Online Teambased Tactical Combat (Counter-Strike for Half-Life (PS))

Member Name: kimm

Product:	Counter-Strike for Half-Life (PS)
Date:	13/01/02 (183 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Realistic, Tactical, Good Visuals and Sounds

Disadvantages: Hard to pick up and play, Alot of cheater online, Some disappointing maps

CounterStrike is an online first person shooter, where two teams battle it out for supremacy on one of the many well designed and realistic maps. The two teams are that of the CounterTerrorists, and the Terrorists. The game consists of "rounds", where each player is given a life (100 hitpoints), and as they get shot or wounded, their hitpoints decrease. If you die, you are out of that round until the new one.

The two teams start in separate locations on a map and are given 5 seconds to buy a large selection of weapons ranging from a knife, to an M469 Para Machine Gun. Some of the weapons include the Glock 18, Desert Eagle.50, MP5/Navy, AK47, MAC10(uzi), M4A1 Colt Carbine, Arctic Warfare/Magnum, and a selection of sniper rifles for combat at long range to name but a few. A range of grenades are also avaible. Not all weapons are avaiable to both teams. Cash is earned by killing enemies or by accomplishing preset goals.

One thing is for certain, the makers of CounterStrike were aiming for real life accuracy. The guns "kick up" as they would in real life, and simply holding down the fire button will NOT be a sure way of eliminating any enemies in your path. It is much more effective to be stealthy, using short bursts instead of going in all guns blazing.

Sound is also crucial, you must be able to hear people coming round corners to gain the advantage, and "walking" slowly instead of running renders you silent. The maps are all very realistic with locations ranging from Italy to a raid on a POW camp. The game is also very versatile, with four different missions. Assassination, Hostage Rescue, Escape and Bomb Defuse. Commucation is made easy by a large list of binded key commands ranging from "GO GO GO!" to "Team Fall Back!". Tactics are vital if your team is to succeed in beating the other team.

CouterStrike uses the Half Life game engine, which means that in terms of v
isual quality, it does not dissapoint. Even though the game engine and mechanics are over two years old, this Mod for Half-Life is still very impressive. The number of players online everyday is testament to the fact that it is a very successful online game.

However, CounterStrike does yield a few problems. The first is that of the maps avaiable. Some are too big, badly designed or lack the innovation of some of the others, and many players will find that learning the maps will be overwhelming. Cheaters are also rife online, and many of the anti cheat systems are failing to counter this continuous annoyance. The game is also VERY hard to get into, as it is so different to other first person shooters such as Quake III Arena and Unreal Tournament. Life is precoius in this game, and the newer players will often find themselves sitting out boring rounds until a new round begins.

Summary: