my first try: Counter-Strike:Source

[darth jacen]

Spoiler: just a note

first off, before i start the review part of this, i would like to say that i do play cs:s and therefor must say i will be as unbiased as possible for an avid player.

Background:
Nov 1, 2004, Counter strike source is released by Valve, and is also able to be bought on steam, much like the predecessor. Counter strike 1.6, the game that many people believe is the height of the series that goes all the way back to cs:beta.

Game play:
Game play is usually smooth, you will get your standard fps lag every once in a while depending on settings, server quality, and your own connection. The system of registration is effective, but you can have times where a shot will not register and the person will have a bullet in their brain and live, to shoot you.

The controls:
The controls are completely customizable, the standard controls are easy to use after an hour or so, and you then can start to understand the more complex controls.

Communication:
The game allows for voice communication, for all you people who play XBL you will know that this leads to small children, disrespect, and much swearing. But you may disable all talking or just mute the avidly annoying, and the small child factor is standard to all games with mic use available. Also standard is the common team and all chat that helps if you dont have a mic, or are just not wanting to use it.

The place of playing:
Servers, there are anywhere from 1 to a million of these, and they can be created as dedicated servers, or bought through GSPs (game server providers) these cost money to keep up. selecting one is as easy as it can be, you click the join server button on the start screen, then search using the filter, or just randomly until you find one you want to play then you just click it. The main point of having so many servers, is the level of customization that can be done, this is where the game shines highest.

Game types:
you have the standard reg. css where you shoot kill and own noobs
zombie mod, where you barricade your self and friends and try and kill the zombie that spawns in about 30 seconds after the beginning of the round.
Gun Game, where you must get (at least) one kill with every gun, then a nade kill, and finally a knife kill to win the game.
Zombie escape, you try and get to the end point and set off the nuke/toxic gas/world ending thing that kills all the people not in the safe zone.
bhop, trying to do linked jumps to get around and through obstacles
death run, where you try and get through traps that the opposite team sets off trying to kill you.
hosties/jailbreak, two nearly the same mods with slightly different rules, where one team is the jailers, and one team is the convicts, and the last two or one convict gets to play a game of their choice (last request). The jailers give orders, and kill those not following, and the convicts try and rebel against them.
trikz, you try and put all your skills from bhop and other types of places, to do trilz to get around obstacles, this is said to be the hardest mod in the game
there are many more, that i will not go into depth on, and every day there is new ones, such as soccer, paintball, machine vs. assassins, hide and seek, and more.

Competitive:
before the death of cal (cyber-amateur athletic league) and the CGS (championship gaming series) the level of competition in Counter-strike source was very high, at all levels of skill (these were for reg. css only). Now the only main steam league is CEVO (cyberevolution)

Spoiler: their site

http://www.cevo.com/

This is where the "best" players of reg. css play, and get payed to play if they can win. There are also some leagues for other types of games, like gun game at Team Warfare (twl) and a soccer league, called the source soccer league (ssl).

Off game things of importance:
CLANS
well as many of you know what a clan is i will not waste the time putting that, but there are so many clans it explains mainly why there are so many servers, because once a clan gets popular they expand by getting more servers, such as some of the top clans can have up to 40 servers, FULLY POPULATED, up to 60 slots!!! Smaller clans may be based around one aspect such as some clans may be gun game oriented, such as

Spoiler: example of a clan

http://devestation-gaming.forumotion.net

There are clans for every type of game, nearly every server, and for nearly every type of person.

finally:
i would just like to say that this game is at its basic roots, a good game, yet once it hits the customized items, and the level of out of game support, and constant making of new and better game types that really makes this game a huge success.

VERDICT: for 20$ i say buy it and do it now. You will regret it if you don't.

edit: as this is my 1st review feedback would be lovely indeed

 

[D_987]

Spoiler: just a note

first off, before I start the review part of this, I would like to say that I do play Counter-Strike : Source and therefore must say I will be as unbiased as possible for an avid player.

No need to tell us that, it'll just make your readers likely to closely read your work in an attempt to spot forms of bias. If you are biased, which is fine as you can have an opinion, it'll be spotted in your writing.

Background:
Nov 1, 2004, Counter strike source is released by Valve, and is also able to be bought on steam, much like the predecessor. Counter strike 1.6, the game that many people believe is the height of the series that goes all the way back to cs:beta.

First things first, don't visually split your sections like this, especially when they are extremely short. It breaks flow, making the review boring. I also feel your background information is incorrect, wasn't the original created by one person (as in the original) and then Valve published it? Surly thats an interesting fact you could have included. Besides explaining the developer this section is meaningless, I suggest omitting it and including said fact along with some information of the context of the game.

