Half-Life: Counterstrike (PC)

Cheats Faq:

Counter-Strike is a pretty old add-on to Sierra’s Half-Life, so I am not going to bother reviewing it. Suffice it to say that it’s the best online action game ever released. This may change soon, with the release of World War II Online, as WWII online takes team playing to levels undreamed of before. Nevertheless, if WWII online keeps me locked up in a room for months like CS did when I first got addicted to it, than I ...
...game of all time. The following article will go through various methods of cheating in half-life, and how to spot cheaters. There isn’t much you can do against cheaters, but I will try going into that as well.

If you haven’t played CS more than 50 times, than read no further as this piece will make no sense to you whatsoever. And don’t leave me a whiney butt cheesy comment saying ‘this is off-topic’ because my article title was quite ... more

Cheats Faq:

Counter-Strike is a pretty old add-on to Sierra’s Half-Life, so I am not going to bother reviewing it. Suffice it to say that it’s the best online action game ever released. This may change soon, with the release of World War II Online, as WWII online takes team playing to levels undreamed of before. Nevertheless, if WWII online keeps me locked up in a room for months like CS did when I first got addicted to it, than I need to make some more contributions about my favorite multiplayer game of all time. The following article will go through various methods of cheating in half-life, and how to spot cheaters. There isn’t much you can do against cheaters, but I will try going into that as well.

If you haven’t played CS more than 50 times, than read no further as this piece will make no sense to you whatsoever. And don’t leave me a whiney butt cheesy comment saying ‘this is off-topic’ because my article title was quite self-explanatory.

Debunking the Myths About Cheating
In any given popular server, there is at least a single cheater playing at all times. There are programs that prevent cheating, however not many servers support them and there is always a way to hack just about any system out there. Take Punkbuster, for example. All it does is to scan some files on your computer. It may be hard to fool it and make it read different files, but it’s not necessarily impossible. According to a revelation by a major publication, around 90% of the players that rack up 5 to 1 kill ratio within 30 minutes are generally cheating. (I know there are a few honest players that rack up kills without cheating, so please don’t be offended if you are one of them. In fact, I myself can be one of them on some lucky days, so I know how it feels when someone wrongly accuses you of cheating. So please, if you don’t cheat, take no offense.)

Personally, I have never cheated on a multi-player game. Not even once just to test the cheats. And I never will. I have most cheats downloaded on my machine, and have used them on local matches against robots (scripted computer characters). This helped me study how they work and the disadvantages they pose to honest players. I don’t cheat, because as a Veteran gamer I know how boring a game becomes once you start resorting to such methods of easily beating it. Would you really play Diablo II if you could kill everything in one hit? Rhetorical question. Don’t answer it. Fool. I said don’t answer it. Damn you. Fine, have it your way.

Obvious Cheats
Ok, ok, I’ll stop being annoying. There are several notorious cheats, like invisibility, morphing from one place to another, or wearing the colors of the opposite team. These cheats usually get the person kicked or banned immediately, and is not worth talking about. (Reflecting on a similar occasion, several months ago bomb kept being defused by a ghost. Of course, the Terrorist team kept loosing every match, until I thought of taking burst shots about 10mm above the bomb light. Invisible player died like a chicken, which was pretty funny.) People that use these kinds of cheats are usually around 12 years of age and are having a blast, but don’t worry they will get bored and leave within a couple of minutes.

Popular Incognito Cheats
*WallHack*
Wallhack is possibly the most popular cheat on CS. In fact, some people consider it as a part of the game, meaning it’s not even a cheat. In their retarded sense of logic, if having a better ‘system’ or a better ‘connection’ gives some people an advantage, than having a simple patch that doesn’t necessarily add to a player’s skill level is ok. This is stupid. Wallhack allows you to see through certain walls in all levels, giving you the ability to spot hiding campers and even allow you to shoot through walls without ever being seen yourself. As camping is an acceptable form of strategy in CS, any patch that allows you to anti-camp without being seen is a cheat without the slightest sense of doubt.

