Half-Life has enjoyed quite an active online community for many years, a community that has produced fan made content for the game up until this day. The most popular of these being Counter-Strike, a free modification of Half-Life's multiplayer section which has, over the years, proved to be more popular than many retail games. Though overshadowed by Counter-Strike, Day of Defeat has always remained a close second favourite of all the Half-Life mods and, like CS, it too was destined for a full scale, Half-Life 2 powered upgrade, though not before suffering numerous delays. Was it worth the wait? Certainly, though it's not without its share of disappointments.

Previous Day of Defeat players will have a fair idea of what to expect from Day of Defeat: Source. Set during the Second World War, the game pits US and Axis forces against one another in a series of maps loosely based on real battle locations, where the ultimate goal is to capture all of the five flag positions located throughout each map. However, with realism playing a key factor and maps designed so that every vantage point can in some way be countered by the opposing team, simply staying alive long enough to capture just one flag, let alone all five, can be a challenge in itself. Perhaps one thing many Day of Defeat players won't be familiar with is the lack of some of the game's features.

This isn't, as some may have been hoping, a direct port of the previous version of the game; it lacks many of the features that were introduced over DoD's long lifespan. There are no British Skins and Weapons, the Objective Based round mode similar to Counter-Strike's is absent, a couple of weapons are missing, you don't bleed or slow down when standing too close to the blast radius of a grenade, there are no longer any parts of the environment that can be blown up and, perhaps most importantly of all, there are only four maps. It's easy to see why many of these features were left out - after all, Day of Defeat: Source is practically a new game using new technology with new players - but it's the lack of maps that really hurts the game.

Thankfully (or disappointingly if you were expecting something new), all of the four maps currently available are updates of past Day of Defeat classics. Anzio, Avalanche, Donner and Flash will be instantly recognisable to anyone who's played past versions of the game. Their overall layout remains the same, apart from the odd tweak or two, however, their looks have improved quite considerably.

Using Valve's famed Source Engine, the game is recreated in stunning detail. Everything from the textures through to the lighting is leagues ahead of even the most recent games. Character models boast an exquisite amount of detail in both look and animations, while the rag doll physics are put to more use in this game than in any other before it; in fact, this is perhaps the only online shooter where you really do feel the full force of a sniper weapon or grenade. Most impressive is the use of the Source Physics, used sparingly in the CS update, but here put to greater use, with more movable objects cluttering the battlefield. Some of these objects can even be used tactically, with players already utilising the environment to their advantage, pushing sofas over stairways to prevent people from sneaking up, or plugging gaps in walls by blocking them with a cupboard or piano.

Improved graphics and technological niceties aside, DoD: Source does boast one new substantial feature in the form of High Dynamic Range lighting, which was also responsible for the game being delayed as much as it was. Originally it was intended for Half-Life 2, but later dropped due to Valve's fear than many people's graphics cards wouldn't be able to cope running it. For those not up to speed on what HDR does, it's an effect that gives the game much more realistic lighting. For instance, when you walk into a building your vision will blur for a second or two as your eyes adapt to the interior lighting - same for when you walk out. Everything looks shinier, lighting gets duller when entering shaded areas and surprisingly it turns the torch into a tactical weapon, as it can now blind anyone who looks directly at it. It's not without problems though, as it is a system hog and some people have already been experiencing problems running the game at an acceptable frame rate with the feature on; thankfully the HDR can turned off at any time from the menu screen.

Elsewhere, things remain much the same. The game structure is unchanged. Before each round you have to choose from six weapons classes, Rifleman, Assault, Support, Sniper, Machine Gun and Rocket. Past players will notice some differences in weapons; the Riflemen for example no longer have grenades, at least none can be thrown - instead they get the Rocket Propelled kind, which can be fitted to the end of the rifle and shot more precisely, whereas the Assault class, which is largely unchanged, do now get to deploy Smoke grenades (showcasing some lovely smoke effects), an invaluable asset when trying to cross a map covered by enemy Machine Gun positions.

Each class is as important as the other, the Rifleman, Assault and Support classes are integral to gaining ground, clearing away enemy positions and securing flags, while without the added back up of snipers and machine gunners there'd be little to stop the other team from sweeping through the map. Only the rocket class seems a little out of place, with no destructible pieces of scenery or objectives, their rocket launchers feel a little useless, though their secondary weapon does still make them more than capable of dealing out a fair amount of damage.

Character movement speed has been increased, allowing you to get to the action faster, though this doesn't make the game as fast paced as other online shooters. Don't expect gung-ho tactics to work here; being caught out in the open in daring raids against the other team will more than likely result in death - this is still far from the twitch based antics of Counter-Strike. Realism plays a key factor; all the weapons have recoil with its effect worsening the more powerful the gun, so while those looking for a quick kill may rely on the biggest, loudest weapon, actually managing to fire a straight enough line for it to hit something will prove to be quite difficult.

