History YMMV / CounterStrike

*** It gets even worse when Agent skins blend into the map, becoming nearly invisible against certain backgrounds. Of particular infamy was the grate at the back of Sewers in Overpass, and crouching looking like the flowerpots in Inferno's Pit. This would be hilarious if it happened to you maybe once, but the player-base got old of it real quick. Fortunately Valve increased the contrast of Agents and the surroundings, easing the pain a bit.

** Riot Shields for Counter-Terrorists have yet to make a reappearance since 1.6 until ''2021'' for only one specific period of time in Casual matchmaking and as a general item in Danger Zone, as the only way to kill shield users were to grenade them, time the shot correctly when they move the shield to pull out their pistol, or get lucky and somehow pop the shielder through the vision hole. The Danger Zone and limited Casual versions also protect your back when not equipped, though in exchange the player's speed is universally slowed down so long as it's in your inventory.

** Riot Shields for Counter-Terrorists have yet to make a reappearance since 1.6, as the only way to kill shield users were to grenade them, time the shot correctly when they move the shield to pull out their pistol, or get lucky and somehow pop the shielder through the vision hole.

* TierInducedScrappy:
** The CZ-75 Auto pistol has been derided as being overpowered and drowning out the other pistols, even the mighty Desert Eagle, prompting some people to call ''Global Offensive'' after the pistol was introduced as ''CZ-GO''. It has been nerfed since its introduction but still remains an effective weapon. However, the weapon is seeing descent into ScrappyWeapon territory due to having a pathetic kill award, despite having a small magazine and only one extra in reserve.
** The Terrorist-only TEC-9 pistol for the same reasons as the CZ along with a high magazine capacity and low recoil on the move. Players often refer to this gun as the [[FanNickname "REKT-9"]], and players who stick to it are sometimes derisively referred to as [[UsefulNotes/{{Columbine}} "Klebolds"]]. Like the AK-47, it is often picked up by Counter-Terrorists if they're able to kill a Terrorist wielding it while some prefer sticking with the [=Five-SeveN=]. It has been nerfed to have lower magazine capacity (from 32 to 24) and range, but it's still the best option for eco rushes.
** The P90: with its easy-to-use spray pattern, low movement penalty, and fast firing speed, it's a silver's worst nightmare. However, in higher levels, a rifle player can do much more damage to a P90 user in a shorter amount of time than the P90 can do to them, rendering it useless. It's jokingly called the ELO-90 sometimes to reference the community viewing it as a [[SkillGateCharacter Skill Gate Weapon]].
** Similar to the above, the auto-snipers are considered to be too easy to use, and with poorer-aim lower players, a spam of auto shots is enough to take even an awper down. However, at higher levels, an AWP outduels the auto-sniper every time. It does, however, have a few tiny specialized roles in competitive play, like shutting down buy round rushes.

** "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqB1uoDTdKM DOOR STUCK!]]"

* SongAssociation: An unofficial server mod did this to Chesney Hawkes' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8f2mW1GFSI The One and Only]].

** "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7TRF7jrSM4 I'M THE LAW!]] I'M THE LAW! ''OH GOD I'M A FREAKIN LAW!'' I'M THE LAW! [[BrokenRecord I AM THE LAW I AM THE LAW I AM THE LAW I AM THE LAW I AM THE LAW I AM THE LAW...]][[labelnote:Explanation]]One player's particularly [[MadnessMantra mad]] case of SanitySlippage upon being repeatedly confronted with the Counter-Terrorists quoting Film/JudgeDredd in a game of jailbreak.[[/note]]

** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqB1uoDTdKM DOOR STUCK]]

* AcceptableTargets: Any player who uses one of the auto-snipers (SG 550, AUG, [=G3SG1=] or SCAR-20, but mostly the latter two) will be labeled as an "auto-noob" and will have a good chance of getting kicked by his teammates who sees using such rifles as a cardinal sin.

** Camping tactics, combined to the fact that classic (pre Global Offensive) Counter-Strike maps are unusually sprawling compared to most contemporary FPS at the time, leads to this naturally as a lone hostage rescuer could be greeted by lone camping T that will unsuspectingly hose the unfortunate CT, giving the round win to the T.

** de_dust and de_dust2, though dust2 more than dust. In recent years, dust has died a slow and painful death due to people having finally begun to realize that the map is heavily flawed; forcing choke-points to always occur at just two locations, and both being heavily favored for the Counter-Terrorists to claim victory. It's for this reason that dust2 exists, which is a much more balanced map for both sides.

*** Recently, the P90 jokes died a good bit thanks to the Website/YouTube user LICHTENSTEIN for introducing the "[[https://youtu.be/3TMFasXcBBM?t=228 TEC-9 Rush B Cyka Blyat]]" meme.

** The way Doctor Romanov [[https://youtu.be/sDghfpvcf2s?t=936 pronounces "flashbang"]]. "Flash'''''benng'''''"? Seriously?

