Counter strike 1.6 and Counter strike Source In this review are 2 big first person shooters. For Starters, Counterstrike (now in it’s source “phase” ) started in 1999 with it‘s first public beta. It was a basic mod for half life which has now expanded into a game played by a heck load of people. It featured real weapons with a realistic feel to it. The series has now expanded beyond that and now has a few games produced under the title, Counterstrike, Counterstrike: Condition Zero, Counterstrike: Source and Counter-strike on the Xbox. Although first spawned as a half life mod, it now has no relation to it anymore, apart from the graphics. Counterstrike 1.6: I, personally, LOVE this game with my whole heart. It is a surprisingly fun game for what it looks like compared to the modern graphics used in many games. It still manages to compete and go further with the players it draws in to the game. You can either play as a counter terrorist or a terrorist since a series of maps. There are three types of maps that come with the games, De_ maps where the ct’s (counter terrorists) have to defuse the bomb or stop the terrorists planting it and the t’s (terrorists) trying to plant the bomb and let it blow up or killing all of the other team. There is also the cs_ maps where the ct’s have to save hostages and the t’s have to stop them saving the hostages (without actually killing them) and last but not least in quite a few people’s eyes is the as_ map, which is as_oilrig, this is where the ct’s have to get a VIP to a helicopter without the VIP being killed, when the VIP is killed the round is over. This is the same with Counterstrike source (CSS) minus as_oilrig. To start off with it was released in 2004 with HL2 and only had a couple of maps where on the game and also only a couple of models, the Phoenix Connexion terrorist and the Seal Team 6 counter-terrorist. The game has now grown and has all of the characters from cs 1.6 looking snazzy as ever with the source graphics engine working it’s stuff. Counterstrike 1.6 as a game to start off with can be frustrating because there is only online play and it’s a hard game to get used to, along with some of the *insert expletive* players on the game. After about 2 - 3 weeks of playing you will start to get the hang of it and then that is where the game starts to get fun. Counterstrike source tends to be pretty good right from the start, you can play against bots and you can play against other players online, obviously it also takes time to get used to with how the guns shoot and how you can handle flash grenades and the best places to go and what not, but it seems to be easier to get used to than 1.6. As far as online fps’ from just looking at it, it seems to be a pretty bland game with little going for it, but when you get into it, it’s an addictive game (this goes for Counterstrike source). After getting into the game you start to see more to it, with clans popping up, you will (most probably) want to join them and play matches (tends to be 5on5’s) which is something completely different. For Counterstrike source this it is the same story, minus the looking bland part, because if you have a decent graphics card and CPU, it is a work of art in some cases. Looking at counter-strike (both versions) in a competitive vision, it is massive, with leagues and clans just about every other which way you are bound to find a team that you like. 5on5’s produce scenarios that is a lot different from the public “scene”, this is a part where your team really has to work together, it needs communication and team dedication (yes, it sounds cheesy). When you win rounds you will just get happier and happier and if you win, it may even turn into a gleeful jump (or is that just me?). Within the communities there is always the argument of which games is better, personally I would say 1.6, this is just my opinion, If I had not known about one of the versions, I would try both of the games before you knocked one on the head. Counterstrike 1.6 is a harder game in some cases since the hit boxes are smaller, the grenades do less damage and the walls are spamable (you can shoot through them). If you play 1.6 and move to source, I think you may just find source too easy, sounds odd, but it can be true and it is for me, I like playing it but can’t keep playing it just for that fact. An argument for Counterstrike source is that with the hit boxes being bigger, people can kill you faster and therefore it means you have to be faster to the ball as well, it means rushes are quicker and so are rounds. Counterstrike source, undoubtedly, looks a lot better than 1.6 and is one of it’s major pull factors. It is hard to say one game is better than the other since they can be completely different in the ways they are played and the way the maps are laid out, all in all it is your opinion, the argument is pointless in my eyes and is in most peoples. In my it is worth giving both these games a go, it’s enjoyable for hours on end since your opponents will keep changing and it is a game that just drags you and drags you (and will keep dragging you) in. It’s now up to you to explore all that the game and the community has to offer. Some links : News & Stuff - www.Gotfrag.com Amateur leagues - www.enemydown.com www.thesgl.com --- Leagues- www.thecpl.com - Used to be major, but is starting to get in debt to teams www.thecgs.com - Slowly Growing Counterstrike Source league, although it’s teams that play in it don’t just rely on one game. http://www.worldcybergames.com - Named world controversy games by some since a lot of teams had disputes over a bug in 1.6 (Russian walking) and teams using it. ---
Nice review. Fortunately for most of us, these two games have been out so long that most of the people on the internet have gotten their chance to play it as well.
The CPL is dead, and was officially taken down a few weeks ago. CAL still exists though, add it to amateur leagues. (Cyberathlete Amateur League)
