Counter Strike

Counter-Strike, commonly abbreviated to CS, is a team-based, tactical first-person shooter video game which originated with a free total conversion mod created by Minh "gooseman" Le and Jess Cliffe, of Valve Software's first-person shooter, Half-Life. The game has been expanded into a series since its original release, which currently includes Counter-Strike: Condition Zero and Counter-Strike: Source.

Counter-Strike puts a team of counter-terrorists against a team of terrorists in rounds of competition won by completing an objective or eliminating the opposing force. The latest incarnation of the game, Counter-Strike: Source, is based on the Source engine developed for Half-Life 2. Signs of Counter-Strike's wide influence can be found in mods for games such as Quake III Arena, Unreal Tournament, and other standalone shooters such as Global Operations, America's Army, Call of Duty and many more.

As of May 2006, Counter-Strike is still the most widely played online first-person shooter in the world. In 2002 there were over 30,000 populated Counter-Strike servers on the Internet (second place was Unreal Tournament with about 9,800). In 2004, GameSpy statistics showed over 85,000 players simultaneously playing Counter-Strike at any point in time, and in 2006, Steam regularly shows over 200,000 players for Counter-Strike[1] (this includes Counter-Strike: Source, Counter-Strike: Condition Zero and Counter-Strike). According to statistics gathered by Valve's content-delivery platform, Steam, these players collectively contribute to over 6.177 billion minutes of playing time each month, as in February 5, 2007[1] solidifying its position as the most popular online first-person shooter in history. Counter-Strike was originally played online through the WON gaming service, which was shut down in 2004,[2] forcing players to switch to Steam (to which a section of players responded by creating their own WON network, dubbed WON2).

Counter-Strike, the world’s number one online action game series, is a first-person shooter developed by Valve Software, the creators of the renowned Half-Life series. This team-oriented online shooter pits terrorists and counter-terrorists against one another in round-based combat set all over the world. Using the power of the “Source” engine, the original Counter-Strike has been completely remade as Counter-Strike: Source—offering upgraded graphics, levels, and the implementation of a new physics engine. Counter-Strike will never be the same!

First released to the public on June 18th, 1999, Counter-Strike began as a simple fan-produced mod for Half-Life. Thanks to a series of steadily-improving beta releases, the mod started to foster a progressively-enlarging and dedicated following. As the fast-paced, tactical game play was refined and improved, and as new concepts and maps were introduced, Counter-Strike moved from being a mere Half-Life mod to an entirely new game.

With the release of Steam, Valve's digital content delivery system, Counter-Strike found a new footing within the gaming community. Counter-Strike’s first single-player chapter, Counter-Strike: Condition Zero (Developed by Valve and Turtle Rock Studios), was a great success, bringing many new features and upgraded graphics to the classic game. The release of Counter-Strike: Source only helped boost the series further towards its now legendary status. Counter-Strike is about as close as you’ll ever get to saving the world; or destroying it!