Counter-Strike for Mac

Classic tactical first-person shooter

Counter-Strike is a classic action game from Valve. Tracing its origins as a mod for the first-person shooter, Half-Life. In this tactical experience, you play as either a Terrorist or a Counter-Terrorist and will have to fight against each other. Purchase your loadouts, guns, and armor, then take out the opposing team.

Despite being originally released in 1999 and having sequels such as Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Counter-Strike 2, the original Counter-Strike remains enjoyed by player groups around the world. Its angular movements, numerous glitches and issues, and dated visuals and mechanics still make for a good retro experience.

Choose between Terrorists and CTs

At its core, Counter-Strike aims to put the player into the heat of the conflict between law-enforcement units and terrorist cells. As soon as you start, the first thing you do is choose between the two factions and choose a particular character model. The objectives also vary depending on the map. Terrorists are tasked with accomplishing an act of terror like bombing, hostage-taking, or assassination. On the other hand, Counter-terrorists prevent these objectives through bomb disposal, hostage rescue, and escort missions.

This allows for a degree of flexibility in the gameplay. You can focus on eliminating the opposing team or achieving the specific objectives in that particular stage. In terms of strategizing, there are also various weapons to choose from. You can launch frontal assaults using a variety of rifles and submachine guns, or provide long-range support with sniper rifles. The weapons are also adapted and limited to your faction, such as the AK-47 for Terrorists and its counterpart the M4A1 Carbine for Counter-Terrorists.

A dated yet timeless FPS experience

When it was released in 1999, Counter-Strike was also a part of an FPS movement that started using the WASD keys for movement. This means that the controls are intuitive by default, although you do have the freedom to remap keys as you see fit. It also comes with a console that allows you to make quick changes or type in cheat codes. There are weird commands such as having your bullets follow enemies or disabling gravity.

In terms of graphics, the game is admittedly dated by modern standards. However, it was such a treat at its time of release. First, you have a good selection of character models inspired by real-world models, from the British SAS and the US Seal Team 6 to Guerilla Warriors. You also have a good selection of maps, some of which have inspired stages in other games. More importantly, the modding community has allowed access to a lot more maps.

Still, there are a lot of issues to consider. For starters, there are no active servers anymore for online multiplayer sessions. You can, however, create the good old LAN games and play with friends, provided you’re all connected on the same local area network. Also, the massive volume of content available have varying functionalities, which affects bot behavior. Some maps have competent bots while others do not support them.

Experience the timeless tactical shooter game

Overall, Counter-Strike remains an important part of video game history, particularly that of the shooter subgenre. Despite its content–graphics and gameplay–being dated by modern gaming standards, it’s still worth a shot for people looking to enjoy some good old FPS experience. If you’re looking to play with friends, you can set up your own servers or go local with LAN games. If you have the time, this is definitely worth a shot.