The most popular mod in the world comes back for a make over.
User Rating: 9 | Counter-Strike: Source PC
Everyone knows the name Counter-Strike, both gamers and non-gamers alike. In fact it is so popular it generates more internet traffic than the country of Italy. There are those of us that love it, and those of us that hate it, and I'm gona be honest with you, I hated Counter-Strike. It was very unrealistic run and gun twitch game with the worst community I have ever seen to date. So as you can tell I was less than thrilled when I heard that Half-Life 2s only multiplayer would be Counter-Strike Source at time of release. After beating HL2 I decided to give CS:S a whirl and see if had improved and what I saw shocked me. It still surprises me that I can actually have fun playing CS:S. CS:S is a fast paced action game where your play as either terrorists or counter terrorists and win by defeating everyone on the opposing team, planting/defusing a bomb, or rescuing hostages. The gameplay is fast, exhilarating and keep you siting at your computer for hours on end. Since CS:S is build in HL2s source engine it has unparallel graphics and truly mind blowing sounds. However I was disappointed at its physics. It seemed to take virtually no advantage of HL2s Havoc physics which, in my opinion, was a bad decision on Valves part. Even with a average PC CS:S runs unbelievably smooth in a multiplayer game if you get on a good sever and I rarely have problems with lag or low frame rates, but be warned! You should defiantly have at least 512 of ram, and 1gig is highly recommended. The question really comes down to is CS:S right for you? I personally enjoy it despite its unrealistic fast paced action, however this factor will make or break the game for you. If you are a pro at CS you probably won't find much satisfaction here as many of the players are newbies and the game actually seems easier. However there are some major down factors to the game, regardless of who you are. First of all the models hit boxes need to be drastically improved as they are very inaccurate and unreliable to date. Also there is a immensely annoying physics bug where if you get to close to a object it will bounce you away, much trying to force to + magnets together. There are also a limited amount of maps that begin to get very repetitive after only a few weeks. Luckily there are some custom maps to fill you needs and wants, as well as plenty of new skins. Overall CS:S was an enjoyable experience despite some bugs and n00bs. Since it comes with Half-Life 2, there is no reason not to try this game out. 
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