Game Over: Half-Life 2

I beat Half-Life 2 the other night. It took me just over a week. It was a great game, and even though it had some quirks (mostly in the licensing department), I'm very satisfied with the game. Now I've moved on to playing Counter-Strike : Source. This is the only way (currently) to play multiplayer using the Source engine from Valve. In Counter-Strike : Source (CSS), you and a squad of fellow players are teamed up against another, similar squad of players online. One group plays as the terrorist team, and has the objective of bombing a target, taking hostages, or simply killing the other team. The other team plays as the counter-terrorists. This group is tasked with diffusing the bomb, rescueing hostages, or killing the other team. Each group has a unique set of weapons and equipment available that can be purchased. Rounds last about three minutes each, and money is awarded after each round. Surviving a round earns you the right to keep everything you bought in the previous one. Once out, you can chat with the other players and watch as the action continues to roll. With a three minute maximum round time, it doesn't take long to be back in the thick of things.

I've learned a couple of things in my first few nights of playing CSS. First, I suck at it! You get to choose the name other players know you as, and I chose EasyTarget. It seems to fit. Most rounds I take headshot with in the first minute. Occassionally I get lucky and get a kill or two in a round, but I'm usually heavier in the death column. Luckily, it is a team effort, so my team can win even if I die in the first minute. The second thing I learned is that I can't play this game for three hours and expect to be able to fall asleep immediately. I stopped playing last night around 3am, and I tried to dive right into bed. Big mistake. I was still all twitchy and amped up from playing. As you play, your eyes dart around the fielf of view, looking for targets and trying to find the vantage point that the sniper is going to ace you from. Your heart rate rises a couple of notches. That lingered for a good while after the game. I'm not sure when I finally fell asleep, but it certainly wasn't right away.

If you are an avid Counter-Strike player, and you have some notes for me, please leave a comment. Or, if you just want to kill an EasyTarget, jump online and start looking for me. I'll be the dead guy three steps from the starting spot.