Valve has a great reputation as a game developer for a number of reasons. Half-Life is probably the number one product everyone associates with the company, although the Steam digital games service is also very high profile now. But if you enjoy your multiplayer FPS games, then your number one Valve product has to be Counter-Strike.
It was originally released as a mod in June 1999, but then got a retail release over a year later in November 2000. Since then it has seen multiple updates with major versions including 1.6, Condition Zero, Source, and the most recently announced Global Offensive.
During this decade+ period, tweaks have been made, but the core gameplay has remained pretty much the same. The most noticeable update? The evolution of the environments, or maps as they are more commonly known.
de_train for CS:1.6 / CS:S and CS:GO
The differences between all versions of Counter-Strike:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o495tVAAgyg
de_dust2 from Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
If you’ve been a regular player since Counter-Strike first appeared, you’ve probably only noticed the map changes when upgrading between versions, and it’s easy to forget how basic your favorite levels used to look. With the Global Offensive launch slated for early next year, the maps are set to get their biggest visual update yet.
They show transitions of the maps de_dust and de_dust2 from 1.6 right through to Global Offensive, and you can see them both below.
As someone who started playing Counter-Strike when it first got released, it’s surprising to see how much has changed with the look of the game.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V34_aJ2pVZc#t=30