Day of Defeat

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And repeat till fade. Let me just clear something up right from the start here. Because it's been worrying me for a while now, and since we're all friends here, I feel like being scrupulously honest with you: There are a lot of people out there that are better at online shooters than me. There. I've said it.

However, this sad fact doesn't mean I hate them in any way. In fact, I love them. But Day Of Defeat does give me cause to raise a point I feel is pertinent to this whole online team shooting melange. Online shooters can be more than a little tricky for newbies to get into, and this is no exception. With many of its servers populated by groups of elite hotshots who will scare the weak-bladdered newcomer away rather quickly.

Day Of Defeat is a superb Half-Life mod. occasionally let down only by the hardcore nature of its players. Gameplay is more or less identical in nature to Battlefield 1942's WWII-themed territory capturing, just lacking the vehicles, map sizes and EA branding of developer DICE'S slightly superior gaming experience. Instead, DoD adheres slightly closer to every other Half-Life multiplayer mod's rush and crush' mindset. Each of the maps generally boils down to several key areas that house the core of the game's fighting.

Class War

With the right team-mates surrounding you, the potential for thrilling gun action is there for all to see. There are several classes for you to play as, each offering new options and requiring a completely different style of play. So while heavy machine gunners provide covering fire from sandbagged safety, cannon fodder - sorry, infantrymen - can storm the flag area ahead, while support classes chuck ammo pouches about the place like the expert tossers they are.

Unlike something as grand in scope as, say, Operation Flashpoint, where you feel like you are part of a much wider war. this is small-scale skirmish territory, plain and simple. You'll come to know the few square feet in the centre of the Avalanche map's ruined townscape like you do the back of your hand. Which means winning soon boils down to a combination of tactics, pattern repetition and fastest finger most accurate shot first.

War Changes Little

Fun though. In that diversionary, office lunch-hour, sort of way. Those that have been destroying the moral fabric of polite society with the downloadable pre-retail versions will want to know what's changed now that there's a big old Activision logo and price sticker on the box.

New maps. Nine of them, some with new objectives and sub-objectives, such as blowing up tanks, liberating important war documents and holding onto a stronghold. Other existing levels have been given a full Changing Rooms makeover, with tucks and tweaks here and there, plus a new lick of upgraded texture paint. Oh, and we plucky Brits have been chucked into the mix, replete with comedy 'Allo 'Allo accents and moustaches. Plus there's an in-game map you can put indicators on (see boxout, previous page), which adds a whole new dimension to the tactical possibilities, making teamwork far more regular than in most other online shooters.

The Guns Of Never On

This retail version also offers other features which the V1 download (available from the official website) doesn't. There's a new interface system which allows smoother server browsing and some easier customising, and there are new models too. It's also a standalone product, meaning you won't need a copy of Half-Life to play, as you do with the downloaded version.

But do I REALLY like this game? Well to put it simply, yes. I can't say DoD grabbed me as much as BF1942 did when I first encountered it, and I still prefer its larger-scale effort. But it makes a hell of a nice change from Counter-Strike, and it's a much more tactical experience.

It's fun, it's fast and it has the potential to be the next online shooter of choice among discerning housewives the world over. But whether you're prepared to pay twenty quid to play it when you can pretty much download it free of charge is up to you.

Missed Opportunity

Who's In Command Here?

We've said it before and we'll say it again, but some kind of command structure would massively increase the strategic possibilities in online shooters. A Captain, Sergeant, Corporal, Private hierarchy with penalties for not following orders would have made teamwork a must here. And if you could have the option to either switch this feature on or off, people could have the choice of what kind of server to run or join. No-one has done this yet. Maybe one day, someone will, and, in the process, shut us up.

Can You Tell What It Is Yet?

Or How A Fourteen Year-Old Won The War

One of the additions Valve has made to Day Of Defeat is a handy little map thing in the corner of the screen. Knowing where you're going always helps in a war situation, as does seeing exactly where your team-mates are being slaughtered, so you can avoid whoever it was who wiped your buddies out.

Extra special is the ability to enlarge the map and paint little symbols and directional markers onto it, letting all you armchair generals tell your clan of c00I dewdz exactly which areas to attack, and defend, or where the enemy has set up his sniper positions and machine gun nests. Assuming anyone out there actually bothers to listen to you, that is.