Notorious WallHackers are quite easy to spot, as they will shoot you through walls and behind boxes even though they were nowhere near you when you first hid there. However, some smart players will try to make it seem as though they do not cheat, so they will jump right in front of you and start shooting. Its easy to mistake them for honest players, because jumping around camping spots is a common anti-camping technique. However, if you see someone who continues to spot campers whenever they jump, than they are definitely cheating. But if it’s a good player who is jumping in front of each and every camping spot, than they are just pretty damn good.

(A WallHacker continuously spotted and shot dead people hiding behind boxes. First he tried to make it seem like he didn’t cheat, but it became quite obvious when he finger pointed his enemy on a one-on-one match in the map de-prodigy. Best way to kill him was to confront him head on, as he wasn’t a very skilled player. )

*AutoFire*
This is a pretty nifty cheat, as it automates the burst shooting process. There are only two major critiques in CS, one is that you can dodge bullets by jumping around which makes the game unrealistic, and the other is that you can’t set an auto burst. Well, becoming an AK-burster takes quite a whole lot of skill and work, and automating the process is definitely a cheat. You can pretty much set this program up so that your weapon will only take two or three shots.

In addition, AutoFire will make it so that your computer will shoot automatically whenever your target recycle runs over the enemy. That way you never really need to aim, just strafe left and right and keep your weapon pointed in your opponent’s general direction. In addition, if you have some skill you will never miss with this cheat on. I downloaded AutoFire a while back, but I haven’t had the chance to test it out myself yet.

*AutoAim*
This is the mother of all cheats, and a favorite among most cheaters. Combined with AutoFire, a player becomes moderately invincible when using this cheat. Just put yourself in a good sniping position and leave the computer, and watch everyone drop dead right in front of you. I setup a bot game in custom awp_map, and had 16 bots run towards me. I shot them all within less than a minute. Its ridiculous how powerful you become with this cheat.

There are some geeks that claim they are Computer Science majors in bleh blah college and that it is impossible to build such an application. Ha! You will never be a true geek, wannabe! Yes, it is possible, albeit challenging. The algorithm is very simple in theory. All you need is a program that will run outside of CS, and continuously read a preset square around the cursor copying the color list. If within this color list you have a continuous pattern that matches the colors of your opponents, than you set your mouse to point in that direction. All the player ever needs to do is make sure the square block the program is reading is somewhere in the vicinity of their opponent. The program and the AutoFire cheat do the rest.

AutoAim is the worst cheat ever. It takes all the fun out of CS, and literally skill-less people can come in and kick any veteran’s butt. It’s even worse when a sniper uses this cheat, because they can take out hordes of opponents.

Its nearly impossible to differentiate an AutoAim’er from an excellent sniper. AWP can also make you very powerful, given that you know how to run back with cover-fire and find next sniping spot before being shot down. However, when you have a guy running around with an AWP taking out people that are even 2 feet before him, know that they are probably cheating.

In fact, AutoAim’ers are hard to spot in general. How do you know if a person is cheating, or if they are good? You really need to watch their play pattern. If the guy fires 3 connecting shots with the Desert Eagle while jumping and running, they are indeed cheating. Its nearly impossible to make those connect at every turn. You will miss at least once during the process. Also, if you continuously keep catching bullets with your head while the person is at sniping distance with a silenced Colt, they are most likely cheating too. Headshot from sniping distance is a million dollar shot, and if someone gets it 3-4 times in a game than its either their luckiest day of the year or they are cheating.

My recommendation is to keep watching a player for a long time, and if it seems that their skills are inhuman, most likely they are inhuman. Being a good player is a completely different thing from being an insane player. I’ve seen Tournament level players go at each other, and know their skill limit. Continual fire connects while jumping around with a colt is nearly impossible to accomplish, and when you see someone doing it nonstop, know that they are cheating. It can happen once, twice, thrice, but you start wondering when it keeps happening.

