CounterStrike: Source

Counter Strike is one of the most popular FPS games of all time.  First released in 1999, it quickly became a hit amongst the competitive gaming industry.  Fast forward to 2004, when CounterStrike: Source came out.  CounterStrike: Source took the original CounterStrike and graphically updated it so it would look a lot cleaner.  Though there is much debate over this topic, Source is my favorite CounterStrike game.

In CounterStrike, there are 2 teams: Terrorists (T's), and Counter-terrorists (CT's).  The objective of the game was to accomplish the objective in the map.  There were three main objectives:

1. Bomb Maps: The Terrorists must plant a bomb in a designated location, and defend it until it explodes.  The Counter-Terrorists must defuse the bomb before it goes off.

2. Hostage Maps: The Counter-Terrorists must locate and rescue a group of hostages that are being held by the terrorists.  The Terrorists must prevent the hostages from reaching the rescue point.

Winning by killing the other team

3. Other: Eliminate the opposing team before they kill you

In Bomb and Hostage maps, winning can also be achieved by killing the entire enemy team.

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I first played CounterStrike Source at my friend's house.  I would go over his house on the weekends, and we would play CounterStrike.  Because he only had one computer, we would have to take turns.  But I had fun spectating the game aswell.  The map we used to play a lot was called fy_simpsons.  The map is really small, and is perfect for fast rounds. 

fy_simpsons: One of my favorite maps.

*Note: All of the following screenshots were taken by me*

A Player Created Map based off of Pac-Man

My favorite part of CounterStrike was the Player Modded maps.  Players who knew how to code could create their own maps that people could play on.  The only limitation was a person's imagination, or their programming skill.  One of the more memorable Player Modded maps I have played on is called de_thematrix.  This map was a re-creation of the Matrix, and contained many elements from the Matrix Movies (ex: The Dojo, White Room, Telephone).

A Player Created map with Tron bikes.

widow: Always at the top of the leaderboards

One of the best parts of playing CounterStrike is developing Rivalries with other players.  I have spent over 1000 hours playing CounterStrike.  Having played against thousands of people, the best player I have faced is this guy named widow.  Widow is a retired CounterStrike professional player, which would help explain why he's go good at the game.  We used to play on the same server together.  The map was always cs_office.  I have played over 10,000 rounds on that map, and I know all the hiding spots and where the enemy will be.  But, I still couldn't Widow. Everytime I would run into him, I would press my mouse to fire my gun, but he would always kill me first.  It was a very frustrating experience.  But, it was also very rewarding when I finally did kill him.

I killed widow!

 

There was this other server I liked to play a lot.  What made this server special was that it was a Bot server.  Humans on one team.  Bots on the other.  While this may seem easy, it wasn't.  If the humans started winning, the Bots got harder.  It was not uncommon to be facing Bots with over 200 Health!  This made it an added challenge where you really had to be smart and use teamwork in order to succeed.

A line of Bots all sufferring the same fate: Death.

My score of 32-4 on the Bot Server. 

After years of playing, I eventually formed a clan with a few of my friends.  The clan was called GAUSS, and we were mainly a casual CounterStrike clan.  The purpose of the clan was so we could play together and develop teamwork and different strategies.  We would communicate through Skype, so we would be able to hear each other while playing.  This made it more effective when relaying enemy location points to each other.  Playing with friends was a great part of playing CounterStrike, and motivated you to perform better and improve your skills.

Me and my Friend representing GAUSS Clan

Our scores after A nice clan scrimmage

At the height of its Popularity, CounterStrike Source was an amazing game.  It was a classic FPS game with no gimmicks.  There was no regenerating health like in Call of Duty, no shield like in Halo.  It was a game of skill and mastery.  Play enough, memorize the maps, and you will do well. 

de_dust2, one of the most popular maps in CounterStrike

Nowadays, CounterStrike Source has died down.  This is due to a new game called CounterStrike: Global Offensive, that came out in 2013.  Most of the players switched to Global Offensive, leaving Source quieter than ever.  I tried Global Offensive, but I just couldn't get used to it.  Source was better in almost every way to me.  I still play Source, but there are a lot less servers to choose from nowadays.  Before, it was "Wow, there's so many choices!  Which server should I join?"  Now, it's "Which servers have people playing in them?"

One of the servers I play on these days: Old Drunk Men

But I will never forget those days, playing CounterStrike Source with my friend, facing off against people like widow, and dying and dying again.  The thing was: I kept dying against him, but I kept coming back for more.  You know a game is good when you keep losing but keep coming back for a second shot, a chance to die a more honorable death.