The maps also lend themselves to a more tactical style of play. Expertly designed, it's not simply a case of running from A to B. With numerous positions in which players can use to lay down suppressing fire, anyone unlucky enough to get stuck out in the open is easy prey. Day of Defeat forces you to use your surroundings, using every bit of rubble as cover or every hole in the wall as a sniper position. But despite the slower pace and the reliance on close quarters combat, the game is far from meandering, with some of the fiercest gun battles seen online. It is very much a team based game and the objective of both teams is to capture all the flags. It's these flags where the bulk of the fighting takes place, as each team tries desperately to gain control of the map. But it's difficult to get the advantage without the rest of the team co-operating, especially as some flags require more than one person to capture.

What enhances the game's enormous clashes between the two teams is the excellent sound quality. If you can here the distant rattling of gunfire and explosions, chances are that it's happening in real time. Hear a grenade explode from half the map away and it'll sound muffled due to the distance between you and the explosion. This is an incredibly impressive feature that negates the use of the flat, repeating background sound files that the original game used. More impressively is the detail in each and every sound; the dirt falling to the ground after an explosion or the sound of empty bullet casings bouncing on the floor - the DoD team have often displayed a great attention to detail but this is the first time they've extended that to the sound department.

Of course, sounds can be used tactically as well - each weapon has its own sound, from the fierce M1 Garand and its unique sound when dumping an empty ammo clip to the absolutely devastating noise of an MG42 when it opens up. The more tactful players will begin to recognise these sounds and use them to their advantage, planning ambushes for unsuspecting rival players, though hopefully carefully enough not to shoot their own teammates who've scavenged an enemy weapon!

Despite the frantic gameplay and excellent graphics and sound quality, Day of Defeat is lumbered with at least two substantial problems. The first will and already has bothered long serving DoD fans who have already been quick to jump on certain balancing issues with the weapons. Previously, the German KAR 98 was a one shot kill weapon for instance, but not so here. The problem isn't so much that it can no longer kill in a single shot anymore but that this and its M1 Garand counterpart don't cause nearly as much damage as they should do.

It's now difficult to score kills with these weapons unless aiming directly for a head or torso shot and even then there's no guarantee you'll score a kill. The damage that rifles do seems to vary from fatal to barely causing a scratch. Furthermore, the Rifleman class has been stripped of their pistol while the attached bayonet has been replaced by the ability to use iron sights for better aiming, which is a feature that few use. At close range, with only a knife for comfort, a rifleman doesn't last long against other classes. Compared to the Assault class who have an explosive grenade, smoke grenade, knife, pistol, sub-machine gun and the ability to punch people in the face if they get too close, it's not hard to see why Assault is currently the most popular class in the game.

But it's not good news for the heavier weapons either; the recoil, while impressive in its attempt to make the game more challenging, does effect accuracy wildly. Shooting a full clip from the StG 44 (a heavy assault weapon) for example while standing up will see you hitting just about every object on the map except for the guy in front of you. Such problems will, hopefully, be sorted in forthcoming patches; the development team is listening to people's concerns over the game, so these issues should, in time, eventually be resolved.

Perhaps the most troubling aspect of the game, particularly for newcomers, is the cost. The game is currently selling for $19.95 (approximately £11.30) and only available through Valve's Steam content delivery system, but for four maps is it really worth it? More importantly, should you pay for what is essentially an upgrade of a modification for Half-Life? After all, mods are developed as free additions to an existing games, so should you really hand over £10 for one? Well, the short answer is yes you should, because Day of Defeat: Source is worth it.

It'll not be to everyone's liking, it lacks the size of Battlefield 2 while choosing not to adopt the current trend of drivable vehicles that seem so popular in most modern online shooters, but where Day of Defeat: Source succeeds is in its team based, close quarter battles, forcing you to use each map's surroundings and adapt appropriate tactics to ensure success for your team. It looks great, sounds brilliant and contains some of the most impressive shootouts I've experienced in online gaming. In the end though, it'll all depend on whether you think a game with only four maps is worth £11 (those who bought the Silver or Gold Half-Life 2 packages over Steam are able to get it free due to it being part of the package deal) and though this is a small number, Valve have already released numerous maps for Counter-Strike: Source through Steam since its release and is planning to do the same with Day of Defeat.

Ultimately, you're paying just over £10 for an impressive, fun online game. Some fans who've been waiting the release of Day of Defeat: Source since its first announcement may be upset by some of the changes, while others will be ecstatic about some of the improvements - yet all should find that the game is just as enjoyable and as addictive as it has been in previous versions, and hopefully in time, new updates and maps should bring in a new generation of Day of Defeat fanatics.

Reviewed by Kieron Giacopazzi for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).