Initially Half-Life, Counter-Strike is a modification made by two designers; Minh Le and Jess Cliffe. The game features a First Person Shooter (FPS) where you can either be a terrorist or a counter-terrorist.

 

Both teams have objectives to follow to secure a victory. Terrorists bomb, assassinate, and take hostages while counter-terrorists defuse bombs and rescue hostages. When the round is won, a point is gained contributing to the overall scores to secure victory.

 

The developers released the first beta version of the game in June 1999. The modification gained so much popularity that they released other beta versions. Valve Software helped out in the alteration from the release of the fourth beta.

 

They bought the intellectual property rights in April 2000 and hired both Minh Le and Jess Cliffe. Minh Le chose to modify Half-Life because it had the type of realistic theme setting that he had imagined. The game was changed and updated according to the feedback they got from the gaming community.

 

The Evolution of Counter-Strike.

 

The first release was Counter-Strike: Condition Zero in 2004. It was developed by Turtle Rock Studios and used the same engine as Half-Life. Inclusions to the game included two game modes for a single player and bonus levels. This game was considered a failure due to the many setbacks and little excitement from its fans.

 

At the end of the same year, Counter-Strike: Source was released to the public using the Valve Source game engine. New introductions included novel game elements such as maps, guns, and items. This version was initially released as a beta to the Valve Cyber Café Program, and its original release included a version for Windows. OSX and Linux consequently received a port in 2010 and 2013.

 

A recent addition to the game is Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. It was released in 2012 becoming the most popular and longest-running game in the franchise. The game is available on Windows, OSX, Linux, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3. Developers included new additions such as the map, Dust II, which became the most popular. Modern graphics and character models made the game look updated and sophisticated. Updated versions of the game still maintained the traditional modes of bomb-defusing and weapon spray.

 

An update for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive was released on August 2013 called the "Arms Deal." The update included cases that had up to 20 skins, each with its form of rarity. Each case cost about $2.49, and the skins were bought in the market place. The cases were so famous because you could make real money off of them. You could either unbox a knife worth thousands of dollars, or a skin worth less than a dollar. It was all down to your luck during selection.

 

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive has released a new operation called Shattered Web. Operations contain new missions, maps, rewards, and collectable coins. Completed tasks receive rewards such as skin, graffiti and new player skins. Missions in the operations are simple challenges, but, some can be full-blown missions. Operations are one of the reasons why the game's popularity is still growing.