*Philosophy Against Cheating*
Cheating doesn’t just make the game worthless for you, but the cheater as well. It only requires minimal skill to rack-up kills, and you might as well let the computer play by itself. People that don’t consider stuff like WallHack do have fun, as they still have to spot you and know how to burst fire. But once a notorious cheat like AutoAim is armed, the game becomes pathetic.

I will never cheat in a multi-player game. Not because of some high moral reasons or that I am a nice guy. Heck, I couldn’t give a damn about that. It’s about me and me alone. Cheating just screws up the game. I don’t even enjoy gunfights in which I am victorious, the most pleasure I get form CS is when I outsmart multitudes of enemy players. That is what I enjoy the most. That is why CS is fun. You put yourself against odds with an enemy and defeat them. It’s like chess that requires some reflex, and not as much patience as chess.

If you are a cheater, you are a worthless piece of human garbage. You haven’t the slightest idea how pleasing it is to have a worthy fight, a match of wit and skills. And you never will. In fact, you are probably afraid you will get shot all the time. And guess that, even being defeated is a part of the joy. It gives you reason to get better and design a better strategy. But for you that is nothing, because all you need to do is arm your AutoAim and sit back.

*On Strategy*
There really isn’t much you can do against an AutoAim’er. Some people actually stop playing when they know that people are cheating. That is not my style. As long as there are some decent players to fight against, a single cheater will not stop me from playing the game. Its like playing a very good game with impossible odds. The fun is not to defeat it, but just to fight it. And if you end up racking up kills despite the cheating, than you really are doing a good job. Outwitting a cheater causes more agony than defeating an honest player. Cheater knows they have the upper hand, yet they lost regardless. Hence, not playing the game is not the solution.

Do not accuse cheaters. All they will do is say they don’t cheat. You need to call a bluff, and claim outright that they should stop cheating. On quite a few occasions, people first claimed that they are just good, but than they admitted to cheating after I pounded them with knowing that they cheat. Sometimes it’s just ridiculously obvious that you haven’t the slightest doubt. And you shouldn’t call anyone a cheater unless you are 100% sure. Continuos MP5 fire causes in a lot of headshots, but a jumping headshot with a scout is only possible to a cheater. Believe me, once you are a veteran player of CS, you will know who is cheating and who is not.

*What to do Against Cheaters*

Well, you really can’t do anything, but here are some suggestions:

1) Kick/Ban them if you have admin status.
2) Let them know of their obvious fondness towards farm animals such as pigs, chickens, and donkeys.
3) Make life more annoying for them by switching to their team, following them around and letting everyone know where they are.
4) Buy flashbombs and try to blind them when they charge against the enemy.
5) Do the smoke trick. Throw a smoke bomb right into their body, this might trigger a bug that’ll keep them frozen for the rest of the round.
6) Continuously knife them or shoot them, making it impossible for their AutoAim’er to kick in.
7) Stand in front of their line of fire.
8) Keep trying to push them in front of the enemy.
9) Every time they duck, jump on their heads.
10) Curse them out outrageously in every language possible. Be extra creative and don’t leave out any family members like parents, uncles, sisters and other things of importance like religious affiliations, their nickname, their sexual orientation and don’t forget to mention the wild night you spent with their mother. Anything you can possibly think of, shoot it out. The thing that’ll really do the trick though is calling them skill-less players, which is essentially true. For creative suggestions, drop me a line and I’ll be more than happy to send you a list.

Counter Strike Faq:

With games category literally dead for months, I have no choice but to review old games or not write at all. I don't want to review old games, so here is a FAQ on AK-47, the low-end rifle for the Terrorist faction in Counter Strike (CS).

If you are not relatively familiar with CS game play, do not read any further. This document will only confuse you.

As an addict of CS, I always chose to play as a Terrorist. I have recurring dreams of running away from the cops, and a horrid problem with resisting authority.

Non-statistical facts about Ak47:

The good:
Sniper-perfect accuracy.
Good handling.
Most powerful assault rifle.
Superior armor / object penetration.
Cheapest rifle in the game.

