Sometimes the word “stop” evades the ears of certain people. The people I’m talking about are those who seek to capitalize on a successful franchise by releasing a half-assed sequel.
While these people are no murderers or rapists, I still feel like smacking them in the face for selling out some classics. At least then I can pay back some of the pain those developers have forced me to endure.
Anyways, here’s an ode to gaming sequels that should be shot, sterilized, and blasted into space so we may never see them again… God help any aliens that get their hands on these games. (Okay that was an exaggeration: These sequels aren’t necessarily bad, just disappointing — with exception of the first game on the list.)
Gamers like shiny things. Especially PC gamers. From bloom effects to fancy computer cases, this breed of gamer wants their system to live fast and die young. Too young, if you ask me. Just look at the usefulness that last year’s gaming computer can yield:
There’s that old saying, “it’s not whether you win or lose, it’s how you play the game.” Of course, losing isn’t a whole lot of fun for anybody, save for masochists and deadbeat dads who never really wanted custody in the first place. However, savvy gamers ’round this big ol’ world of ours all know they don’t have to lose, provided they play the game right: with a whole slew of codes, hacks, and exploits, as well as a defunct moral compass.
From the comfortably familiar to the understandably obscure, here’s a quick look at cheating throughout the ages.
Walk into any cybercafe and take note of your surroundings: rows of bright monitors projecting an eclectic display of PC favorites. Though, somewhere in all of this, you are bound to see at least a few gamers playing the original Counter-Strike, their fingers rapidly navigating keyboard and mouse while managing a score of 30-0 on de_dust. So, what makes this old shooter still popular amidst so many other great titles of its genre?
Patience is a virtue; except if you’re an angry German kid, desperately wanting to play Counter-Strike. This German boy—half temperamental, half insane—vigorously pounds the keyboard and curses his computer screen in hopes of speeding up the game’s loading process. Little does he know, his computer can’t hear him. Entertaining, humorous, and extremely loud: his Hulk-like spasms blow off the charts after he plays, and dies. But don’t we all have a little furious German boy in us, somewhere?
Nearly a decade ago, one of the most influential mods in FPS history was born. Stemming from the hugely popular and critically acclaimed PC video game, Half-Life, Counter-Strike became an enormous hit with its tactical gameplay and realism enough so to become a game in its own rights. As a fan produced and created mod, Counter-Strike is a true Cinderella story in the gaming world.
Guns, gear, and smack talk are the staples of this healthy franchise, and from the first beta to the last patch, the message has remained the same. Noob or 1337 hax0r, terrorist or CT, you want to be the last one standing.
Now the history’s out of the way, are you ready to get pwned?
Jumping into online play can be daunting for the noob with the overwhelming amount of servers, clans, mods, and maps, but every year, Counter-Strike has exhibited a Saturday Night Fever-like resilience in “staying alive.” Tournaments held last year by the now defunct CPL (Cyberathlete Professional League) had first place prize pots of $50,000 dollars. Unfortunately, with the dissolution of the CPL, Counter-Strike has lost one of its professional play flagships.
However, tournaments held by CyberEvolution, the Electronic Sports World Cup, the World e-Sports Games, and the World Cyber Games are still going strong and feature global competition. As a nearly ten-year old game, Counter-Strike 1.6 has the low system reqs to make it available to almost everyone and the incredible gameplay and realism to still compete against franchises like Call of Duty and Battlefield. Meanwhile, Counter-Strike Source remains a popular FPS both for fun and competitively. With this sort of pedigree, the next iteration of the series is sure to be a huge hit.
Sometimes the word “stop” evades the ears of certain people. The people I’m talking about are those who seek to capitalize on a successful franchise by releasing a half-assed sequel.
Gamers like shiny things. Especially PC gamers. From bloom effects to fancy computer cases, this breed of gamer wants their system to live fast and die young. Too young, if you ask me. Just look at the usefulness that last year’s gaming computer can yield:
There’s that old saying, “it’s not whether you win or lose, it’s how you play the game.” Of course, losing isn’t a whole lot of fun for anybody, save for masochists and deadbeat dads who never really wanted custody in the first place. However, savvy gamers ’round this big ol’ world of ours all know they don’t have to lose, provided they play the game right: with a whole slew of codes, hacks, and exploits, as well as a defunct moral compass.
Walk into any cybercafe and take note of your surroundings: rows of bright monitors projecting an eclectic display of PC favorites. Though, somewhere in all of this, you are bound to see at least a few gamers playing the original Counter-Strike, their fingers rapidly navigating keyboard and mouse while managing a score of 30-0 on de_dust. So, what makes this old shooter still popular amidst so many other great titles of its genre?
Nearly a decade ago, one of the most influential mods in FPS history was born. Stemming from the hugely popular and critically acclaimed PC video game, Half-Life, Counter-Strike became an enormous hit with its tactical gameplay and realism enough so to become a game in its own rights. As a fan produced and created mod, Counter-Strike is a true Cinderella story in the gaming world.
