Counter-Strike
Developer(s)	Valve Corporation
Publisher(s)	Sierra Entertainment (PC)
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows
Release date(s)	June 19, 1999 (mod) November 8, 2000 (retail)
Genre	First-person shooter
Mode(s)	Multiplayer
Rating(s)	ESRB: Mature ELSPA: 15+ OFLC: MA15+

 

Counter-Strike (originally titled Half-Life: Counter-Strike) is a multiplayer first-person shooter created by Valve Corporation and published by Sierra Entertainment. After over a year of public beta testing, it was officially released on November 8, 2000 for the PC. Since the creation of the franchise, various sequels and spinoffs have been created such as Counter-Strike: Condition Zero, Counter-Strike: Source, and the latest in the series, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.

DevelopmentEdit

Beta Edit

Main article: Counter-Strike Beta

The game started out as a Half-Life modification, created on the then brand-new GoldSrc engine. It went through seventeen different iterations and was eventually released as a standalone game. Throughout this time, it grew in popularity and became one of the most popular first-person shooters of all time. 

Post-releaseEdit

Main article: Counter-Strike patches

On November 8, 2000, the game was ushered out of the beta phase and officially released as a fully licensed product. Even afterwards, development was ongoing and saw the release of several very large patches. The most recent, 1.6, is now used as a title to differentiate the original game from the rest of the series. With the launch of Steam on September 12, 2003^[1], these large patches became unnecessary and were replaced by quicker and smaller updates. 

GameplayEdit

Main article: Gameplay

Its fast-paced and team-oriented gameplay has stayed relatively the same throughout the years. In it, two teams, the Counter-Terrorists and the Terrorists, fight to complete an objective or eliminate the opposing team. Although basic, it is considered one of the most revolutionary online games of all time. The original Counter-Strike came exclusively with multiplayer, without even computer-controlled players. Over time, however, several server-side modifications have added bots for in-game use.

MultiplayerEdit

Counter-Strike has been praised worldwide for its highly rewarding multiplayer. There are three official scenarios (game modes), each with their own teams, objectives, and maps. The Counter-Terrorists ("the good guys") face off against the Terrorists ("the bad guys").

ScenariosEdit

There are three official scenarios in Counter-Strike:

• Assassination
• Hostage rescue
• Bomb defusal

A fourth scenario, known as Escape, existed during the Counter-Strike Beta. The gamemode itself is still playable, but all of the official maps were removed prior to the game's release.

MapsEdit

There are 25 official maps in the current version of Counter-Strike.

WeaponsEdit

Counter-Strike features 25 weapons, ranging from knives to shotguns and submachine guns.

EquipmentEdit

Along with the weapons, there are nine items of equipment. If ammunition and the radio are to be included, this number is increased to eleven.

Factions Edit

It also features four Terrorist factions and four Counter-Terrorist factions.

ReceptionEdit

Counter-Strike is considered one of the most influential games of all time. It's the most popular Half-Life mod and is still one of the most popular PC games. As of December 3, 2008, Counter-Strike has sold over 4.2 million retail copies, more than any other Valve game besides Half-Life and its sequel, Half-Life 2. It scored an 88 on Metacritic, based on the reviews of eleven critics.

ReferencesEdit

1. ↑ http://store.steampowered.com/news/183

GalleryEdit

GeneralEdit

The main menu.

Main Menu of "WON" Version.

The original box art.

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Official screenshotsEdit

Beta Elite Crew and Beta Phoenix Connexion in map Italy. Both are wielding the Krieg 552.

Beta Arctic Avengers wielding an Ingram Mac-10 and Beta Phoenix Connexion wielding an CV-47 in cut map Tundra.

A SEAL Team 6 operative wielding a Schmidt Scout and a GSG-9 operative wielding a ES C90 in old version of Piranesi.

A Beta Elite Crew and a Beta Guerrilla Warfare wielding Glocks are heading for Bombsite B in map Dust.

A SAS operative is engaging an Elite Crew with a Bullpup in map Dust.

A Guerrilla Warfare member is attacking the Counter-Terrorists in map Havana.

A Condition Zero version of GIGN operative is escaping from a blast of C4.

A GIGN operative wielding a Bullpup is engaging two Phoenix Connexion members wielding CV-47 and KM UMP45 in map Prodigy. Note that a Flashbang is going to burst on the ground.

A SAS operative wielding a UMP45 is engaging a Arctic Avengers member wielding a CV-47 in map Havana.

A Counter-Terrorist is reloading an M4A1 in map Aztec.

A GSG-9 operative wielding a UMP45 is engaging a Phoenix Connexion member wielding a Krieg 552 in map Havana.

A Counter-Terrorist operative is aiming a Arctic Avengers member named Enemy with a Scout in map Dust2.

A GIGN operative wielding an MP5 is engaging an Elite Crew member wielding a Krieg 552.

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ReferencesEdit

External linksEdit

• Counter-Strike at Steam
• Counter-Strike at Wikipedia