CS SOURCE BETA IMPRESSIONS!!

Hey guys,

Visited my local cyber cafe in Montclair, NJ (yes there are cafes in NJ) and since they were apart of the valve cyber cafe program, I got to play CS source!

The map that was played on was de_dust, the only beta map i was told.

Gameplay:

Gameplay is exactly reflective of the original CS, apart from the new environments that I will touch on later. This is a good thing. As the saying goes, if it aint broke, don't fix it. Weapon physics, damage has not been touched as far as I know and nothing has been "added" to the game that you havent seen in CS 1.6.

Physics:

This is what makes this so much better. PHYSICS!! Firefights are not only intense, they are lifelike. Randomly sprawled objects are throughout the map that can be kicked, shot, blown up etc. From milk cartons to glass bottles to cans to hay baskets, cinderblocks, barrels etc. When a grenade is thrown its amazing to see the objects fly realisticly. It just makes the game that much better. Even after playing doom 3 religiously the past few days, HL physics are most definately the best out of all the engines. In one scene, I shot a guy and obviously his body went limp because of the physics, but not only that, he went flying, crashing through barrels and rolled down a few feet further. Its just moments like that which make you say wow.

Weapons:

All of the weapons have been given a nice look upgrade with detail that is reflective of the original. The most improved on is the grenades. First is the flashbang which works at several different levels. like in far cry, gives you that "still" image when its flashed but if you are point blank staring at a flash, your whole screen will be white, followed up with the still image. If you are farther away, you just get the still image. The smoke grenades have been improved upon alot and actually work! As you get closer to the smoke, the whole screen becomes cloudy as if you are really inside a cloud of smoke. Like it should! No more sprites! The HE grenades effects are phenominal. The whole screen rattles as sparks fly and objects whizz by your head. Just an amazing sense of reality. Along with that, the new C4 looks very cool, as a mini computer with LCD display.

Graphics:

Now the good stuff. The graphics have essentially been given a facelift. Like explained before, the grenades have their essential effects that actually work (*cough* smoke *cough*). The way the weapons fire upon walls and objects are just amazing. When you shoot a metal barrel, sparks fly as the barrel falls over realisiticly. When you shoot a wall, chunks of the wall fly out as it is turned to dust. Everything is just so clear. The models have also been updated like expected, but nothing too worthy to note :) Also, the skybox has been eliminated now giving a sense of reality to the sky as the level looks as it goes on for miles....

Environments:

The new dust map has been updated with bells and whistles to say the least. With markings of terrorist iraqi writings along the walls to the ambiance of helecopters circiling the background to just the overall feel that you ARE in a terrorist area. Its just an awesome sense of reality again, that makes this game like it was originally anticipated to become.

Sounds:

Oh my god. I was playing with cheesy logitech headphones and all I know is that the sounds are so crisp, so clear that one would think their in iraq figting for their lives. The sounds of hitting barrels to hitting the walls as dust flys out is just exceptional. It is something you need to hear, they did such a good job of updating the sounds and it shows.

Overall:

CS is back. Back with vengeance. To sum it up, CS rocks. I have been away from the scene for a few years now only because of its outdated looks. What is good to hear is that the overall gameplay is still there and the new looks are physics are not only welcoming, but fit PERFECTLY into the mixture.

Everything works. Everything that has been intended to work in the past now works. More specificially the grenades. This is how CS was ment to be played. I cant wait to finally use my ATI voucher on the 18th :)

The environment of the new dust is awesome.

Props to Xithan cafe in NJ, and sorry for any spelling mistakes :) I cant wait for HL2 and CS :)