Game play:
Game play is usually smooth, you will get your standard fps lag every once in a while depending on settings, server quality, and your own connection. The system of registration is effective, but you can have times where a shot will not register and the person will have a bullet in their brain and live, to shoot you. Well this is more about lag than gameplay; I want to know how the guns feel, is there variety - are there any game-breaking guns? Give me information about gadgets, close-quarter attacks - the works. There's little information here, especially if I was unfamiliar with FPS gaming.

The controls:
The controls are completely customizable, the standard controls are easy to use after an hour or so, and you then can start to understand the more complex controls. This is a prime example why you shouldn't split the review like this - a mere sentence on its own.

Communication:
The game allows for voice communication, for all you people who play XBL you will know that this leads to small children, disrespect, and much swearing. But you may disable all talking or just mute the avidly annoying, and the small child factor is standard to all games with microphone use available. Also standard is the common team and all chat that helps if you don't have a microphone, or are just not wanting to use it. This is a review, I don't know if you've written any on other websites but using abbreviations is a sin. The lack of information regarding communication (what options are available to you, can you type commands in etc... is also poor.

The place of playing:
Servers, there are anywhere from 1 to a million of these, and they can be created as dedicated servers, or bought through GSPs (game server providers) these cost money to keep up. selecting one is as easy as it can be, you click the join server button on the start screen, then search using the filter, or just randomly until you find one you want to play then you just click it. The main point of having so many servers, is the level of customization that can be done, this is where the game shines highest. Decent information, but again, its not relevant when you do little to explain the game - I don't even know the teams based on this review!

Game types:
you have the standard reg. css where you shoot kill and own noobs
zombie mod, where you barricade your self and friends and try and kill the zombie that spawns in about 30 seconds after the beginning of the round.
Gun Game, where you must get (at least) one kill with every gun, then a nade kill, and finally a knife kill to win the game.
Zombie escape, you try and get to the end point and set off the nuke/toxic gas/world ending thing that kills all the people not in the safe zone.
bhop, trying to do linked jumps to get around and through obstacles
death run, where you try and get through traps that the opposite team sets off trying to kill you.
hosties/jailbreak, two nearly the same mods with slightly different rules, where one team is the jailers, and one team is the convicts, and the last two or one convict gets to play a game of their choice (last request). The jailers give orders, and kill those not following, and the convicts try and rebel against them.
trikz, you try and put all your skills from bhop and other types of places, to do trilz to get around obstacles, this is said to be the hardest mod in the game
there are many more, that i will not go into depth on, and every day there is new ones, such as soccer, paintball, machine vs. assassins, hide and seek, and more.

I haven't the time to go over everything thats wrong in this paragraph so lets make a small list:
. Poor spelling / grammar
. Bullet points are unclear
. Lack of capital letters
. What is a "trilz" or a "bhop" exactly, one line cannot accurately describe a game type in depth.
. Information unclear.

Competitive; Off game things of importance:
These sections are not needed as we wish to learn about the game - not those that play it.

finally:
i would just like to say that this game is at its basic roots, a good game, yet once it hits the customized items, and the level of out of game support, and constant making of new and better game types that really makes this game a huge success.

VERDICT: for 20$ i say buy it and do it now. You will regret it if you don't.

edit: as this is my 1st review feedback would be lovely indeed

Effectively the review lacks structure, focus or any in-depth information. You completely ignore the game itself, have poor spelling and grammar and sentences are difficult to read. Its also rather short, due to this lack of information - please try again.

 

[Daezd]

snip

Aw man, I wanted to do that :[


But seriously OP, read through D_987's post and take what he says to heart. Don't be like many other new users who come here and only get angry when they get their review corrected and taken apart piece by piece. Keep trying, keep practicing, and you'll improve.

 

[darth jacen]

thanks for the advise, now that i read your comments and re-read it my self, i see your points.

 

[Say Anything]

When someone puts the phrase "own noobs" in a review, I know they can't be taken seriously. Please, be at least a little formal when reviewing. This isn't the high school chess team.

 

[NewClassic_v1legacy]

Background:
On November 1st, 2004, Counter-Strike Source is released by Valve. and It can also able to be bought on Steam, much like its predecessor. (Counter-Strike 1.6, the game that many people believe is the height of the series, that going all the way back to CS: Beta.) (As D_987 suggested, segmenting your review like this makes for a choppy and difficult review to get through. Note that writing has a "flow" that needs to progress throughout the writing.)

Gameplay:
Gameplay is usually smooth, although you will get your standard FPS (fps stands for frames per second, FPS is first person shooter) lag every once in a while, depending on settings, server quality, and your own connection. The system of hit registration is effective, but you can have times where a shot will not register and the person will have a bullet in their brain and live to shoot you. (Echoing D_987 again, you need more substance. Although it's a safe bet to assume the reader here is passingly familiar with the FPS-genre, you need to explain a little more for every reader, not just the FPS-fan. Also, you don't mention a lot of gameplay elements, weapon balance, controlability, and other such things. This is the section for that information.)