The bad:
Worst recoil.
Heaviest rifle in the game.
Loudest rifle in the game.
Almost no accuracy when moving.
Least # of bullets per sec

Accuracy:
First bullet that comes out of the muzzle will result in a bulls eye collision with its intended target. You can take out an AWP sniper from sniping distances (given they don't take you out first).

Handling:
Ak has pretty good handling, given the fact that its so heavy. You can run around and shoot people (jumping accuracy is nil though) and the first bullet from the muzzle will indeed hit your target. Though, a silenced colt or any sub-machine gun is far superior to the AK in this
regard.

Power:
AK is the most powerful assault rifle in the game (not including sniper rifles and the PARA heavy machine gun). I rarely see anyone survive four connecting hits from an AK, unless the point of impact for all shots are below the waistline. Kevlar, no Kevlar, 5 connecting hits from the AK
will kill anything in its path regardless of where the bullets hit. Its more powerful than the colt, or any of the high-end rifle. (75% of the time, four shots will kill your target)

Superior Penetration:
Ak bullets will rip through Kevlar and even the human body under it. While playing dust, 3 CT members were lined up on one side of the tunnel, sniping out a T who was hiding behind some boxes. It was a two to 5 fight with CT as the seeming victor, when I had the pluck to catch the Three sitting crouched looking the other way. Two consecutive ducking bursts, first one that released 4 shots and the second 3, killed all members within a split second. The bullets ripped through the first 2 CT's! AK bullets will also go through boxes and other objects with no problem.

Cost: 2500
Ak is the cheapest rifle in the game, and it can be bought with Kevlar body armor at almost each spawn. Its CT equivalent, the Colt costs 3100, which is why you'll have more CT's running around with MP5's.

Recoil:
Ak has the worst recoil for a rifle. Second shot while moving at medium distance will miss. While ducking, 2'nd shot is almost guaranteed connect, while the 3'rd shot against a ducking opponent may or may not hit. 4th shot is a lost cause, unless the opponent is very close and standing (though, after the 4th shot, your cursor will be the size of veronica's butt -- South America)

Weight:
Ak is almost as heavy as a sniper rifle! Any heavier, then you would be auto-sneaking even while running. This, combined with its bad recoil, make AK the worst weapon for non-veterans. You are better off using an MP5.

Loudness:
Simply put, you shoot once, everyone knows where you are.

Moving accuracy:
While running, and even when duck strafing, second shot from the AK is almost guaranteed to miss. Because of this, Ak is not the best weapon for close-range combat.

Slow auto-feature
Any other rifle sends more bullets then the AK per second. Although AK will still do more damage per second, you will not have as many 'lucky headshot' chances as someone with an MP5.

With all these features defined, its hard to guess why I only play with an AK even when I can easily afford 3 sigs, the higher end terrorist rifle that has the ability to zoom. The bad recoil makes it hard to use, and since the weapon is so heavy, you can hardly conduct evasive maneuvers. With the AK, the strategy is either kill or be killed. If you miss, you have almost no chances of recovery. Its not a weapon for defense, but attack only. In the hands of a specialist, its by far the best weapon in the game. But if used by the wrong person, its a suicide
machine.

Indeed, AK is an expert's weapon -- its area of excellence lying in medium range face-to-face combat. If you put 2 opponents in a ducking position at mid range, and give signal for attack, the person with the AK will emerge victorious. This comes from its damage and accuracy factor. Colt does relatively lesser damage when compared to the AK. A silenced Colt against AK is a joke in a head to head ducking fight. (Don't get me wrong, colt is AK's worst adversary as a CT who knows how to use one can dodge the accurate AK bursts and fire back while running)

However, that is not to say AK is not good for anything other than medium range combat. It also does very, very well in long range and short range fights. However, its not the best weapon for either. Regardless, lets look at the AK usage strategy for all types of face to face combat.

