The Counter-Strike series began in 1999, with Counter-Strike 1.6 or the simple name of Counter-Strike. It fared well, gaining very positive reviews and sold well. Counter-Strike: Condition Zero was released in 2004 but wasn't made by the developers of the first game in the series. It didn't do so well, gaining mediocre reviews. So many of us were cautious when Counter-Strike: Source was announced. It would be made using Valve's new Source engine. Could the engine help the game succeed, though? Certainly, and does a great job.


Counter-Strike: Source is the first game to use the Source engine. It helps improve the game's visuals, audio and artificial intelligence, or AI for short. It was used for Half-Life 2 shortly after, impressing everyone with clever physics-based puzzles and AI. It has been used for many Valve games since, including Half-Life 2: Episode Two and Left 4 Dead. Several third-party games use it two, like Zeno Clash. However, it has been criticised for sometimes being hard to use in the development of a game.


Counter-Strike: Source is an online only first-person shooter. The game sees you joining the Terrorists or Counter-Terrorists, as with the other Counter-Strike games. The two teams face off, with the Counter-Terrorists attempting to defuse the Terrorist's bomb or save hostages, depending on the game mode you are in. Before entering a match, you must choose an outfit. You have four to choose from, whichever team you are in. The Terrorists can wear the outfits of the strong Arctic Avengers or aggressive Phoenix Connexion as well as two others. However, the Counter-Terrorists can control the British SAS and more.

The match starts with 'freeze time' where your team stands still for a few moments. In this time, you can buy a new weapon or purchase some handy equipment, like night-vision goggles or a helmet to protect you. You soon go into an intense battle against the other team. There are two modes in the game. The first gives one of the Terrorists the C4 bomb, which they plant in one of two areas. The Counter-Terrorists must attempt to defuse the bomb. The bomb blows up after about a minute. The Terrorists win if the bomb blows up, but the Counter-Terrorists succeed if they defuse the bomb. The next mode sees the Counter-Terrorists trying to save four hostages from the grasp of the Terrorists. The Counter-Terrorists win if they manage to escort the hostages to the hostage rescue point, but the Terrorists do if they prevent the hostages from being rescued. In both modes, the game can also be won by eliminating every player on the other team.

There are plenty of maps to choose from. One is Office, a small map set in an office building, with some garages nearby. The ground outside is coated with snow. Another is Italy, a huge map set in...well, Italy. There are several houses around it and full of open space for action-packed shoot-outs. Nearly every map is well-designed and fun to play in.


The graphics are very good, but won't stun you. Each map is detailed with different weather conditions. Dust is a large area covered with sand, while Assault is a military base in a crowed city. The character models are fairly impressive, although some are slightly ugly-looking. The graphics are great overall.


The game doesn't play any music, but the only sounds you will only hear are the guns firing. I think that they sound quite accurate but can 'hit you' at first, because of how loud they can be.


It would be hard for this to be up to the standard of the original Counter-Strike, but it surpasses it. The gameplay is very good, with fun online modes and maps. The graphics are pretty impressive and the guns sound realistic. The game is also quite addictive, with some people clocking up hundreds of hours. This could because of the 120+ Steam achievements you can collect.

I can't really think of any negatives. Your computer may not have enough space on it to download the game, so check how much space you have before you buy.


The game is rated 16+ in the UK and M17+ in America. However, I don't agree with these. Shooting enemies makes some blood splatter on the walls, but it's not much. It can also be quite intense, but I think a 12 year old could play this.

Gameplay: 9/10
Graphics: 8.5/10
Sound: 9/10
Value for Money: 9/10
Longevity: 9.5/10 Release: November 2004

Price: £13.80 new (Amazon.co.uk)
£13.99 (Steam)
Developer: Valve
Publisher: Valve