The controls:
The controls are completely customizable. The standard controls are easy to use after an hour or so, and you then can start to understand the more complex controls. (Too short, integrate it into the gameplay section if you must have sections, but cut out the ductwork all together.)

Communication: (Does this really need it's own section? This is looking like more of a guide than a review.)
The game allows for voice communication, for all you people who play XBox Live, you will know that this leads to small children, disrespect, and much swearing. But You can disable all talking, or just mute the avidly annoying. and The small child factor is standard to all games with mic use available. Also, standard is the common team, and all chat that helps if you don't have a mic, or are don't just not wanting to use it.

The place of playing: (This section seems like the former.)
Servers, there are anywhere from one to a million of these. and They can be created as dedicated servers, or bought through GSPs (game server providers,) although these cost money to keep up. Selecting one is as easy as it can be. You click the join server button on the start screen, then search using the filter, or just randomly until you find one you want to play. Then you just click it. The main point of having so many servers is the level of customization that can be done, and this is where the game shines its highest.

Game types: (This goes in gameplay.)
You have the standard regular (No abbreviations for full words.) CS:S where you shoot, kill, and be killed in turn. own noobs There is also Zombie Mod, where you barricade yourself, your friends, and try and kill the zombie that spawns in about 30 seconds after the beginning of the round. Gun Game is a mod where you must get (at least) one kill with every gun, then a grenade kill, and finally a knife kill to win the game. In Zombie escape, you try and get to the end point and set off the nuke/toxic gas/world ending thing that kills all the people not in the safe zone. In Bunny Hop, players trying to do linked jumps to get around and through obstacles. There is also Death Run, where you try and get through traps that the opposite team sets off trying to kill you. Hostages/Jailbreak, two nearly the similar mods with slightly different rules, where one team is the jailers, and one team is the convicts. and The last one or two convicts get to play a game of their choice. (Known as Last Request) The Jailers give orders, and kill those not following, and the convicts try and rebel against them. Lastly, there's Tricks where you try and put all your skills from Bunny Hop and other game types of places, to do tricks to get around obstacles. This is said to be the hardest mod. in the game

There are many more that I will not go into depth on, and every day there are new ones, such as soccer, paintball, machine vs. assassins, hide and seek, and more.

Competitive: (Also delegated to gameplay.)
Before the death of cal ( the Cyber-amateur Athletic League, and the Championship Gaming Series, the level of competition in Counter-Strike: Source was very high. Even at any level of skill. (these were for reg. css only). Now the only main Steam league is Cyberevolution.

This is where the "best" players of reg. CS:S play, and get paid to play if they can win. There are also some leagues for other types of games, like Gun Game at Team Warfare. (twl) Even a soccer league, called the Source Soccer League. (ssl).

Out of game things of importance: (Ugh... This is why the structured system is messy. You really should get rid of it.)

Clans:
well As many of you know what a clan is, I will not waste the time putting that. (Cut out speech colloquialisms like "Well," and "As many of you know." They're detracting and slow the narrative down. Also, if you're not going to mention it, don't bring it up.) but There are so many clans, it explains mainly why there are so many servers. Because once a clan gets popular, they expand by getting more servers. such as Some of the top clans can have up to 40 servers, fully populated, up to 60 slots! (All capitals and multiple exclamation marks are signs of poor form, syntax, and layout. Emphasize with language and format, not superfluous characters.) Smaller clans may be based around one aspect, like such as some clans may be Gun Game oriented.

There are clans for every type of game, nearly every server, and for nearly every type of person.

Finally:
I would just like to say that this game is, at its basic roots, a good game. Yet once it hits the customized items, and the level of out of game support, and constant making of new and better game types, it that really makes this game a huge success.

Verdict:
For $20, i say buy it and do it now. You will regret it if you don't.

Edit: As this is my first review, feedback would be lovely indeed.

Please take these comments along with all of D_987's. I'm going to say something that's going to sound a little harsh, but it is your biggest problem. Right now, you're trying to write reviews before you have the basics of writing.

Things like abbreviating full words, failing to capitalize at important points, and grammatical mistakes are all signs of missing fundamentals in writing. Whether it's writing fiction or reviews, you need to get the basics down before you explore the advanced techniques.

So, I'd suggest going back over the fundamentals of the English language. Everything from capitalizing proper nouns to proper use of commas in compound sentences. Once you get the basics down pat, then you'll be ready to move onto more technical and finite aspects of writing.

I'd suggest going back to the basics, practicing some more, and trying again soon. Work hard on the basics with your next piece of writing, and it should improve with by that effort alone.

If you have any questions, want any more advice, or need anything clarified, please let me know. I'm happy to help.

Warmest regards,
Nuke