* OnlyTheCreatorDoesItRight: ''Averted''. Lets just say that "Gooseman" wanting to evolve and change Counter-Strike up radically with a sequel, and later on an attempted CreatorDrivenSuccessor in ''Tactical Intervention'', was met with severe backlash to the point that the game was removed from Steam. To wit, the game ends up as a poor man's ''Videogame/RainbowSix'', the very same series which the first one inspired Counter-Strike in the first place!

* EnsembleDarkhorse:

** "[[VideoGame/MaxPayne Max Paynes]]": Berettas.

** Regarding ''Counter-Strike: Neo'' (the Japan-only oriented spin-off of ''Counter-Strike'', changing the art style towards a much-more Animesque style,) its existence tickles the funny bone of every ''Counter-Strike'' fan who watched the older CS parody videos before the website went down for good. One specific vid discussed ways to make ''Counter-Strike'' relevant to younger gamers by making the game more anime style, full of [[Franchise/DragonBall Kamehameha-style laser blasts]], so the game can appeal to ''Anime/PokemonTheSeries'' and Anime/DragonBallZ fans. Keep in mind that the video was made in 1999, right when the Pokémon and anime craze hit the U.S. the hardest.

** [[BoomHeadshot BOOM HEADSHOT]] by way of ''WebVideo/PurePwnage'', where FPS Doug first used it while playing ''VideoGame/AmericasArmy''. Only after the next episode did it become associated with Counter Strike and turn into the legendary meme it is today.

*** "Check HLTV". The ''Counter Strike'' news site HLTV.org carries live score trackers of games in progress, which updates slightly faster than watching livestreams. Saying "[X] team won, check HLTV" started as a common {{Troll}} move in Twitch chat, but the phrase took on a life of its own both to as a way of declaring unlikely comebacks and [[CurbStompBattle Curb Stomp Battles]] well before they could plausibly happen, as well as to joke about things that HLTV obviously cannot track.
* MorePopularSpinoff: Since the 2000s it is more well-known than Videogame/HalfLife itself.

** While it isn't as bad as ''Videogame/TeamFortress2'' due to the lack of advanced gameplay mechanics, Bots who fill in for an absent player in competitive play in Global Offensive will almost ''never'' follow commands, [[TooDumbToLive even at the cost of their own lives]]. While this is fine for punishing players who are a bit kick-happy, it's absolutely frustrating when you're stuck with toaster A.I. because of a RageQuit or the absentee simply hasn't gotten into the game proper. And, in the latter case, when the player finally does get into the game, the bot is automatically killed, preventing the rejoining player from playing until the next round.

** The "Locked Crate" mechanic where you need to purchase a key for 2.5 dollar to unlock the crate containing randomly selected weapon skins. While the skins didn't give any significant advantage over the others, it has since become a thriving commodity of trading in the Market, price based on rarity. This mechanic originated from the infamous Mann-Co crates in ''Videogame/TeamFortress2'' and it has seeped to other games like ''Videogame/PAYDAY2'' and ''Videogame/KillingFloor2''. Mitigated, however, that all the mentioned games has a "Market" functionality on the Steam client where one can purchase the desired weapon skins in price gauged by the community and rarity.

* SophomoreSlump: All the various games and spin-offs released between 1.6 and ''Global Offensive'' are considered to fall to this. Although ''Condition Zero'', ''Counter-Strike: Neo'', and Nexon's two [=F2P=] spin offs are subject to FanonDiscontinuity by most, ''Counter-Strike: Source'' is subject to most of the controversy. Due to ''Source'' being the most popular game in the series for the longest time while simultaneously being considered the weakest of the 3 "main" games, most of the [[BrokenBase inevitable arguing]] is centered around whether or not CSS is a good game.

** Interestingly, rather than making them Al-Qaeda [[{{Expy}} expies]] as would be expected in a mid 2000s game, ''Condition Zero'' doubled down on their initial inspiration by specifying that both groups were funded by the regime of Libya, which had ceased such activities for years before ''Global Offensive'' began development (Libya was taken off the U.S. state sponsors of terror list in 2006). Their character descriptions also mention more of their actions in the 1980s that are clearly inspired by those of real-world terrorists supported by Libya in that time, such as [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UTA_Flight_772 "the 1989]] [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan_Am_Flight_73 hijacking of Fly Friendly Airlines Flight 983"]], or [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Achille_Lauro_hijacking "an attack on a Mediterranean luxury cruise ship."]]

** [[https://www.reddit.com/r/GlobalOffensive/comments/2bwmlh/can_someone_please_explain_to_me_the_legend_of/ Juan Deag]], basically [=CS=]'s version of [[{{Videogame/SuperSmashBros}} FalcoMaster3000]].

