Counterstrike Source (Counter-Strike: Source (PC))

Member Name: Greenyman

Product:	Counter-Strike: Source (PC)
Date:	19/02/09 (24 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Very realistic gameplay online, provokes good team play.

Disadvantages: No single player storyline and online mode very difficult for beginners.

Counter strike: source is an exciting and realistic fps (first person shooter). Although it is becoming older in the gaming world and being surpassed by new games with higher graphics and more complex game play it is still one of the most played multiplayer games you can buy. It was voted "Multiplayer Game of the year" by PC Games Magazine when it was first released in 2005. The bonus with this game is that it comes with 2 extra games free when you install the "Steam" application to run the game. These are Half-life 2: Deathmatch and Day of Defeat: Source.

Before counter strike I often got fed up of the unrealism of fps shooters. Such as players still standing after numerous shots taken to the head and bullets stopped by wafer thin wooden doors. This game changes all this and invites you into a realistic world of game play where the one life you are given is all you have and must defend it as if it were your own.

As soon as you log on to the online servers you immediately notice the popularity of this game as thousands upon thousands of servers fill your page with numerous maps and game modes. The beauty of this game is it can be easily modified to make new maps or game modes and objectives to ensure game play never becomes tedious. This is one of the reasons you can sit playing this game for hours. The common objectives are either terrorist hostage situations or deterring the terrorists from planting a bomb at 1 of 2 designated sights. In these game modes you can choose to play as either "terrorist" or "counter-terrorist" and then select 1 of four characters from the team. The modified game modes often include a "Zombie" mode where players take on exceedingly strong AI bots disguised as zombies. Alternatively there is the "Gungame" (gg) mode where every player begins the game with a basic Glock pistol and works their way through the weapons by receiving an upgrade for every kill they get until a winner is decided by the first player to get a kill with every weapon and the knife.

The actual game play is very exciting as the high difficulty of staying alive enforces the use of special tactics, weapons and team play. At the beginning of each round you are provided money to buy your weapons and equipment. Depending on how well you and your team performed in the previous team denotes how much money you are given which in turn decides the quality of weapons you can buy. Because of the online difficulty at staying alive most rounds finish within a few minutes with one team victorious.

All the weapons amalgamate to create a fantastic game. There are plenty of guns to choose from basic pistols to heavy machine guns and rifles. Special equipment includes HE grenades, smoke grenades, flash bangs, helmets, kevlar, night vision and bomb defusal kits.

The important thing to remember with this game is there are a lot of pro's that play this game online making it difficult so do not be disheartened if you are killed several times. The single player mode offers the same scenarios as online with bots replacing players. This can become tiresome as the bots can do silly things such as walking straight past the enemy without realising. In contrast to this they also seem to do the impossible, by pinpointing your position with their back turned to you. This is however a great game and I can see myself playing it for years to come despite the constantly evolving gaming world.
Hope this helps!

Summary: All in all this is a great game that can become addictive with practise.