"A good game? Affirmative!"

CounterStrike: Source

“CounterStrike source is a mod of Half Life 2, it's pretty similar to the original version but it now uses the source engine meaning great physics and gameplay. Plus it looks a treat too.”

Gameplay
There is no real story to CounterStrike; you simply choose either to be a counter terrorist or a terrorist and then either kill the opposite team or complete the maps goal in order to win. The game now has an offline mode, where you can just play with bots if you want to but the real fun is online. Of course, because it's online the gameplay can vary from server to server. Some are very good, others are awful. However, if you get a good team you can have real fun with the game; each match is never the same and if you do show team work you can achieve a lot.

When the game starts up you choose your character, from here you wait to join the game. This can be a bit boring but you do have the option to watch what the other players are doing. Once you're in the match you have to “buy” you guns. You start off with some money, each time you kill/complete and objective/die a certain amount of money is given back to you allowing you to buy better weapons. The whole aspect of buying weapons is a bit stupid really; you spend the first few seconds of the game rushing to buy everything and run off with your team to avoid being left behind. However the “Auto-Buy” option is a neat addition.

CounterStrike is not realistic but it's also not too arcadey. If you go full auto with pretty much any weapon you're not going to hit anything over a few metres away. One thing which can be annoying is cheaters though, some people hack the game meaning it lags for the rest of us who aren't cheating. With any luck the admin of the server will sort this out though. The levels you play in a very varied. Some take place out doors in a Arab city, another inside an office and an Aztec ruins site. If you want you can download new maps that either Valve or other people have made.

Graphics
Basically the game looks just like Half Life 2. The environments and weapons all looks very good, some of the scenery in the distances is a bit poor though. Other than that there's not much to say, a big improvement over the original.
Controls

The standard FPS controls are here, mouse click to fire, right button for secondary fire and WASD to move. I had no problem with the controls; all did the job just fine. Aiming with the mouse was easy. I believe they can be customised as well so you can adjust them as you see fit.

Sound
There isn't really anything sound other than the gunfights and the orders of your team mates. One thing which you may or may not like is the in game chat function. This means if someone has a microphone they can shout and generally bug the hell out of you. This can be turned off though.

Overall
A great mod for Half Life is back, the game relies much on the sever and team mates you with but if you get those two right your in for a treat. While the gameplay is very basic you will become very competitive with the other players you play against and ever round is NEVER the same. While it doesn't take long to master, there is always something new to do with the updates from Valve. Of course, in order to get these you will need to go through the hell that is Steam. Steam is basically Valve's online handler for their games, the problem being it's a pain to use. On the other hand once you get up and going and can handle the updates you should be okay.

Rent or Buy?
If you own Half Life 2 you will have this game so I would recommend you at least try it. Give it time and you will be hooked.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 02/28/05