Half-Life: Counter-Strike

aka: Hλlf-Life: Counter-Strike
Moby ID: 2726
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Description official descriptions

Half-Life: Counter-Strike is a stand-alone package containing a collection of multiplayer Half-Life mods. It includes the following:

Spellings

  • 半条命:反恐精英 - Simplified Chinese spelling
  • 戰慄時空之絕對武力 - Traditional Chinese spelling
  • 카운터 스트라이크 - Korean spelling

Groups +

Screenshots

Promos

Credits (Windows version)

53 People (51 developers, 2 thanks) · View all

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 89% (based on 16 ratings)

Players

Average score: 3.3 out of 5 (based on 130 ratings with 6 reviews)

The start of a new style of first person shooters

The Good
Since I grew up with the likes of Doom and Quake, it took me a while to get used to the whole realism style of CS. But once I finally picked up on the tricks of the trade, I haven't stopped playing.

The graphics are important to the survival aspect of CS. The two different teams, Terrorists and Counter Terrorists, both have different skins, making it much easier to recognise a teammate. And if you have a good eye, you can tell which gun the player is holding, so you know if you should take him on or back out of the fire fight.

The maps are of great variety, which adds to the lastability factor greatly. And of course, there are plenty more to download over the internet, or you can make some yourself.

The gameplay itself may seem difficult at first (it did to me), but once you get going, you'll find yourself flying through to camping spots before the enemy get near the area in no time at all. The menu system used in CS is very simple and easy to use, even for beginners. And because your playing with teammates, you can watch what they do and learn from your mistakes.

I enjoyed the fact that, no matter how many times you play a particular map, it will never be the same game. People learn from their mistakes, take different paths to trick you or fall back and ambush at a particular point. It's never the same.

Sound is also an important inclusion, in any game really. In CS, you can hear players footsteps when near you, creating another task of whether you should wait or run. And the sounds of gun fire, shouting and laughter (trust me, it always happens) adds to the games fun factor.

Finally, the range of weapons are fantastic. But no matter how tough the bigger weapons are, it all comes down to timing, control and aiming. Shoot at the waist and the opposition will last that little bit longer. Shoot towards the head and he should be dead in no time, no matter what the weapon. Of course, it's more fun sneaking up behind with a knife.

The Bad
Depending on who you play with, some times people don't play as a team. Bad move. This a team game, nothing else. If you want to win, you have to stick together, or play tactics. Really skilled players can go it alone, of course, but if you are just starting out it's better to stick with a group.

The only major problem here is lag. If you playing over the net, unless you have a high speed connection, don't expect a smooth game. LAN is the better choice, although that can also have problems if there's to many on at the one time.

The latest patch includes voice support, so you can talk over microphone to other players. This is great for serious players, but you'll always get someone who just chats like he is one ICQ, and that gets very annoying when you trying to concentrate on the game.

Some may also hate the fact that once dead, they must wait for the next round and they may run out of cash for bigger weapons. These are problems, but I'm used to all of that.

The Bottom Line
If you prefer blasting action non-stop, stick with Quake. But everyone should at least try Counter-Strike once. The combo of team play and tactics is perfect. And here you get extra mods such as Wanted (a fav of mine). Of course, you can download CS for free, but as a total package with the added extras included, and the fact that you don't need Half Life to play this, the boxed CS is well worth your money. Get this now.

Windows · by Kartanym (12418) · 2006

Best multiplayer game ever!!!!

The Good
I liked the team idea, the realism, the weapons, the maps, the modes of play, the sounds, and the graphics.

The Bad
I didn't like the fact that you could have one team change per round, that if you died, you became a ghost for the rest of the round, and the fact that when you select a team, you can't back out. Also, there is lots of clipping. Finally, when you join a game, it doesn't say the wins/losses.

The Bottom Line
A trulty amazing online team-based game. THIS GAME KICKS SOME SERIOUS ASS!!!!

Windows · by Archagon (108) · 2001

One of the Steepest Learning Curves Ever!

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.

