14 DAY TRIAL // Why I'm writing this
I am a gamer at heart and I'm proud of it. I keep my hand rested on W,S,A,D, Spacebar and the Shift button when I carouse the Internet? I understand L33t and even type it out sometime. I've been a die hard gamer since I can remember, I guess that's how I originally got into computers in the first place (and mom said that I was going to rot my brains). I call people 'noobs' when they don't know what they're doing and I enjoy 'pwning' them when they piss me off. The reason why I'm writing this ? editorial ? tips & tricks is that I'm starting to feel sorry for all the noobs out there that get turned off from any game that's too hard to play. This sort of tutorial through criticism is my way of trying to help all those who've given a First-Person-Shooter a try and have failed miserably. Try again young grasshoppers, it only takes a little practice, some time and just good ol' common sense.
Let's recap what I play now, first and foremost, I'm a Counterstrike fan. Yes, I know, I'll probably have half my readers love me and the other half hate me completely, but one thing's for sure, this advice will probably help you be a better player. I've recently started playing Nexus, the Jupiter Incident (a game that's awesome by the way, it plays more like a good Sci-fi novel than a video game, I highly recommend it) and have been scattering some weekly hours in between Black and White 2 and AOE3, both of which I definitely need more time playing. I do not claim to be one of the best CS:S players out there, or to have been in Cal or something like that, but I do know how to win and have a good time wherever I play. Since I'm the type of guy who enjoys himself by winning, I can honestly say that I try to do it as much as I can, and most of the time I'm pretty successful at it. I typically have a 2.5 KD (Kill Death) ratio with about an 80% headshot accuracy. I also tend to enjoy playing any type of map (specifically Aztec and Dust2).
I'm mainly writing this editorial so early in the week because I started to remember what it was like starting off with a new game, especially the likes of Counterstrike. It's easy to get dissuaded from ever playing this again after initially trying it out. The online players are typically pretty good (depending on the servers they could range from mediocre to amazing) and that typically means a lot of dying for the newcomers.
This is going to be a little random posting on Softpedia, but lately I've been playing some CS:S online and I've only been running into some noobies that don't necessarily know what's going on. This posting will be a little 'rant of what I dislike', a little on tips of 'how to get better' and a little 'strategic advice'. This is a review for most users who already know how to play the game but haven't figured out how to get that elusive "EDGE" that some players seem to have.
Enough noobs, hurry up and get better
It's also a catalyst that comes from some conversations I've had with a few of my fellow online gamers who have often wondered why they can't achieve the primal instinct of flawless online gaming as some of these incredi-freaks out there that end up going 21-3 or have a KD ratio that's higher than my GPA. The bottom line is that if you don't have the raw natural reflexes that most of these "preteen- I've-been-playing-since-I-came-out-of-the-womb-Asian-phenoms," the sad truth of it is? You Never Will! They are just better than you. Besides, they're practicing on their little seven year old sister who will probably still be able to beat you. But hey, that's something to build on.
For most of them, the reason that they're better than you are is that they probably play a lot more than you. Like any good skill, it takes time, effort and patience to acquire and attain a skill that one does well. I want to start off by saying that this little rant to help you become a better gamer is geared toward, but not limited to CS:S. So you can take what I say here and truly apply it in other games.
I want to start off with the fundamentalities that each player should have engrained in his (or her) thick skull when learning to play a game like Counterstrike Source, IT'S A TEAM GAME PEOPLE! If you've ever seen the movie A Beautiful Mind directed by Ron Howard and acted by Oscar winning Russell Crowe who plays Professor John Nash, you'll remember him saying "I find you very attractive? all I really want to do is have sex with you as soon as possible."
Wait, that's not the line that I was going for. What I meant was you should remember him talking about groups will do better if they work together rather than compete over the same thing, he then goes and gives the example that no one of them should go for the beautiful blond in the middle because no one will win. In order for all of them to prosper, the divide-and-conquer mentality should persevere.
