Opinion on these new cinematic effects is split. On the one hand, there is no doubting that they're pretty "cool" and in terms of making games more cinematic, they are definitely bringing movies and games closer together. However, there will be a significant number of hardcore gamers that will not welcome these changes, just as the resisted HDR. This vocal minority oppose any eye-candy that might get in the way of holding a competitive edge.

Take HDR Exposure Control, where the player is temporarily dazzled by the bright sunshine after exiting a building. Undoubtly a cool feature, but when you get head-shotted by an enemy player you can't see because you left your Oakleys on your desk, you quickly disable that feature under serious play conditions. (plus, they didn't have Oakleys in WWII - Ed).

Apply that theory to something like Day of Defeat and you get a similarly mixed reaction. It will greatly enhance in-game cinematics but its impact on live multiplayer will surely be limited. Think beyond that, however, and the potential should have a lot of people excited. For one, there is Half-Life 2: Aftermath and future Source-powered games that will surely take advantage of this technology. In a single-player environment, effects like Depth of Field can be employed in scripted scenes with great impact.