Counter-Strike v1.0

Publisher: Sierra

Available: www.counter-strike.net

SWAT teams have this mystique about them that has only been exploited for the last few years. Who wouldn’t want to be an elite member of SWAT team, using superior tactics and bigger guns to go into life-threatening situations and free hostages? I’ll tell you who, people that want to live a long time!

Thankfully, a number of computer games allow players to become a member of a SWAT team without the threat of lead poisoning. One such game is the Half-life mod, Counter-Strike.

Counter-Strike has been in the beta stage for a long time, with improvements and additions coming with every update, but has recently been released as v1.0 and can be found on retail shelves in a Half-life mod pack. People that own Half-life have played or at least heard of Counter-Strike. And the people that play it are instant fans. It may be the best user-created mod on the Net.

CS uses the Half-life engine but that doesn’t hurt gameplay. Everything looks good, especially the skins. Above all this is a multiplayer game. There are bot programs out there but playing against human opponents is the real test. Fortunately, the popularity of CS means finding a game is easy. And once you’re in, you’ll be having a blast.

At the beginning of each round, after choosing your team (Terrorists or Counter-Terrorists), you have a chance to buy various weapons and equipment. The weapons include handguns, rifles and a machine gun. There are spots for secondary and primary weapons so you can tackle the opposition with more than one gun. Equipment ranges from night vision goggles, smoke grenades and bomb defusers. And don’t forget to buy ammo! Each weapon is modeled after the real world equivalent, as is the equipment. The Kevlar vest and helmet offers some protection from a few close range shots but a well placed bullet from a sniper’s gun will drop you no matter what. The smoke grenades flood the air with white clouds. Flash grenades blind everyone depending how close they are to the explosion, including you and your team.

So there’s all this real world weaponry, what about the levels?

The levels found in CS are good examples of what dedicated levelers can achieve with a little time and effort. All the locations are "real world," meaning that they are the archetype of real locations. There are levels that takes place in an airport, an office complex, a mansion, an oil rig and casino. There is enough variety in the levels to keep things interesting. There are lots of new textures and models. One level, set in an Italian villa, has chickens to shoot! A lot of effort has been put into the sound design. Ambient noise is put to good use, with dogs barking, creaking metal on the oil rig and jets flying overhead at the airport. Footfalls have also been included. Running around will give away your location, but if you walk or crouch you may be able to get the drop on your opponent. And the sound of the footfalls changes depending on the surface you’re on. Best example: the squeak of running through the snow. Some of the levels give the terrorists a distinct advantage, defending choke points that the counter-terrorists must fight past. Balancing those levels are environments that leave play wide-open.

There are three modes of play: hostage rescue, bomb a target and assassinate/protect the VIP. Whatever the goal, team tactics will almost always result in victory. (And more money to spend on weapon upgrades at the start of the next round. Everything you do is rewarded with a dollar amount. Rescuing a hostage gives you $1000, taking down an opponent $300, and so on. But the dollar amounts awarded can depend on the server.) All the lone wolves will end up dead or the last to die. Unorganized rushes will result in wholesale slaughter of your team. Occasionally, a very good player can strike out on their own and cause lots of damage but more often than not they’ll be dead before the end of the round. For success you have to provide cover and crossfire, position yourself carefully then lob a flash grenade into a room to not expose yourself to fire and act as a team. To help with the team element are a set of basic commands, messages and requests to help you communicate with your team. This helps to keep track of where everyone is and if they need assistance. The messages are easy to send and give you all the information you need. Also helpful is the tracker in the top right corner which shows where your team is in relation to your position. When a team member sends a message the blip that is them flashes.

It’s addictive. You will find yourself playing for hours, promising yourself, "I’ll go to bed right after this round."

But there are some downsides.

For one, it’s not as frantic as TFC. When you die you’re dead until the next round starts, unlike TFC where you respawn right away. When you’re dead it gives you a chance to scope out the competition and find out where those damn snipers are! A good sniper can cause a lot of frustration. Second, leading hostages out of danger can be another source of frustration. For the most part they stick behind you but they sometimes get caught on corners or in doorways. If your team is constantly losing, you’ll find that building up enough funds to buy better weapons very tough. This is most true when the CTs rescue hostages at $1000 each. There are a few strange bugs, too. Often, blowing away a terrorist causes them to recoil and fall right into the ground as if there was an invisible grave already dug. It takes away from the "real world" feel.

Overall, Counter-Strike is yet another reason to own Half-life and is a great example of what every mod should strive to be. And it’s free! (Or available in the Half-life mod pack.)

Reviewed by Omni