Counter-Strike: Source - One of the best games ever (Counter-Strike: Source (PC))

Member Name: _jlee

Product:	Counter-Strike: Source (PC)
Date:	15/08/08 (245 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Very fun, immense amounts of servers, maps, modifications,

Disadvantages: Difficult/frustrating for newbies

The Counter-Strike series became a massive hit since it was first released in 2000. Eight years on, and upon hearing Counter-Strike, many people think of the new version, Counter-Strike on their which Valve remade on their Source Engine, and named it Counter-Strike: Source. (Although still the old version named Counter-Strike 1.6 is possibly still the most played game on the internet.)

The interface of the menu is very simple, and easy to follow. Along with the single player mode, you can create your own local "listen" server, find online servers and change your options. In the options you can change key settings, video, sound, microphone and other settings. More advanced tweaking can be done through the console, or through cfg config files.

The Source engine, on which the game is based on, has quite a few nice effects programmed in. A notable one is the "ragdoll" type model movement which simulates a realistic death movement. Other physics and effects such as HDR (High Dynamic Range) lighting are also in the game. The graphics are not particularly spectacular by todays standards, but still, textures can be made pretty detailed and intricate.

In the singleplayer mode, it has no storyline or anything, it is just the multiplayer, but with bots. Although the bots are fairly intelligent and can communicate with players using the radio, and so on, most of the time it is pretty boring. Using advanced nav files, you can make the bots smarter, by finding new hiding spots, paths and so on. But still it's just playing with bots.

When you go to find a server, to play online, you may be surprised that there are literally tens of thousands of servers and this is when you first realize the sheer variety of Counter-Strike. Upon connecting to the game, you get a choice to join the Terrorist (often referred to as just "T") team or the Counter-Terrorist team ("CT") or joing the spectators where you get to watch the action using three different camera modes. When a round starts you begin at your designated spawnpoint and usually are allowed to buy your weapons there (using money you earn by gettings kills, winning the round and so on. There is a large variety of guns to choose, each useful for certain purposes, and you inflict more damage for example, shooting at the opposing team's head than right leg. After dying, you have to wait until the end of the round to respawn, making it more tactical and different from other deathmatch style games. Using team chat, whole server chat and microphones can enhance the enjoyment of communicating in game.

The most fun, in my experience is playing with friends and getting many kills. Sometimes, when you are not doing very well, it is easy to get angry and not have fun. Especially when you are a newcomer and you are getting killed very often.

Earlier, when I noted the variety, this is due to many many factors. Most of this originates from the excellent community and fanbase, who are always making new and fun ways to play the game. Not only are there the built in detailed and balanced maps but there are thousands of fun and interesting custom user-made maps. Often these are less well designed than the official maps that come with the game, but there are many that come close, and many just for fun. As well as a massive choice of maps, people have been implementing modifications for their server, some include Zombie Mod, a conversion of the game which pits humans against a zombie, which can infect other players using barricades and specially designed maps to Gun-game mod, where players earn their weapons through kills with a gun assigned to them to Surf modifications which allow players to fly around maps riding slopes and manipulating the game's physics. There are modifications to turn it into deathmatch, and also it is possible for very small tweaks, and additions such as jetpacks, grenade trail effects and thousands more.

There are also competitive leagues, normally sponsored by computer hardware companies or gaming websites which offer prize money for the best clans. There are professional gamers which make money playing this game.

The game doesn't particularly push the gaming limits anymore, needing just a recommended 2.4 GHz processor, 512mb of RAM and at least a Direct X 9 compatible graphics card. Although this is recommended, I don't think you will be able to play on great settings or resolution with this setup.

The game itself is excellent for the price of around £20 instore, or as little as about £10 online. Note that without a broadband connection, you will not experience the fun fully.

Not only is this a serious FPS, but there is so much variety, you can basically play hundreds of other games or modifications which are different from the standard game, and also you can play very laid back. One of the best games ever.

Summary: Amazing game, can have you playing for hours at a time!