A new Counter Strike Forum has been added to the line up.  This only seemed like a logical addition since it is one of the most popular online games ever played.  That one forum section covers both the original CS, and Counter-Strike:Source.

Counter Strike was originally developed by Minh “Gooseman” Le and Jess “Cliffe” Cliffe and was a free add-on to original Half-Life. The first release was in 1999. Valve Software bought the rights to the game, and released it as a commercial product in November of 2000. Because CS was developed for Half-Life, it used a modified version of the Quake engine. Over time the graphics became dated and due to the engine, as limited real world physics.

Counter Strike:Source is the original CS remade with the Source engine, which was developed for Half-Life 2. This version was released in October 2004.

The Source game engine offers improved graphics and real world physics, as compared to the Quake engine. The newest version of the Source engine supports Dual Core processors and better graphics then the original Source engine.

Counter Strike revolves around 2 teams – the terrorist and the counter terrorist. In some maps the terrorist have to plant a bomb to win, in some maps the counter terrorist have to rescue hostages to win.

Both team have access to a wide assortment of weapons, such as an AK-47, M4, shotguns, H&K MP5, pistols, AWP sniper rifle.

Counter Strike has the honor of being one of the most popular online games ever played. Even though the first version was released in 1999, 10 years later it still has a loyal following.

The question is, whats next for counter-strike?  Now that Valve software has released Left 4 Dead, and the players have seen where co-op team play can go; the next question is – when do we get an update to Counter-Strike:Source?

Lets just imagine that Valve took CS:S, mixed it with Left 4 Dead, included a dash of Doom II – Hell on Earth, and a touch of Half-Life 1.

For those of you that do not know the history of the Doom series, take a look at this forum thread on the Doom series.  Doom II takes place after the original Doom.  The “Doom guy” escapes from Hell and returns to Earth.  Only to find that the demons have escaped Hell and have invaded Earth.  Not only have the demons escaped Hell, but they have killed the Doom guys’ bunny and he is pissed.  Unlike the original Doom maps which took place in military looking bases and areas that looked like Hell.  Doom II takes place on city blocks with buildings in the skyline.  The whole Doom series starts with scientist developing a portal system that opens a doorway to Hell.

The story plot of Half-Life 1 starts out with an experiment gone wrong where Gordon Freeman opens a portal to Zen.  After HL1, in the story plot of Half-Life 2, we find out that the combine have invaded and all of the nations on Earth have surrendered.

In Left 4 Dead some kind of virus has been released that drives people crazy and starts to cause mutations.

Take all 3 of those games, mix them together and you would have a great update to Counter-Strike:Source.

Scientist are playing doing some kind of experiment where they accidentally release some kind of virus that affects an entire city – or they open some kind of portal.  Unlike Left 4 Dead where the survivors are trying to get in, a special military unit is sent in to clean up the mess.

Players would assume the roles of the zombies or demons and the military units.  The weapons would be a mix of Doom and Counter-Strike.  Where you have a wide assortment of weapons and find new weapons in the development facility.

If a Counter-Strike 2 is ever released, that is what I would like to see.

Its not very often that a counter-strike video of this quality is posted on youtube.  So when one comes along, it should get the credit it deserves.

Productions like this are a combination of love for the game, and a desire to produce a quality product.

From China comes a story of how the police are using Counter-Strike to help train their officers. The whole story can be found at this link.

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Keyboards ready, headphones on, Chinese police moved in for the kill.

More than 300 police officers in China’s northern port city Tianjin were “mobilized” to an Internet cafe Wednesday for a three-day competition of the terrorism-themed computer game Counter-Strike.

“The competition is organized to sharpen anti-terrorist skills of Tianjin’s police force, as we find the nature of the game very similar to that of our daily practice,” said officer Zhang Bin, one of the organizers.

Han Zhen, a tactical instructor of Tianjin police, found the game very helpful. “Given its close resemblance to real-life scenarios, the game greatly enhances the terrorism awareness of our officers,” the five-year veteran gamer said. “And it is very important as terrorism has become a global issue.

“In particular, it trains our officers in the use of weapons and taking advantage of different terrains, and is also a test of mental strength in a duel with a terrorist,” said Han. Above him a red banner proclaimed: “Enhancing police forces through technology”.

After the competition was announced in March, Zhang said, police officers were enthusiastic. Now almost half the total Tianjin force are regular players.

“Of course, they play, or should I say train, after work,” he added.

Officers reported noticeable improvement in self-protection on field missions after the play, Han said, stressing the game was only “a supplement to their traditional means of training.”

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