Long range anti-sniper combat
Snipers specialty is long range combat, so no need to mention that they have the upper hand regardless of what weapon you have in your hands.

With an AK, the biggest problem with hitting snipers from far away is again the recoil. After the first shot, your cursor will become relatively large. Second shot may or may not miss, but against an AWP guy you must chance the second shot if you are ducking. 3rd shot is a lost cause, as it'll destroy your recoil-recovery time and get you killed. Best way to take out a sniper is by aiming at the neck and performing 2 double bursts.

If you miss, you are dead. If the sniper sees you before you shoot them, you are dead. Your strafe speed with the AK is very, very slow. This makes you a very easy target against a good sniper. Forget about strafing left and right and moving closer. Strafe, let them miss, then take your best shot. Its nearly impossible to take out a good sniper
with an AK, unless they got other targets to worry about. Again, the strategy is kill or be killed. Your defense is shot the moment you hit the duck button.

Long range colt / Mp5 combat
Against a colt, an MP5 or any other sub, AK will do very well from a long distance if you manage 2 shot bursts. Even if the colt/mp5 user is strafing, you can take them out easily as they will miss most of the time.

Long range AUG / Sig
However, AK's biggest rival in long distance combat is the Aug / Sig. Since the person with the Aug can zoom in, he can continuously move and nibble at your health with single shots. Moreover, they are very hard to hit.even if you are ducking. Best strategy against such attack is not to rely on your accuracy while ducking. Yes, take your 2 shot burst, but
after that you have to start strafing yourself.

From a long or a short distance, best way to attack with an AK while strafing is by taking single shots. This is something you may want to practice before trying against a real opponent. Try hitting a visual target while moving with single shots. Aug in this case has major superiority over you, but your only chance at this point is by trying to be evasive and AK is not very good at that.

Medium Range Face-to-Face Combat
This is the area of your specialty; you are the supreme ruler of medium range combat. Anyone dumb enough to duck in front of an AK user is guaranteed to die. Best way to take out such a person is to perform a triple burst, and then a dual burst shot. A 4 burst shot may also work, However, its not guaranteed as the 4th bullet may miss. And in this case, your cursor will have become too large and it will take too long for your weapon to recover. You will leave your opponent with 10 health, Nevertheless, you'll still be dead. The idea is to get your own damn frag, and for this purpose take a triple burst shot. At the end of the triple
burst, your cursor will have become relatively large, but the recovery time will be decent enough to make the killing blow.

One mistake most players make after taking their first burst is to wait for complete recovery. The little box your cursor covers is where your next bullet will go. Give the cursor time to drop, but as soon as your opponent covers most of the area, take your two shot burst. Don't wait
for complete recovery. You must kill, and as quickly as possible. Even if the second shot from your second burst misses, chances are your first bullet will make the killing blow.

Medium Range Combat against Moving Opponents
Anyone who knows the game will try at least some evasive maneuvers before ducking in front of an AK user. Advanced colt users will perform a jump, take two shots while in air to confuse you, and make a triple shot killing blow while ducking after their jump. Good MP5 users will strafe around and nick at your health, while moving closer to you.

The strategy for an AK user is the same as before -- kill as quickly as possible. The chances are, most of your uncontrolled shots will miss, hence you need to increase the number of bursts. Skip the first triple shot, and do dual bursts against your moving opponent. If you hit them,
they will be stopped. This is when you can continue to do dual bursts Alternatively, wait for recovery and do a triple killing blow. My preference is to continuously do dual bursts until the opponent drops.

Don't try evasive maneuvers yourself. They can take more shots than you, and most likely you'll die. Colt excels in strafing bursts, the AK doesn't.

Close Range Combat
With most weapons, Colt/Mp5/Sig, continuous fire at close range will kill the opponent. That is not the case with the AK as recoil will make you miss a lot more, and since the AK does not excel in close range. In my opinion, this is the area of the silenced colt, but some would say Mp5
is even better. Regardless, if you are ducking, you can do a 4 shot burst, or even a 5 shot burst against an opponent who is moving towards you. Chances are they won't survive that burst. However, if your opponent is strafing around frantically, they can take you out if you stay in your ducking position. And if you get up and try the same
maneuver, most your shots will miss.

