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you seem to love cs as much as i do,excellent choice bro. only game i need to play to live happy ever and ever only thing is i move in condition zero there my clan and we're on cal.Counter-Strike
It's time to let the Cows, Lemmings, and Sheep know why we hermits don't give a sh** about Halo 3, Haze, or Killzone, it's because we've been playing one of the best online shooters in the world -- for the past 8 years.
What is this Counter-Strike?
Counter-Strike is a popular modification (mod) made off the critically acclaimed PC FPS, Half-Life. It is online only and is simple in design; Two teams are pitted against each other (Counter-Terroist (CTs) vs Terroists (Ts) ). Either team can win simply by elimating the other team (you only get one life, then you have to wait for the next round), however they are several other game types such as the main one -- Defuse the bomb, where the Ts plant C4 at one of the 2 marked bombsites on the map, and the CTs must defuse it and/or prevent them from planting it in the first place. There is also rescuing hostages, and protecting the VIP. And of course, countless numbers of mods and custom made maps for everyones' enjoyment.
I get it, but why is it so good?
First of all, there are the guns...
Counter-Strike boasts a variety of around 25 different weapons that are waiting to be mastered(twice as many has Halo 2, and almost 3x as many as GeOW, next gen? lmao). Each gun sounds great, and they are very fun to shoot making it so you will never become bored. A large variety of modern day pistols, shotguns, SMGs, assault rifles, and a machine gun await your trigger finger, as well as grenades, flashbangs, smoke grenades, kevlar and other useful accesories to help you in your fire-fights.
The Visuals...
Some may laugh at this one, but for an 8 year-old game, Counter-Strike still satsifies the eyes. Not to mention, Counter-Strike Source (mod of Half-Life 2), is using a gorgeous graphics engine complete with a great display of physics.
The Gameplay...
This is where it's at folks. For those of you who haven't played, you may think oh its another FPS, run and shoot, spawn camp, and spray your heart out. No, no and no. This is not Halo kiddies.
Recoil
Recoil plays a HUGE part as a gameplay mechanic in Counter-Strike. If you can't control your recoil, don't plan on getting any frags. And no this is not Halo recoil where you simply pull down on your joystick as your recoil gets higher, recoil in Counter-Strike takes lots of practice, and even years to perfect. Each gun is different, requiring speific motions of your mouse hand. Professional players can land a whole clip of an automatic rifle in the same spot, while a new player probably couldn't kill a guy from behind.
Recoil also ties into another skillful gameplay device--Strafing
Again, this isn't the strafing that you know of in games like Halo, where you can run around your enemy and spray at them like mad and suffer no penalty in accuracy or recoil.
Strafing in Counter-Strike consists of a side-to-side motion, and due to the recoil, the player must stop for a split second to land a burst of 2-4 shots at his enemy accurately. Players often find themselves in a strafing battle with another player for long lengths of time if they can't hit each other. A good player could probably strafe once and place 2 shots in your face, while two players may take up to 15 seconds to kill each other due to missing. Strafing can also lead to interesting corner play, where a player pops out frequently to take pot shots at his enemy, and his enemy has to guess when he pops out, and when he himself should take cover.
Reflexes
Almost every comepetitve game requires good reflexes, but this seems to be play more critically in Counter-Strike. A player with fast reflexes and good aim can dominate the battle-field, even with a pistol. For example, that player could be watching a corner with a Desert Eagle (most powerful handgun in the game) at close range. If this player is freakishly fast (often are), they can one shot their opponent in the face as soon as he whips around the corner. Reflexs play a critical role in the use of the AWP(sniper rifle, one shot kills above the belt). A fast sniper can cover a slit of a passage way, and nail the anything that he sees pass through it. A fast awper is quite the challenge to take on, and you'd be better off hiding and making him come to you (two fast snipers battling can be quite the show). Basically, in Counter-Strike, you want to nail anything that moves onto your screen in the face as quick as possible, and with the above explanation of recoil and strafing, it's a lot harder then it sounds.
Walling
Walling is the term used to describe shooting through a wall, box, or door. There are many wallable spots in Counter-Strike, and a skillful player can use them to great advantage. For example, if you see your opponent pass behind a door but miss your first shot at him, you can try to guess where he is the split second after left your field of view, and shoot the spot on door you think most likely he would be. Walling someone is a praised achievement is CS, and takes fast reflexes and timing on part of the shooter.
