About Counter-Strike

A Brief History
Counter-Strike is one of the most popular first-person shooters in the world, consistently showing over 200,000 players online at any given time. The game puts Terrorists and Counter-Terrorists up against one another in combat situations, where the last team standing or the team that is able to achieve its map objective is the winner. The three main types of game play are bomb diffusal, hostage rescue, and VIP assassination. Owned by Valve and released under the Steam Engine, Counter-Strike is completely online based and distributed via Valve's online download system. However, its beginnings were hardly this complex. The first public beta was released in 1999, consisting of 9 weapons, 4 maps, and only hostage rescue scenario game play. Over the years, the game has progressed to include new weapon and player classes, as well as thousands of third party maps and weapon skins. Currently, there are two popular versions of Counter-Strike: Counter-Strike 1.6 and Counter-Strike: Source.

Counter-Strike 1.6 is the final release for Counter-Strike prior to the introduction of the Steam Source Graphics Engine. This version remains popular today because it requires relatively low system resources to play, is based on the original quake engine, and did not require players to repurchase the game (as was the case with the Source release). Valves final update for the game was released in 2005, introducing assault rifles such as the Galil and FAMAS; they were less expensive than the M4 and AK-47rifles. Currently, apart from graphics, both Counter-Strike: Source and Counter-Strike 1.6 boast the same weapons and player classes, as well as many of the same official maps. Some key differences include dynamic weapon pricing and radar in Counter-Strike: Source, and the shield weapon found in Counter-Strike 1.6. Valve also released Counter-Strike: Condition Zero - a console version for the popular PC game which featured many different maps and player textrures. For more on Counter-Strike: Source see our full game play guide below.

Counter-Strike: Source
Counter-Strike: Source is the more advanced, and currently only consistenly updated version of Counter-Strike available. The game was released around 2005, and originally had only two player models (GIGN for counter-terrorists, and Guerilla for Terrorists). The development team has since released L33t, SAS, GSG9, and Arctic models. While the player classes make no real difference with regards to game play, they do offer players a nice option and way to differentiate their gameplay. As far as overall game play, the updated version stays true to the original game and functions almost identical to its predecessors. Source hosts several key features which are not found in any other version of Counter-Strike.

The first, and most obvious, is graphic enhancements. The new maps and models use the Source Engine, a powerful graphics engine which allows more realistic models and game play. Key features include rag-doll player models and HDR lighting, all enhancing the visual aspect of the game. Many of Counter-Strike 1.6's maps were redesigned and released to support the new graphics engine for source. Also, recently the Valve Team has redesigned the radar system giving players the ability to see enemies around corners and enhanced teammate location management.

Dynamic Weapon was also introduced breifly, which is where prices of weapons in the game change week to week based on demand. However due to problems with the system, such as popular weapons like M4 and AK-47 were pushed up in price, while other, infrequently-purchased items (such as the night-vision goggles and MAC-10 submachine gun) decreased in price, sometimes as low as $1. The system has since been discontinued.