Counter-strike, the popular
Half-Life mod, received yet another update, moving it up to 1.6. When this write-up was started, the game was at 1.3.
Containing the requisite new maps, the 1.4 patch adds a few significant additions. 1.4 gives players a crosshair that grows and shrinks as they move around, showing their relative accuracy at any given time. This is a feature found in similar shooters, especially
Rainbow 6 and its sequal
Rogue Spear. Some cheat protection has allegedly been brought in, though whether or not it works will be found out as the cheaters get to work breaking the new code. The spectator mode has been updated, giving an incredibly fun first-person view mode to watch from the eyes of the still
living. It also adds some handy menus to help you get to what you want to watch, and an overhead map mode.
1.4 has the option of being delivered by
Steam, a service that connects to data online and runs Counter-Strike with it. For the price of downloading new content when you need to use it, players can skip patching entirely. In my experience having to complete a
download each time you play is not worth it, even on my 500k/sec + university connection, so try if you like but I'll be running the standard patches.
see www.counter-strike.net for more information
Counter-strike was updated again to version 1.5, but no major changes were made. Cheating still happens, and what's worse, paranoia insists that any good player be banned just in case they were cheating.
Now updated to 1.6, CS continues to be the largest online first person shooter (
FPS). The game is now playable only through the Steam content delivery service. There are some new weapons, and some tweaks to the network code.
Esports, though, have grown, in such leagues as Cal (the Cyberathlete Amatuer League) which is a 5v5 online circuit, found at www.caleague.com. The CPL is also held about twice a year, and is basically a giant
lan party for more 5v5 counter-strike games.