Daniel Korycinski CIS 487

 Developer: Valve Corporation  Game Type: First Person Shooter (FPS)  Rated for a mature audience  Price: $19.95

 Minimum: 1.2 GHz Processor, 256MB RAM, DirectX 7 level graphics card, Windows 2000/XP, Mouse, Keyboard, Internet Connection.  Recommended: 2.4 GHz Processor, 512MB RAM, DirectX 9 level graphics card, Windows 2000/XP, Mouse, Keyboard, Internet Connection.  Actual Used: 2.0 GHz AMD Athlon X2, 2048MB RAM, GeForce 7800GT Graphics Card, Windows XP, Mouse, Keyboard, Internet Connection.

 Multiplayer FPS Shooter – No single player mode.  Realistic maps, weapons and abilities.  Counter-terrorists vs. Terrorists.  Two styles of games: Save the hostages and plant the bomb.  Various mods available.  Each player works to help his/her team succeed.

 Counter-Strike can only be purchased and installed online with Valve’s, “Steam,” Client.  The client offers the ability to browse and purchase new games as well as chat with friends during and outside of game play.  It must remain on the computer system in order to play the game.  After purchasing, the installation is handled entirely by the Steam client.

 WASD - Similar to most FPS games.  Mouse is used for looking and aiming.  Special keys – Ctrl for crouch, k for voice chat, y for text chat, e for interaction.

 Players are placed on either the Counter- terrorist or Terrorist team.  Each team must either eliminate all of the other team or complete their goal. The goal depends on which map is being played.  Once a player dies he/she must wait until the next round (after a team wins) to respawn and continue play.

 Players receive 1 point for every kill.  If a player plants a bomb which blows up, or saves all of the hostages, he/she will receive 3 points.  If a player kills himself, or anyone on the team, he will lose 1 point.  Winning teams will receive more money than the losing team, which can then be used to buy better weapons.

 The graphics in this game are among the best in the industry.  Ragdoll physics make player deaths more realistic.

 Counter-Strike: Source has no soundtracks, other than those added by server administrators.  Sound effects are very real.  Surround sound allows players to tell exactly where footsteps or gunshots are coming from.

 Software Development Kits are included free of charge, allowing developers to create their own games, maps and skins.

 The only notable bugs are graphical errors. These normally occur when gamers are able to get their character into unrealistic places or if certain parts of a player show where they shouldn’t.

 Many servers are Valve Anti-Cheat enabled which prevents certain types of hacks.  The game is very popular and has many servers to choose from all across the country.  Graphics are very lifelike.  Valve still supports the game and releases many updates to the Steam client.  The game is very simple and offers the ability to interact with others while engaging in game play.

 There are many hacks which are not caught by the Valve Anti-Cheat software. These can only be handled by server administrators with the ability to ban players. These include aimbots and ESP hacks.  In order to compete well with many players a user must have a fairly powerful computer and fast internet connection.  Game play is not fast enough for some players.  There are only a few different maps to play on which leads to repetition.

 CS:S is less expensive than many games in this genre, and has better graphics.  While players may find themselves exploring worlds and new stages in other FPS games, there are only a few different maps in CS:S. The weapon choices also do not differ from map to map.  Less demanding system requirements than many of the newer games.

 More maps, weapons and skins could be included in the game.

 Game has very sharp graphics and simple goals that make it easy for almost anyone to play.  However, there are a limited number of maps and weapons that can get boring after a while.  For only $20 the game is well worth the money and would be an excellent purchase for any fan of the FPS genre.  Small additions such as more maps and more cheat protection are all the game needs to improve its already highly rated status.