Counter-Strike 1.5 1.5

Counter-Strike is now one of the most well-known franchises in the competitive gaming world. The tactical shooter was difficult and inaccessible enough to not spark an entire generation of copycats like Halo or Call of Duty, but popular enough that it's still become a household name. But not a whole lot of people remember anything before Counter-Strike 1.6. Let's take a look back into even earlier days when Counter-Strike was just getting off the ground - Counter-Strike 1.5.

To install Counter-Strike 1.5, make sure you have Half-Life 1 installed and run the executable.

In terms of gameplay, the core gameplay is very much the same as how it is later in the franchise. You earn money every round, the amount changing due to a number of factors, which you use to purchase weapons and armor. One side plays as the counter-terrorists and the other side plays as the terrorists, and the terrorists are usually attempting to accomplish some kind of objective that the counter-terrorists must stop.

You have to constantly be communicating with your team, as map knowledge and keeping track of the opponent is extremely opponent. Knowing where to look for your opponent is key in winning firefights against them, as you can very easily kill somebody in a single shot to the head. If you have to flick your aim at them, you're already at a disadvantage. 

Overall, Counter-Strike 1.5 shows its age in graphics, but its gameplay is as solid as ever. Outside of a few clunky UIs that get ironed out with later versions, the signs of greatness were already firmly in place.