Half-Life: Counter-Strike

The Good
2nd Update. Note: This review is limited only to the multi-player experience.

The best Artificial Intelligence (AI) in gaming is called Human Intelligence. It is because the human mind continues to adapt against various real-life mathematical algorithms, although ironically in real-life they have usually have intelligence of an average mosquito, it's amazing what a human opponent can do when they are permanently settled in a moss-covered chair playing Counter-Strike all day long (all night and all week long for that matter)...like me a loooong time ago. :) Not having a life does have its moments. :p

The Bad
This will be one of the most serious reviews I'm about to attempt (yeah, right). This paper is about the The Sociological and Psychological Impact of the Multi-Player Counter-Strike Pop Culture Experience to Online Un-Suspecting Youth.

It all seemed so innocent the first time you entered the battleground. The purpose was short and simple: shoot the other team with everything you've got.
Well, until first blood apparently is YOU!

When that happens, you know you're going to say something bad. In fact, you want to say something ugly so bad, your head feels like its going to explode.

You remember you're younger years (which was several minutes ago), when you were naive and eager to serve your fellow team-mates: running as fast as you can to the front lines while trying to draw the enemies bullets from your comrades-at-arms... only to find out what damage a sniper rifle can do. You never knew where the bullet came from.

Next thing you know, you and the next pile of multi-player victims are swearing your young innocence all over the multiplayer screen, trying to curse all the players that are still playing about "not being fair" bla...bla...bla...hoping a response. Not realizing knowing that dead players can't speak to the living.

Technical Note: Chatting on the screen after being killed may only be viewed by other players not playing. The chat cannot be viewed by players still in the game (ie. alive).

After a several games and dozens of sniper bullets later, everyone now has a Sniper Rifle. No one no longer wants "to be a hero" in front lines with a $5000 Machine Gun or a simple pistol. Nooooo, everyone must carry a Sniper Rifle, since no one wants to die abruptly without warning.

Suddenly every one becomes...gasp a COWARD! Everyone's hiding in corners at unbelievable areas that even your momma can't find you. Hiding gleefully with that Sniper, scoping anything that remotely looks like movement. Sweat coming down your shin, ignoring other gun battles and the cries of your dying comrades in the alley beside you. It's every man or boy to himself now.

And there goes 20 years of chivalry, ethics, and comradeship of gaming down the drain. There goes the virtues of Ultima, the nobility of King's Quest, the bravery of Monkey Island. No one wants to be a pirate anymore. Everyone just wants to be "not dead".

This game truly inspires the worst of what an emo teenager can do in the terms of selfishness, immorality, egoistic and non-cooperation. They created monsters of people who were only idiots. :p

Some people actually "grew up" by simply walking away or putting down their sniper rifle, and just using the standard sub-machine guns. If that happens, the game usually became fun again.

Honor was restored since you now praise the person that killed you in melee combat or that shot your head (headshot) from a distance with an assault rifle, since it was fair and just combat. Although you still slander the bloke that knifed you when you weren't looking, but at least it wasn't a sniper bullet...

You may not be the top player in the "frag list" (number of players you killed), but at least now you had fun. This is essentially what games are supposed to be about.

The Bottom Line
I seriously think you have to be AT LEAST 25 if you want to play the multi-player game...

The Good
Without a doubt the first multiplayer-only game that brought the right amount of realism and team tactics to what's still essentially an arcade game without dulling gameplay. That's Counter-Strike in a nutshell, I mean, there's really nothing shockingly revealing that I can add to the reams of text that have been written trying to explain it's success but what the heck, right?

Let's see, first you take the thrilling team-based fps gameplay found since the days of the first Quake CTF maps, but increase the complexity behind it's goals. Instead of running to blue base and back you now have to plant/defuse a bomb, rescue a group of hostages, etc. in any of the urban-themed maps, and all for points that eventually make up the game's final objective. The realistic arsenal of weapons takes gameplay back to the basic firearm tactics without stopping with gimmicks such as bouncing bullets, mini-nukes or the like, and said weapons don't just magically spawn here or there, you have to buy them (as well as the ammo, grenades and armor) with the cash you get from the successful completition of each mission. Loose the assignment, or screw up (shoot a hostage for instance) and your team gets a pay cut the next round. A simple idea that adds lots of variety to a game and that periodically helps shift the balance of power in the maps.

Movement rate is also slower than on most arcadey deathmatch games, with a bigger emphasis on precission aiming and recoil as spraying bullets around while you are running with your SMGs will accomplish nothing as your line of fire is much more fickle and prone to lose it's aim than you were used to. Damage is more realistic with usually a few shots needed to bring someone down and death is final (well, at least until the next round).

To add to the experience you also have to remember that the game is based as a Half-Life mod, so you already have an engine that supports semi-realistic ballistics, skeletal animation and enough graphic detail for you to make out details such as what weapon is someone wielding and what team does he belong to (terrorists or counter-terrorists).

The Bad
It's still not completely realistic, as any glance to other mods such as Day of Defeat will show. And playing this game in single-player mode is just pathetic for obvious reasons thus limiting it's appeal (no matter just how smart the bots you use are). I might also add that playing this game over modem/internet connections is equally dull, for the real experience you have to set yourself a lan-party with 8 friends or so, and that's not always an option.

The Bottom Line
The biggest thing to happen to multiplayer gaming since Quake and still THE multiplayer game for many people, and rightly so! Blending team tactics, strategic elements and deeper gameplay without dulling the experience of shooting the hell out of your best buddies. A must for anyone that even remotely considers himself an action gamer. Anyone else just move on... nothing for you reflex-impaired folks here.

The Good
Counter Strike has a sense of realism that's not found in too many games.You can get killed in one or two hits,and you must work together as a team.Also,the gun graphics and animations are actually very good for a mod and the levels are expertly designed.Plus,its just a very fun multiplayer game that always has people playing and its easy to get into the game.

The Bad
This is a hard game.And I mean hard.During your first hour of play,if you can kill even one person,that's quite good.You'll be facing off experts who can pick you off in one shot and then quickly get anyone trying to cover you.And,shooting your gun is not easy as the bullets get less and less precise the more you shoot.

Another problem is with the lag I had with the game.I have cable and my game still lagged a lot during parts with many players at one time.Then,when I play Team Fortress,I face little or no lag at all.It might sound like a minor complaint but I faced it a lot and it was boring to have to wait until the next game starts.

The Bottom Line
Counter-Strike is a very hard,very fun small little game that will place so much challenge on you the first few times you play,you might just give up.