Consider the fact that AK still does most damage, and you will realize that all you need to do in order to emerge victorious is to make sure your burst does not miss. And what better way to do that than to ram your weapon right into your opponent? If you stick the rifle right in their chest, burst firing will not miss. And since you have the more powerful weapon, you will rip them into shreds before their puny Mp5 has enough time to release 4 shots. Try it, you'll know what I mean.

This is it. Remember, AK is an all attack weapon. You cannot dodge, you cannot run. If you put all your concentration into your assault, you will kill. If you don't, you will die.

cheers,
Eftal Sogukoglu

******************Update*******************

I am adding this part because some of you wanted to know a bit more about the game itself, so here goes:

Graphics 9.5/10

I have to say that the graphics are in my opinion are the worst part of this game and they still get 9.5/10. Like the game itself they are amazing, the amount of pixels is ideal for the game, and any decent system (i would say over 1GHz) would be able to cope with the graphics quite easily. You can see bullets flying around you as a military squad tries to kill you. All of the movements look realistic, from the running to the dying. The weapons in the game are all very detailed, and not only can you leave bullet holes in the walls but you can also leave your opponents blood on. When you throw a grenade at a person the whole body explodes into different parts, and land all over the place. A good, yet unusual feature is the fact that you can spray-paint tags onto walls to note that you've already been there, for one. You can even make custom tags, meaning that you can have a picture of you on the wall.

Sound and Music 10/10
AllthoughCounterstrike doesn't have music, the sounds within the game make up very easily. There are countless voices built into the game that you can say at the touch of abutton (or two), there is footsteps, glass shattering, guns firing, grenades exploding, and every other sound in the game sounds terrific. And plus, it's not like you listen to music when you are going to take down terrorists and save hostages, soi reckon its better not to have music in this sort of game, it makes it more realistic.

Gameplay 10/10
This has got to be the best area of the game. Everything about the gameplay is amazing. For example Instead of restarting after you're dead, you wait until all members of one side are wiped out. There are NO first aid kits, i mean in games like quake were you get them it just makes it so unrealistic, if your in the middle of a big gun fight how often will you find a first aid kit lying on the floor, and then have the time to use it before getting killed. The experience is like real-life, and more games like this should be made. The camera control after ''being fragged'' is cool,too, as you can edit your own view on teammates and watch them die. (hehe) The level designs are great as there are loads of variety. Even though it can be tough for newbies, experience counts, and that's what playing CS is all about; observing, learning, and be a class on your own!

So how does it all work.
Well basiccaly there are two teams, You can be either Terrorists, or Counter-Terrorists. And up to thirty two people can play! There are rounds, Each round usually lasts about 5 mins, no longer than 10mins. Before a round starts, you have few seconds to prepare yourself by buying weapons, ammo, grenades, and gear from a large selection. You earn more money after the round is over. Once the time runs out, you move out and of course try to eliminate the opposing side. When you die you get to watch the other players fighting from somebody elses point of view. To win, well The terrorists can plant bombs in certain areas, and if the bomb goes off and the counter-terrorists can't defuse it in time, then the terrorists win. If they do diffuse it then the counter-terrorists win. Simple.

Replayabilty 10/10
This game will last forever It never gets old. And it is free to play, (apart from your internet connection of course) There are many servers online you can play on, and normally the servers are fairly full. You also have time to play different kinds of games, like 4 on 4 or 16 on 16, depending on what you feel like playing. You will be hooked on the game forever and a day.

Buy it?
Well if you have the original half life then there is absolutely no point, because you can just download it, because counterstrike is just a mod of the original. If you dont have the original then i would say yes, definately. If you only have one game on your computer then this has got to be it.

well i hoped you like this review, (if you read it all lol)

Cheers again,
Eftal Sogukoglu
 

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