Date: 8 Feb 2010 Comments: 0

It seems incredible to think that the first Counter-Strike was launched 11 years ago, 11 years back. To put it in simple terms the game, formed online gaming as it is today. The easy gameplay, the level of addiction. Sleepless nights and insomnia were caused by Counter-Strike.

It’s no shock then, in 1997 CS:S, was a big hit for Valve, who took ownership of the brand in 2004, at the same time WON was shut down. At peak, no game came near CS:S in with regards to gameplay hours and the number of players online.

Another six years later, CS:S COD MW2 when counting the number of of online game servers and players. It’s unlikely COD MW2 will be able to say the same in 6 years against the equivalent top game at the time. It could be the flexibility of the game that has contributed to its continued popularity. Not considering the actual binaries, server admins can add custom maps, mods, configs. you have the option to modify the game engine to your liking via choosing cvars. CS:S game servers differ in gameplay not like any gaming server (although Garys Mod fans most likely would argue on that view!). As one of many examples of CS:S utilising modifications include:

• Surf Servers
• Warcraft
• RPG
• Hide n Seek

It’s this customisation potential, and option to run the game by your rules, and make your own fun that make CS:S so brilliant. To play CS:S, all you need is is a STEAM account, and to buy CS:S, which at current time of writing is as little as £12.99 – bargain! You will require a fairly good spec rig, and graphics card, although from past findings, most laptops will now play the game without issue. If you wish to go beyond just playing on other people’s CS:S game servers, you perhaps ponder renting your own clanserver from a clanserver host that are experts in hosting CS:S servers.

What you’ll want to think about is the server ping. Your ping to a server is the length between you, and where the server is physically hosted. The better the ping, generally, the smoother your gaming. In most cases, any ping of 100ms or under is more than acceptable for online game play.

You might also consider joining a gaming clan. A gaming clan is a collection of gamers that form a ‘clan’ and play together. In most cases a clan will play competitively- i.e. play wars against other clans, sometimes for money. If that’s not your thing, you could consider setting up a community. A gaming community like a clan, play together, but usually not competitively, and more for fun. Some CSS communities boast members adding to over 500.

Finally, something to consider is when you first play, you will without fail find you suck really bad. Here’s a hint- don’t take it too hard. Some of the people that play CS:S online have been doing so for an eternity- for hours every evening. With any game, becoming brilliant at CS:S takes lots of practise. And practise makes perfect when becoming brilliant on CS:S servers.