Counter-Strike: Source is a tactical first-person shooter video game developed by Valve and Turtle Rock Studios. Released in October 2004 for Windows,[1] it is a remake of Counter-Strike (2000) using the Source game engine. As in the original, Counter-Strike: Source pits a team of counter-terrorists against a team of terrorists in a series of rounds. Each round is won either by completing an objective (such as detonating a bomb or rescuing hostages) or by eliminating all members of the enemy team. The game was initially bundled with all retail and digital copies of Half-Life 2,[3] before being released standalone.
| Counter-Strike: Source | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | |
| Publisher(s) | Valve |
| Series | Counter-Strike |
| Engine | Source |
| Platform(s) | Windows, Mac OS X, Linux |
| Release | |
| Genre(s) | Tactical first-person shooter |
| Mode(s) | Multiplayer |
Gameplay
edit
Counter-Strike: Source retains its team-based objective-oriented first-person shooter style gameplay. The aim of playing a map is to accomplish a map's objective: defusing the bomb, rescuing all hostages, or killing the entire opposing team. The ultimate goal of the game is to win more rounds than the opposing team. Once players are killed, they do not respawn until the next round, though this depends on which server people play on. This gameplay feature distinguishes Counter-Strike from other first-person shooter games, where players respawn instantly or after a short delay.
Shooting while moving dramatically decreases accuracy, and holding the trigger down to continuously shoot produces severe recoil. The severity of damage induced by weaponry is dependent upon the specific locations of hits, with hits to the head being most lethal and shots which make contact elsewhere causing lesser loss of health. Damage is also affected by the distance, and if the target wears protection.
Development
editCounter-Strike: Source was initially released as a beta to members of the Valve Cyber Café Program on August 11, 2004.[4][5] On August 18, 2004, the beta was released to owners of Counter-Strike: Condition Zero as well as those who had received a Half-Life 2 voucher bundled with some ATI Radeon video cards.[6] The game was included with Half-Life 2 bundles, which were released on November 16, 2004.[7]
On October 11, 2006, Valve released an experimental update entitled Dynamic Weapons Pricing. Under this system, item prices are determined based on their demand the previous week.[8][9][10]
On March 5, 2010, Valve announced the release of games from its first-party library, including games from the Counter-Strike series, for Mac OS X. The ports were slated for release in April 2010.[11] Valve employed Hidden Path Entertainment to provide support on updating Counter-Strike: Source. On May 7, 2010, Valve released an update that includes new features and functionality developed in collaboration with Hidden Path Entertainment. These include 144 (now 146) new achievements, a new domination and revenge system, similar to that of Team Fortress 2, player stats, an upgrade to the Source engine and more. On June 23, 2010, Valve released the beta to the public alongside the promised OS X version.[2] On February 5, 2013, Valve released a port of Counter-Strike: Source for Linux.[12][13]
Modifications
editCounter-Strike: Malvinas
edit[undue weight? – discuss]
Counter-Strike: Malvinas is a custom Counter-Strike: Source map, developed and distributed by Argentine web hosting company Dattatec. The map was released worldwide on 4 March 2013. The game is set in Stanley, the capital of the Falkland Islands, and revolves around a group of Argentine special forces (portrayed as the counter-terrorist team) capturing the archipelago from British Royal Marines, who are portrayed as terrorists. The map is inspired by the 1982 Falklands War, in which an estimated 650 Argentine and 255 British servicemen died.[14] The mod prompted strong controversy in the United Kingdom; Dattatec's website was targeted by British hackers on 27 March 2013.[14][relevant?]
Reception
editCounter-Strike: Source was met with positive reviews from professional critics.[16] Metacritic, a review aggregator website, awarded Source a rating of 88 out of a possible 100 based on 9 critic's reviews.[15] Jeff Haynes of IGN said the game was "much more detailed, featuring many more polygons per model, bump mapping and other graphical enhancements" compared to the original.[17]
Sequel
editOn August 12, 2011, Valve announced the production of a successor to Counter-Strike: Source, entitled Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.[18] Global Offensive's development began in March 2010 when Hidden Path Entertainment attempted to port Counter-Strike: Source onto video game consoles prior to the end of its lifespan.[19][20] During its development, Valve saw the opportunity to turn the port into a full game and expand on the predecessor's gameplay.[21] In 2023, Global Offensive was assimilated into Counter-Strike 2, which ported the game's content into the Source 2 engine.[22]
Competitive play
editCounter-Strike: Source has been played in tournaments since shortly after its release. The game received some criticism by the competitive community, who believed the game's skill ceiling was significantly lower than that of CS 1.6. This caused a divide in the competitive community as to which game to play competitively.[23]
References
edit- ^ a b "Half-life 2 Steam Offers Ready Now". Steam. Valve. Archived from the original on February 8, 2005. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
- ^ a b "Counter-Strike: Source Update Released". Steam. Valve. June 23, 2010. Archived from the original on February 22, 2014. Retrieved June 23, 2010.