Windows · by SamandMax (75) · 2001

[ View all 6 player reviews ]

Discussion

Subject By Date
Anyone played the OG downloadable version (pre-Steam)? Plok (204429) May 27, 2021

Trivia

Brazil version

Counter-Strike was banned from sale in Brazil due to a judge's ruling in October, 2007. This was apparently triggered by the popularity of a user-made map named cs_Rio in which the court claims the objective is for drug dealers to kill police in Rio and that they can also take UN members as hostage. What is not pointed out is that players can play on either side of the two unnamed groups, and that a game company has no control over user-made maps.

German version

The US version of Half-Life is banned in Germany but Counter-Strike is not - which is surprising, because the Counter-Strike version distributed in Germany is basically a cut-down version of Half-Life US with the Counter-Strike mod.

On 16th May 2002, after a long debate, the German authorities came to the conclusion that Counter-Strike would not be banned in Germany. The reasons were stated in the BPjM's opinion, released shortly after the verdict. Key points include "strong strategical elements", "possibility of team communication" and "action scenarios that do largely without sensationalism"

There are two German censored versions: original retail and the Steam version. In the original releases all blood effects were removed, there is only one kind of hostage and killed persons don't die but sit on the ground and shake their head. In the Steam version only the blood was removed.

Retail version

The version of Counter-Strike included in this package is identical to version 1.0 that can be freely-downloaded; the difference is that it's sold commercially and the mod authors receive a portion of the profits. This mod is officially sanctioned and distributed by Sierra.

References to the game

  • Half-Life: Counter-Strike was parodied in two episodes of "Die Redaktion" (The Editorial Team), a monthly comedy video produced by the German gaming magazine GameStar. They were published on the DVD of issue 04/2005 and 01/2006 respectively.

  • The game is referenced in the 2010 Susanne Bier film Hævnen (English title: In a Better World). The boy Christian (William Jøhnk Nielsen) can be seen playing the game on his laptop.

Robert Steinhäuser controversy

After the mass murder in a school in Erfurt, Germany, where thirteen teachers, two students and a policeman were killed by Robert Steinhäuser, an ex-student of that school. In Germany, the waves went high, the politicians wanted to ban each and every violent game and movie, the sooner the better. Many people think that he was an Counter-Strike addict but the only source that he's playing this game was a policeman, telling this right after the incident. At a later press conference policemen said that Steinhäuser didn't even have an internet-connection! And playing Counter-Strike without internet is quite a boring thing. You couldn't even download bots...

Secrets

  • In the map de_dust, there is a smarties pack hidden inside a wall (you can only see it in free-look mode)!
  • In as_highrise, in the corridor behind the boards, there is a sign behind a door (it's hidden, you can only see it in observer mode!).
  • In cs_office, there is a blow-uppable wall near two boxes. Blow it up and you will find a surprise!

Trademark names and logos

Since version 1.0 (retail), the game replaced many trademark names and logos. Some were crudely replaced (The Beoks neon logo in cs_militia reverts to Becks in software mod at distances, for example).

Awards

  • Computer Gaming World
    • April 2001 (Issue #201) – Add-On of the Year
    • November 2002 (Issue #220) – Introduced into the Hall of Fame
  • Game Informer Magazine
    • August 2001 (Issue #100) - #49 in the "Top 100 Games of All Time" poll
  • GameSpy
    • 2000 – Special Award for Multiplayer Gaming
    • 2001 – #29 Top Game of All Time
    • 2011 – #6 Top PC Game of the 2000s
  • GameStar (Germany)
    • Issue 02/2002 - Special Award as "Best Multiplayer Game in 2001"
    • Issue 01/2007 - One of the "Ten Most Influential PC Games". (It is one of the most successful game mods and shows how user participation can keep a title alive for a long time. Because of Half-Life: Counter-Strike, many of today's suitable games can be modded and the usability of most editors improved greatly. This game is also an important step for the electronic sports scene.)

Information also contributed by -Chris, Archagon, leileilol, PCGamer77 phlux, Scaryfun, Sciere and tarion.

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Related Sites +

  • [email protected]
    A very comprehensive CS website. Includes CS screenshots, links, and movies.
  • Official Website
    The official Counter-Strike site. You can download the full version here (Half-Life required)!

Identifiers +

  • MobyGames ID: 2726
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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Kasey Chang.

Additional contributors: Trixter, Archagon, Sciere, CaesarZX, Paulus18950, lee jun ho, Patrick Bregger, Plok.

Game added December 3, 2000. Last modified March 20, 2024.