Map Strategy
I've played a lot of different FPSs, but Counter-Strike seems the most dependent on where you are playing on the battlefield. When defending a position, you may want to find a spot the enemy rarely looks in, and get the drop on him first. It really depends on your play style and what you are good at. For example, if you have fast reflexes (and are confident in them), you may want to postion yourself in spot where you are peering through a narrow gap (like in between two crates), and try to headshot an enemy as he flashes by. You may want to watch a corner up close, or maybe from a distance. You need to constantly check your surroundings to see if you are being flanked (very common). Proffesional teams have strategies, similar to the plays of a football team. 3 go this way, 2 go that way, jump here, smoke there etc... An effective strategy can sometimes beat the a better shooting team.
MOST IMPORTANTLY -- Teamwork
If you want to bash Counter-Strike go for it. But if you have only played in random servers with random people then you are missing out what this game really shines in -- teamwork.
Counter-Stike is an extremely popular competitive game, played world wide in leagues and tournaments (CAL, CPL, CEGL, OGL etc..) and individual CS teams are sponsored by big names like Pizza Hut, Subway, nVidia, ATI etc...
When playing competitvely on a team, you are introduced to a whole new level of intesity, and enjoyment of the game. A match consists of 30 rounds (your team plays 15 rounds as CTs, 15 as Ts). So, first one to get 16 rounds wins the match. However, the gameplay differs drastically then the what you experience in mindless public servers. You have a strat caller, some one who calls the shots, he tells you what spot to play, what to watch for, and what to do in extreme cases (you normally practice all this with your team beforehand). Everyone depends on each other. There are two bombsites, A and B. If you are playing CT and defending your site, and see maybe two enemies coming your way, and spaz out telling your teamates to transer to your site and help you, you have made a grave mistake. It is your responsibility to call how many you see, their behavior, and what they are carrying (guns, if they have the C4 with them). Because they could very well be trying to trick your team out of a bombiste, and planting the bomb in the site that was abandoned.
Don't get cocky and leave your defensive position to get frags, you WILL die, and in return cause your team to lose. Play smart, if you know an enemy sniper is around the bend, don't try to take him on because he already has a bead on your corner. Do not underestimate his reflexes. I can' tell you how many times a whole team has died because they thought they were better then one sniper. Wait for him to come to you in close combat, afterall, it's the bombsite he's after.
If the Ts manage to overcome one of your bombsites, transfer to that site immediately, but don't rush in there guns blazing. Retaking bombsites is similar to being in a SWAT team. Everyone goes in at the same time, often at different flanks, and each person checks a different area of the site and clears it. Get someone defusing the bomb and cover him. Some intense moments are when there is one man left on each team and the bomb is planted. The terroist is hiding somewhere in the site waiting for the CT to defuse the bomb (it makes a sound when you start to defuse it), the terroist listens for this sound and pops out. Often, a CT might fake defuse (starting it, then getting off) to lure the terroist out and kill him. This puts pressure on the T because he may not know if the defuse is a fake or not.
When you are playing as Terroists you must of course be more agressive in the forms of rushes, delayed rushes, and sneak attacks on bombsites. You may want to place an sniper somewhere to inform the rest of the team where the CTs are and act accordingly. Flashbangs are commonly thrown before raiding a site, and smoke grenades are used to block an opponent's sight of a certain pathway.
Baiting your teamates in considered a big offense in Counter-Strike. Baiting is when you basically let on of your teamates do something in which you know he will die, without backing him up, and using his death as a lure to get frags. If you bait your teamate you are expected to win the match, if you don't, expect a lot of yelling on your headset.
There are also some creative tricks you can do in Counter-Strike as a team. Stacking on each other to get a better field of view, or to get to a higher unreachable position is common. Also one of the coolest I've seen (and been embarassed by) was during a firefight, I heard my enemy's gun *click click click* showing that his clip was empty, I quickly rushed in for the kill, only to be shot in the back by his buddy.
Also an important factor I missed out is Money
In Counter-Strike you start everyround out with money, which you use to buy kevlar and weapons. The winning team of a round gets nice bonus cash for the next round, you also get a tiny bonus for killing an enemy. When playing competitvely in a match, letting your teamates know how much money you have is critical before people start buying. If one person has more money then the others and buys a nice weapon, and the others end up playing the round with pistols, chances are you will lose the round, and you will break the balance of money in your team which could lead to losing the whole match. If your team decides they have a lack of money, they may decide to save it for next round and go naked with pistols in the current round, and buy up the next.
There is so much more that can be said about how great Counter-Strike is, but this informative post is too long as it is. Jus thought I'd give some tribute to one of the greatest.
Also, I respect Halo as a fun game that anyone can get into, and I understand there are other great PC FPSs out there like UT.
Thoughts on CS?
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