Counter-Strike

When compared to other titles of the late 90s and early 00s, Counter-Strike registers as a solid, though not exceptional, first-person shooter for casual play. What makes it stand out is its design for competitive play as an esport. To my knowledge no other esport has survived over two decades and still grown in popularity, and the longevity of the series is a testament to its quality. 21 years on we have Valve's major tournament reaching a peaking concurrent viewership of over 3 million. Perhaps it is a lightning-in-a-bottle phenomenon--like StarCraft: Brood War in Korea--but nevertheless Counter-Strike and its successors have been the most important FPS in the growth of esports into a worldwide phenomenon.

Counter strike is a colussus when it comes to multiplayer games, right from the first entry. It offers 5v5 fps action with a focus on objective play. There are a lot of maps, many of which are community made, but out of them Dust_2 remains a clear favourite. The gameplay is without a doubt brilliant for its era, building of the original half life gameplay but with a higher focus on tactical play and less run and shoot. But i wonder whats its place nowadays, since the original has been updated with the source engine and the great majority of its base has migrated to Global Offensive. On its defense, the bots of this game are intelligent enough to pose a challenge. While i think its worth playing this for a couple of hours, the fact that the community has largely moved on means that the huge game that this was is gone.

I feel like its a relic more than anything else.