Half-Life: Counter-Strike
Publisher: Sierra Studios
Developer: The Counter-Strike Team
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"Counter-Strike has a simple yet effective design that's brought to life with superior maps and vivid graphics and sound. The end result is utterly exciting and addictive. Counter-Strike is a model of its kind and a thrilling action game." - Scott Osborne, GameSpot Review

Technically, Counter-Strike is not a complete game, because it was originally designed as a free downloadable mod for Valve's impressive shooter, Half-Life. Although Counter-Strike is still available as a free download for Half-Life owners, it's also become a stand-alone retail product that should be accessible to an even larger audience. In fact, Counter-Strike is one of the most popular games being played on the Internet - more people play this mod online than any other retail game. And even though Half-Life is 2 years old, the game is still visually pleasing. But in the end, it's Counter-Strike's addictive gameplay that makes it the best multiplayer game this year.

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While Counter-Strike is a team game at its core, each player must still play an individual role, which makes the game appealing for those who like deathmatch-oriented shooters. Public servers usually offer random games where players can run off and engage the enemy. In fact, when it comes down to only a couple of players on each side, they typically will seek each other out instead of completing a mission goal. That's because a team can win not only by completing the mission objective but also by eliminating the opposing team.

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While Counter-Strike does have a learning curve, there are so many people who play the game that you should quickly be able to find someone who's willing to give out some tips. Matches are very quick, but since you don't instantly respawn if you're eliminated in a match, you're able to follow surviving players around in a chase-cam view. This is a great way to learn new strategies and see how good players walk around the map.

Ultimately, Counter-Strike plays great, but its success is also largely due to the fact that it's available for free and is based on such a successful game to begin with. Certainly, Counter-Strike helps redefine the model for what online multiplayer games can be.