Why Counter-Strike? Over the past few years it seems evident that the gaming industry progresses as the technology progresses. As better graphics cards, faster processors, and lightning fast hard disks become available to the public, gaming companies are able to flex their muscles to see if they can achieve the most realistic and interactive environment for their players.
But why do things like that matter? Some might say that the more realistic and interactive the games are, the more fun it is to strategize with a team, or even just play in a public server. But then why is the most popular online first person shooter a game that has been around for almost 6 years? Why do the old graphics, ancient basis engine and relatively small maps still seem to captivate gamers around the world?
Counter-Strike has been running since 1998, almost six entire years now. And over those years and numerous updates, there've been quite a few changes - but not enough to phase the community that has known and loved the game since its beta stages. What makes it different than all the other games that were popular in beta, and then failed to deliver when it was released?
The first reason that a lot of people argue that Counter-Strike is as realistic as it can get without slowing down the gameplay. Games like Rogue Spear among others boast too much realism, subsequently the game tends to move at a slower pace, and for the average gamer that doesn't quite cut it. If you get shot in the leg, you limp and your accuracy decreases - more realistic, but less fun in general.
A second reason is that when Counter-Strike first came out, it was a free game. You could go to the website, download the full install and the most current patch and begin playing the game. No going out to the store to buy a $30 CD key, or copying it from a friend - everything was done right front of the monitor. It was easily accessible to the public and spread like a wildfire. Another thing that ties in with this is that anyone who has played Counter-Strike knows that it is definitely not a resource demanding game. If you play on a terrible machine, chances are that Counter-Strike will run at least at a half-decent level. It made online gaming available to all sorts of computer users at the time.
The game play was revolutionary, and no other game could mimic it. In fact to this day, most people would argue that the gameplay of Counter-Strike is still far faster (even in its weakened Steam state) than other available first person shooters such as Battlefield Vietnam, Call of Duty or Day of Defeat - even though such games boast bigger maps, more interactive environments, graphically enhanced models and more available weapons and artillery. In combining this relatively fast gameplay with a high level of strategy and tactics, a new breed of addiction was created - and people LOVED it.
It seems that everything comes down to gameplay. The majority of gamers agree that it doesn't matter how graphically perfect the game seems, or how big the maps are or how real it looks...if it gameplay isn't fun then the game isn't fun. That's what Counter-Strike has done, its created an unrivaled gameplay (until Steam's release) simultaneously keeping the simplicity that made the game easy to learn and easy to love.