Having played for quite some time now, I wouldn't be opposed to "taking one for the team" and dying in order to achieve a team victory (in the end I'm the one getting more money for being on the winning team).
Alex's 3 rules to live by
Let's get into the few things that most gamers should start off knowing before they play CS:S. If you're new to the game, most people who have been playing for about a week will probably be better than you. This is a fact, but one that can be remedied.
We'll start off with the basic concepts that I believe will make you a better team player in a game that's ultimately designed for the team effort. These generalities are important if you're truly trying to get good at the game:
- The most important thing to know, no matter how well you aim, no matter how well you react, no matter how well you can jump, turn, and headshot a guy from 500 meters is that you should always, ALWAYS learn the map you're playing on. This is by far one of the most important things you can learn.
The reason I say this is simple: because CS:S is based on objectives (i.e. plant/defuse the bomb, rescue hostages, etc.) it is imperative to know where the enemy starts out and where they have to go to achieve their ends. The notion of knowing the map will give you two more extreme advantages; the first is that you know the shortcuts, and hiding spots of the map. The second is more important, it lets you guesstimate when and where the enemy might be at a certain time during the round. This estimate can essentially let you anticipate your enemy's move before he/she is there to actually make it.
- The second most important thing is covering your teammates. I can't stress this enough. There are a few ways in which you can cover a teammate, these may range from providing more firepower in a firefight to looking left while your teammate looks right? to rushing in with them after they throw a flashbang.
On many public servers you're going to see a firefight between a teammate of yours and the enemy? that should automatically trigger your reaction. That should make you say "hey, maybe I should go over and help him before he dies." I'd rather have someone cover me and help me out and steal one of my kills than die from not having enough cover. It really bothers me when I take a look at a teammate that sees me shooting and taking fire, watching the fight go on, and not doing anything about it (it's a pet peeve of mine when I die in the process and they get the cleanup kills).
One last thing that should be mentioned about covering teammates, try not to let them hang out to try. I mentioned this in the previous paragraph, but when one of your teammates throws a flash down a corridor, or through a doorway, the correct move would be to rush where the flash was thrown. It then becomes your job to rush in after them and cover their silly behinds for rushing into a potentially dangerous situation.
- The third important idea to have ingrained in your head about CS:S is that you're always going to want to have firepower superiority. By this I mean the following; two of your teammates can get more shots off than one, so you're going to always want to have mismatches. Always try to get a group of your teammates shooting at a smaller group of theirs. 3V2, or 4V3 makes a team have more success and survivability in the long-run than an evenly matched up firefight. Firepower superiority makes practical sense because you can kill more people which will end up in you winning more rounds.
The good thing about advice is that you don't have to take it
I want to make sure that users differentiate that I'm not giving them advice on how to win more clan matches through strategies, you can go online and watch some demos for that, this is geared toward general players who enjoy the game but want to get better at it.
A lot of things I see when I play online today is that there are a lot of newcomers that tend to camp. Although this is understandable for beginners, try not to make a habit out of it. A few servers out there have strict rules against camping of any sort and might get you kicked or even banned from their local games.
Try to actively participate with the team that's supposed to help you win. Your participation in a rush or covering a key spot can mean the difference between your team's victory or defeat.
The last thing I'd like to mention in this little helpful rant is that beginners should try to seek out a regular server with active members who are naturally better than they are. You're going to run into jerks on the net who get angry at you for not covering, or flashing your teammates at an inopportune time, but this is the only way that you can learn (that and bots of course).
Next week I'll add a few more pet peeves of what I find annoying when I play online games. From campers to TKers, I'll talk about general things of what NOT to do and how players can show a little online common courtesy. I'll try to include a little of what typical gamers get annoyed with along with a few more tips on how to improve your gameplay. These include techniques on better aiming, faster reaction time and some strategic advantages on maps, player roles, and map types (including some weapon advantages on varying maps).
If this has caught your attention, I'd like to get some feedback on what you felt about the article. I'm looking forward to sharing my gripes and annoyances with the rest of the gaming population. For the noobs out there, keep at it, you won't be one for long.