- ^ Thorsen, Tor. "Valve readying Half-Life 2 bundles; Counter-Strike: Source available next week." Archived April 12, 2019, at the Wayback Machine Gamespot. September 29, 2004.
- ^ "Counter-Strike: Source beta begins". GameSpot. CNET Networks. August 11, 2004. Archived from the original on March 14, 2014. Retrieved July 1, 2008.
- ^ "Counter-Strike: Source update history". Valve. Archived from the original on February 22, 2014. Retrieved July 1, 2008.
- ^ "Counter-Strike: Source Strike ATI Customer". Advanced Micro Devices. Archived from the original on April 9, 2010. Retrieved July 1, 2008.
- ^ Autrijve, Rainier Van (October 6, 2004). "Blow Off Some Steam and Pre-Order Half-Life 2 (PC)". GameSpy. Archived from the original on October 6, 2008. Retrieved October 3, 2008.
- ^ "Counter-Strike: Source, Source Engine And Sourcetv Updates Released". Valve. October 11, 2006. Archived from the original on March 15, 2009. Retrieved July 1, 2008.
- ^ Goldstein, Maarten (September 22, 2006). "Counter-Strike: Source Switching To Dynamic Weapon Pricing". Shacknews. Archived from the original on March 14, 2014. Retrieved March 14, 2014.
- ^ "Pricing Algorithm". Valve. Archived from the original on November 25, 2012. Retrieved July 1, 2008.
- ^ "Valve to Deliver Steam & Source on the Mac". Steam. Valve. March 8, 2010. Archived from the original on August 26, 2013. Retrieved June 23, 2010.
- ^ Hillier, Brenna (February 11, 2013). "Half-Life, Counter-Strike now available on Linux". VG247. Archived from the original on May 25, 2013. Retrieved March 14, 2014.
- ^ Stahie, Silviu (February 6, 2013). "Counter-Strike: Source Is Now Available on Steam for Linux". Softpedia. Archived from the original on March 14, 2014. Retrieved March 14, 2014.
- ^ a b Ledge, James (March 29, 2013). "Falklands Counter Strike: British hackers attack Argentinian developer's website". The Independent. Archived from the original on April 6, 2016. Retrieved March 16, 2016.
- ^ a b "Counter-Strike: Source for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on February 2, 2013. Retrieved March 14, 2014.
- ^ a b "Counter-Strike: Source Review". 1UP.com. November 19, 2004. Archived from the original on July 9, 2012. Retrieved March 31, 2012.
- ^ Haynes, Jeff (August 5, 2004). "Counter-Strike: Source". IGN. Archived from the original on January 13, 2020. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
- ^ "VALVE ANNOUNCES COUNTER-STRIKE: GLOBAL OFFENSIVE (CS: GO)". Steam. Valve. August 12, 2011. Archived from the original on February 22, 2014. Retrieved March 14, 2014.
- ^ Lahti, Evan (September 17, 2015). "How $400 virtual knives saved Counter-Strike". PC Gamer. Future plc. Archived from the original on January 11, 2017. Retrieved January 11, 2016.
- ^ McGee, Maxwell (August 29, 2011). "PAX 2011: Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Hands-On Preview – New Gear". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on January 13, 2017. Retrieved January 13, 2017.
- ^ Alec Meer (August 12, 2011). "Revealed: Counter-Strike: Global Offensive". Rock Paper Shotgun. Archived from the original on June 22, 2017. Retrieved November 8, 2011.
- ^ "Counter-Strike 2 is official, coming summer 2023". Eurogamer.net. March 22, 2023. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
- ^ Michael Kane (June 19, 2008). Game Boys: Triumph, Heartbreak, and the Quest for Cash in the Battleground of Competitive Videogaming. Penguin Publishing Group. ISBN 978-1-4406-3188-7.
