Half-Life: Day of Defeat Review

Another Half-Life mod is once again stealing the spotlight. The hugely famous online multiplayer World War II Half-Life mod, “Day of Defeat,” has actually been around for years. It started out as a small project of some College students which then made its way onto the net and a PC Gamer Demo disc. As the Development Team grew larger, so did maps, models, weapons, an character designs. From the infamous dod_overlord map that was literally the size of a small room, to its current state as dod_charlie which is one of the biggest and most detailed maps in Half-Life modding history. As it continued to grow, it continually caught the eye of Valve Software (Creators of the Half-Life Series and Publisher of Counter-Strike). And in 2003, Valve sponsored the release of Day of Defeat v.1.0 as a retail package. From there on, DOD has undergone many changes as it entered the ever popular STEAM network.

In DOD, you get to choose between two teams. The Allied Forces (US and British) and the Axis Forces (Germany). Each team has its own array and assortment of very different Weapons that are binded to each type of class. For instance, the very skillful to use Riflemen will assume the very accurate and versatile M1 Garand, while equipped with 2 hand grenades and a colt pistol. While the Riflemen may lack the firepower that most players crave, the rewards of mastering this class are up there in the frag heavens. If you want to cover your allies or suppress enemy forces while staying stationary, then the Machine Gun class holds the firepower you want. The “MG” class is probably the most popular class that beginning and experienced players hold. By finding a stationary spot, you can deploy your machine gun on its tripod, and then blast whatever moves, vibrates, or speaks. While many will find that the MG’s usually gain more kills than others, the major drawback to the MG class, is its Inability to take lead. The powerful and heavy gun when not deployed, makes firing at an enemy literally impossible as bullets spray in almost every direction, which makes this class only good for giving support. As you can see each class is chosen by simply what gun you prefer. Class weapon system includes variations of Rifles, Sub-Machine Guns, Machine Guns, Sniper Rifles, Bazookas, and pistols.

The Gameplay in DOD, is just as perfect as the popular Counter Strike’s. While both mods use the legendary Half-Life Engine, DOD’s differs in slight ways. For one, DOD features a stamina meter, that deals with how much the solider can health wise take. For instance, running for an exceeded amount of time, tires the soldier which therefore makes him slower if he keeps it up. While a drawback to those who play games as the typical “Super Rambo Character,” the feature incorporates realism, and a challenge. Another feature of the gameplay in DOD is the availability of pickup items that allow you to complete certain objectives. For instance, the most common object you’ll find are packs of dynamite and explosives. These packs can be used to both destroy map-objectives and blow holes in walls to open shortcuts and entrances to secret holdouts and strongholds.

Perhaps the strongest and best feature of DOD’s gameplay is its dependence on Teamwork. “World War II wasn’t won alone.” While every game will always have those players that can complete each objective by themselves (Counter-Strike), but DOD requires players to work together to both complete objectives, and advance in the map. Graphics wise DOD is able to take the lead out of the power house mods like Team Fortress Classic and even Counter-Strike, but yet are limited again to the HL Mod Status. (Expect to see them improve with the HL2 Engine). The models for both inanimate objects are highly detailed, and at full resolution are just as fun to look at, as to play with. Also World War II wasn’t fought in a room or in a hallway, and the creators knew that. So they set out and created huge maps that resemble the real life areas where war was fought (Like the infamous Charlie Sector of Normandy, and the famous bridge scene of Raynor). Each map comes with specific objectives to be completed, along with all the team-deathmatch style combat you can handle.

One reason why most enjoy playing DOD is because of its realistic feeling, weapon Sound Effects. Most games today lack the feeling of controlling a “real gun.” And I believe that the sound effects of weapons control that feeling. For instance, to make a gun sound real, it needs to have a somewhat “Heavy sound,” and not some paper light sound such as the sound effects in TFC and even games like Call of Duty. DOD has mastered this aspect, as the M1 Garand sounds full and complete. The BAR sounds heavy and that of cold steel. The Mg-32 sounds like its using chemical pressure to pump out each round it fires. And the Sniper Rifle, feels and sounds like a powerful eruption of a bullet every hit. It’s this that adds to the excitement and realism of the game.

Of course all these features do create a low point. And that is that this game requires serious connections and memory to get the best experience. Each mortar, bullet, explosion, and shell casing, you see and hear requires memory. This is the main reason that DOD features the most lag out of any HL Mod. (Even paring close with the spameriffic TFC). In fact, good DOD servers require extraordinary providers that use machines with serious processing power to keep track of everything. And since every player is equipped with 1+ grenades from spawn, think of about 64 grenades exploding…At about the same time, and then you’ll see where I stand.

Overall this game is a blast to play, and currently resides as one of the most popular Half-Life mods next to Counter-Strike. And now a resident of the Popular STEAM Network, bugs and glitches are fixed on almost a weekly basis of updates. Not bad for a project that started out in a college dorm.


The Good:

• A Fully Satisfying Multiplayer Experience

• A heavy array of weaponry with sound effects to bring them to life

• Maps are huge and allow the heavy combat to be “Pushed” around the map.


The Bad:

• Requires more system power then other Half-Life mods.

• Fixable bugs, but they are still overlooked.


The Affirmation:

• “The object of war is not to die for your country, but to make your enemy die for theirs.”

-Patton