So, What’s New?

After reading our thoughts along with opinions of others on the Counter Strike: Source game, one could probably ask the main question: what is exactly better on the new game compared to the old one? Well, here are a few answers…

• Graphics. The CS’s graphics based on the latest Source engine is definitely better compared to the original Half-Life/Counter Strike game, however, due to the fact that developers push for higher framerate rather than for extreme eye-candy in online games, it is not that good as compared to the FarCry.
• Sound. Counter Strike: Source acquired support for Dolby Digital 5.1, however, due to the nature of this game, there are not a lot of places where gamers can really experience advanced audio, therefore, Counter Strike’s audio engine does not have that much glory as that of the Doom III. Still, the progress from the original Counter Strike is clear.
• Physics. Physics has for a while been the thing that was believed to be the best in the Half-Life 2. However, due to pretty simplestic maps of the Counter Strike: Source, this engine that is said to be unbelievable does not deliver all of its magnificence, as online games should run fast, even with sacrifice of eye-candy.
• Gameplay. Gameplay is something that is unique about the Counter Strike – weapons and realism of the situation are probably better than in similar titles. However, possibly due to the reasons mentioned above, there is a lack of certain possible missions. Thanks to more advanced graphics and audio effects as well as improved interaction with the environment, the new Counter Strike: Source is definitely something that popular online games have not seen so far, still, there are loads of space for improvement.

To put it straight, the Counter Strike: Source is an ideal game for those who love original Counter Strike. But if you are looking for a Half-Life 2-like game and have not played the original title, you will hardly find the CS: Source really interesting.

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It would not be absolutely correct to extrapolate the peculiarities of the Counter Strike: Source to the forthcoming Half-Life 2, as the first person shooter games typically have more eye candy compared to online titles. Furthermore, framerate requirements of single-person shooters are not that high and developers can add more interesting features to pleasure those who have been waiting for the “game of all games”.