Game Review: Counter Strike: Source
Let's start with the
history of the Counter Strike franchise. Counter Strike started out as
a Half Life 1 modification. The modification pitted terrorists against
counter-terrorists and was a smash hit in the Half Life community. It
was soon picked up by Valve, the makers
of Half Life, and packaged as an entirely different game for those who
didn't own Half Life. A few versions of the game later and Counter
Strike is now on the Source engine, Valve's pride and joy.
The
game differs from lots of FPSs in the sense that even a skilled player
will have to be cautious and methodical about what he does. There is no
running into a room and instantly killing everyone in it without
thinking (Except for some INCREDIBLY strong players.)Also, the Source
engine makes movement harder and inertia much more prevalent. This
makes for a slow, more tactical game that relies heavily on pinpoint
aim.
The game is played in rounds. Every round both teams start
at a designated point with only the weapons and equipment they had last
round (In the case of the first round, everyone starts with a handgun.)
Both teams can "Buy" new weapons at the start of the round. The weapon
selection is large and varied. In addition all the weapons are based on
real life guns, only with a few minor differences.
Pretty much
all maps either involve the terrorist team trying to bomb something and
the counter-terrorist team trying to stop them, or the terrorist team
holding hostages and the counter-terrorists trying to rescue them.
While there may be only two gameplay variations, it doesn't get dull.
Also one team can win by killing everyone on the enemy team, except in
the case where the terrorists have already planted the bomb, in which
case the only way for counter-terrorists to win is by defusing it.
The graphics in the game are what you would expect from the Source
engine, great. For it's time at least. Obviously it pales in comparison
to some of the things being released nowadays or even the newer Source
based games. Character models look good and animation is pretty smooth.
And the weapon models are fantastic. Ragdolls, the flexible dynamic
bodies of dead characters, can sometimes bend in...strange ways however.
The sound is good, especially footsteps. Listening for footsteps can be
very important, many times meaning the difference from bumping into the
enemy in a doorway and being shot to death, or being able to hide in
that room and ambushing him. This is certainly a game you will want to
play with good headphones on.
In addition the game has great
support for microphones. You can easily plug one in and start chatting
and planning with you teammates. However like any online multi-player
there is the mandatory "Griefer" who simply wants to play loud music
into the mic or even worse, start shouting, yelling, and swearing at
everyone. Luckily there is the "Mute Player" option in the menu that is
easy to access, and a breeze to use.
The community in Counter
Strike is far and away, the largest in any FPS game. There is a
multitude of clans and groups you can join, and you will never have any
problem finding somewhere to play. This largeness however, comes with
its cons. There are plenty of mean people ready to spoil your
experience, but as long as you ignore these individuals, you will be
fine.
Overall, Counter Strike is the granddaddy of all
Multi-player shooting games. If you like multi-player shooting and
haven't played Counter Strike yet, you owe it to yourself to at least
give it a try.
3.5/5
