Counter-Strike. Many call it the most addictive online game ever. It is the #1 online action game in the world. Counter-Strike has even spawned its own language. And the most extraordinary thing of all? This game is nearly five years old.

Created in 1999 and released June 19th of the same year by Minh Le, a.k.a. Gooseman and Jess Cliffe as a mod to Half-Life (1995), the free game caught on so quickly that it soon became available in retail stores. Riding their own coattails of success, the two quickly became employed by Valve Software, where the two still release Counter-Strike patches and work on upcoming Counter-Strike products.

The first question you might have is how can a MOD (modification) to a 1995 game still be so popular today? The answer is simple: excellent gameplay, a multitude of players from around the world, and it’s both challenging and fun. In case you are not familiar with the game I will give you a little background. There are two teams: the terrorists and the counter-terrorists, along with three main map types (there are other less popular types):

• In “de” maps, which seem to be the most popular among servers, the terrorist team has a bomb that must be planted at one of two targets. The counter-terrorists then try and stop them by either eliminating the terrorist team or defusing a planted bomb. The terrorist team can win by successfully planting and detonating a bomb or killing all of the counter-terrorists.

• In “cs” maps the terrorist team is holding a number of hostages. The counter-terrorists must infiltrate the area and either eliminate the entire terrorist team or rescue the hostages. The terrorists can win only by killing off the counter-terrorist team.

• The third type, which has faded in popularity a bit, is the “as” maps. In this type of map a counter-terrorist ends up being a VIP which the terrorist team tries to assassinate. The counter-terrorists win by getting the hostage to a rescue point or eliminating all of the terrorists. The terrorists can only win by killing the VIP.

There is something about Counter-Strike that keeps bringing players back for more. Though the graphics, sounds, and maps are dated, it does nothing to affect the popularity. Whenever I start playing a game that I really like, I seem to always fall back to Counter-Strike no matter what. The controls feel perfectly comfortable, it is challenging, and it is always fun.

As I mentioned above, the graphics are dated but the mod is flexible. For example, it allows gamers to replace character and weapon models and skins in order to give a more updated feel to the game. There are a good variety of maps which have undergone many changes since the originals. The maps represent several different environments ranging from desert to urban.

The sounds in the game aren’t too bad. The weapons sound somewhat realistic, there are background noises like in the extremely popular Aztec map, there are radio commands voiced by co-creator Cliffe, and, more recently, a chat system has been introduced which allows players to use microphones at their computers to communicate with their team.

When Counter-Strike was released, it was a multiplayer only game. The multiple player aspect is the thing that really makes Counter-Strike the game that it is. To be able to play against other skilled people from around the world almost always gives you a challenge. Though the original game is still available for download, other products, such as Half-Life: Counter-Strike, Counter-Strike Xbox, and most recently Counter-Strike: Condition Zero, which includes single a single player game, are available at retail stores.

The fact that this multiplayer modification has survived in popularity for almost five years should really give developers something to think about. Multiplayer is an extremely important aspect of computer games, and without it players are likely to never play a game again after they complete it.

Counter-Strike is a revolutionary modification that has changed the gaming industry and has opened up new opportunities and ideas for people attempting to create mods themselves. It may be a long time before this game fades into the shadows along with other classics. The only true killer of Counter-Strike that I can come up with is the possibility of Counter-Strike 2, running off the Half-Life 2 engine. It would be a smart move by Valve because of how famous Counter-Strike is. Time will only tell.