the two come bundled together. There are varying choices on offer, ranging from the basic Bronze pack including nothing but the two games, up to the bumper Gold edition, which pretty much includes every single piece of software Valve have ever made and a whole lot more.

This whole setup may feel somewhat alien and a little complicated when all you want to do is play a quick old game of Counter-Strike, but I forsee big things for Steam down the line. It adds a spontaneity to grabbing the latest games, where everything you could want is right at your fingertips. Isn't that what the internet does best?

The Review

With all that out of the way though, how's Counter-Strike: Source play? Flippin' awesome, that's how. While this is essentially the same old game underneath, with identical weapons, maps and even the way the guns handle, the new graphical update provided by Source makes a world of difference to this aging shooter.

In the heat of battle, the terrorist resorted to the age old technique of Yoga

The most noticable improvement comes from the spruced up textures. Now bumpmapped and detailed, they give the game much more of a real world feel than before. Possibly even cooler though is Source's nob-hardening new phsyics engine. Ever since seeing that early Half-Life 2 footage years ago, it was clear physics would be a prominent trait of this engine, and we get our first glimpse of that here. The phsyics are, unquestionably, the best ever seen in a game. Whenever the terrorists get that bomb planted and you're desperately fumbling your way around a defusing kit, part of you actually wants to see it go off and subsequently witness the resulting choas that the physics allow.

We also get some improved graphical effects in the grenades and explosions, some new models, and although they pale in comparison to Doom III's, real-time player shadows also make an appearance. In addition, although no specifics come to mind, the sound feels a heck of a lot beefier and more natural now.

Although graphically Counter-Strike is still not quite up there with the latest cutting edge games of the next generation, at least it's safe to show in public now. I do however, think Half-Life 2 itself will look a lot better (its recent 98% review in the US version of PC Gamer seems to back this theory up).

Supreme Playability

The graphical facelifts given to the maps make them truly stunning

At the end of the day though, this is the same old Counter-Strike when all's said and done, a game I originally discovered all the way back in its beta days. Back then I distinctly remember thinking to myself how this was unlike any other game out there. Not only in the fact it wasn't made by a professional development team, but also just in how realistic it was.

These days Counter-Strike doesn't feel as realistic and hardcore as it used to, but this is simply 'cos so many games and franchises have ripped off its basic premise over the years. Ghost Recon, Raven Shield, Medal of Honor - I wonder if any would even exist without Counter-Strike. It's a game that proved you didn't need unlimited ammo and a super human energy bar to be fun. In fact, the pure beauty of Counter-Strike is how you can be wiped out in a split second. This forces you to stick to cover and work as a team if you want to survive, as you never know when death will strike.

Rectal examinations, Counter-Strike style

Ah yes - team work. Perhaps more than anything, this is Counter-Strike's greatest gift to online gaming. I was hooked on Quake II deathmatch prior to Counter-Strike's release, but after playing the beta for the first time and experiencing a genuine online team based firefight, I just couldn't go back to that free-for-all nonsense. It was immediately clear that this was the future for multiplayer gaming.

But it's not just these things that make CS shine. The buying system is an often overlooked, yet crucial part of the game. By rewarding players with money for staying alive and completing their objectives, you subsequently give more of an arc to the player's experience. The individual rounds matter the most, sure, but you also have to think about the big picture at the same time. Shall I blow all my cash this round to get that swanky new sniper rifle? Or shall I play it safe and stick to a cheaper SMG instead? Managing cash, weapons, armour and equipment is a fantastic and under-appreciated side to this game, which most surprisingly of all has yet to really catch on elsewhere. That all too important reward of cash ensures every player helps his team to victory, no matter what - there's no one-man heroics here.

Say Again? All After Incinerators

On the downside, I can honestly say the in-game voice communication still doesn't impress me. I could never understand a word in the old version, and the same can be said here. My team mates sound more like evil aliens, or some demented teenage version of Darth Vader - I'm often hard pressed to just figure out their nationality, let alone what they're saying.

Reloading animations were always a genuine highlight in the original

Also I must point out that the original reason I stopped playing CS back in the day was because the community turned to absolute crap. You couldn't find a single game where there wasn't some 11 year old cock jockey flaming and insulting everyone in his path, and it got to the point where it negated your enjoyment of the game. Although the community seems somewhat improved from how I remember it, there's still the odd twunt who thinks he's royalty.

Never the less, it's nice to revisit such a beauty after taking an extended break. This is one of the landmark PC games of all time, and this graphical update is a welcome surprise. Really though, this is but a small taste of the main course...Half-Life 2 itself. We're almost there people.