Half-Life: Counter-Strike

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.

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!!!!

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.