** Hell, all of the English voice acting in ''Deleted Scenes'' is ultra-narmy as well.

* ScrappyMechanic: While it isn't as bad as ''Videogame/TeamFortress2'' due to the lack of advanced gameplay mechanics, Bots who fill in for an absent player in competitive play in Global Offensive will almost ''never'' follow commands, [[TooDumbToLive even at the cost of their own lives]]. While this is fine for punishing players who are a bit kick-happy, it's absolutely frustrating when you're stuck with toaster A.I. because of a RageQuit or the absentee simply hasn't gotten into the game proper. And, in the latter case, when the player finally does get into the game, the bot is automatically killed, preventing the rejoining player from playing until the next round.

** The Terrorist-only TEC-9 pistol for the same reasons as the CZ along with a high magazine capacity and low recoil on the move. Players often refer to this gun as the [[FanNickname "REKT-9"]], and players who stick to it are sometimes derisively referred to as [[BlackComedy "Kle]][[CrossesTheLineTwice bolds"]]. Like the AK-47, it is often picked up by Counter-Terrorists if they're able to kill a Terrorist wielding it while some prefer sticking with the [=Five-SeveN=]. It has been nerfed to have lower magazine capacity (from 32 to 24) and range, but it's still the best option for eco rushes.

** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lDfQT0yiwc This track]] is commonly recognized as "Counter-Strike 1.6 Theme". In reality, original 1.6 never had any music. The track itself is actually from ''Deleted Scenes'' and was ported to 1.6 in various pirated versions which is where the misconception comes from.

*** For Thai players there is cs_untitled (which kept getting called United by some people there due to limited English education at the time), an extremely tiny open air map. So tiny in 1.6 people love to set starting cash to maximum and spam HE grenades right into each other's spawn during buy time.

*** For Thai players there is cs_untitled, an extremely tiny open air map. So tiny in 1.6 people love to set starting cash to maximum and spam HE grenades right into each other's spawn during buy time.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: As per the standard with Valve, many things get changed during development.
* WereStillRelevantDammit: Many accuse Valve's decision to add Danger Zone (Battle Royale) mode as this, although there are unique gameplay differences.

** [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment Added a boiler to boiler]]. This patch note announcing the undoing of the ArtifactTitle of a room in Inferno became memetic almost immediately after the patch was released.
** Two quotes by the British SAS in ''Global Offensive'' have gained memetic status and even their own stickers: "Are we rushin' in or are we goin' sneaky-beaky like?" which is said randomly at the start of a round and "Easy peasy, lemon squeezy!" which is a cheer.

** The Menu Music blasting at you when you open ''Global Offensive''.

* OnlyTheCreatorDoesItRight: ''Averted''. Lets just say that "Gooseman" wanting to evolve and change Counter-Strike up radically with a sequel, and later on an attempted SpiritualSuccessor in ''Tactical Intervention'', was met with severe backlash to the point that the game was removed from Steam. To wit, the game ends up as a poor man's ''Videogame/RainbowSix'', the very same series which the first one inspired Counter-Strike in the first place!

** admin he doing it sideways [[labelnote:Explanation]]''Counter-Strike: Source'' has a server mod zBlock that is supposed to nerf bunnyhop (aerial DiagonalSpeedBoost). In 2010 a player Phoon demonstrates in a very quotable DeathMontage video that the patch isn't very precise, using increased speed to kill confused players. The use of Thé à la Menthe music also gave ''Film/OceansTwelve'' some ColbertBump.[[/labelnote]]

* FollowTheLeader:

*** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mb1mYkyMixs Summit1G dying to his own molotov]] has led to a kill with a molly being dubbed a 1G. It even got popular enough to get its own [=BetterTwitchTV=] global emote.

** [[BoomHeadshot BOOM HEADSHOT]] by way of ''WebVideo/PurePwnage'', where FPS Doug first used it while playing 'VideoGame/AmericasArmy''. Only after the next episode did it become associated with Counter Strike and turn into the legendary meme it is today.

** [[BoomHeadshot BOOM HEADSHOT]]

** ''Counter-Strike'' is said by many to be a series of First-Person Shooters where you can only hipfire, except when using the AUG and SG 553. While technically true, the phrase's implications slowly transformed so that many are now applying the hipfire mechanics of other games (i.e. highly inaccurate and significant spread) to this game, when the mechanics in ''Counter-Strike'' are different and more similar to the effects of aiming down sights in other games (i.e. your fist shot will always hit dead center, the rest will be affected by recoil, which can be reduced by standing still and/or crouching). The characters also ''do'' aim down the sights in third person, there's just no first person animation for it.

** cs_assault, despite being an incredibly unbalanced map (with only 4 easily covered entrances, and the hostage room being behind a set of doors) it has maintained decades of popularity, but because of it's odd nature, this popularity is almost exclusively confined to 24/7 servers where it was the only map played.

** cs_office is also quite overused. There's just something about locking down the projector room as a terrorist that people find engaging.