I haven't played Counter-Strike in years. Back in college, I used to cut a lot of classes to play CS, but I don't see it around much anymore. Kids nowadays seem to prefer DOTA. Crazy kids.

Yesterday, I was checking out some gaming sites when I saw a link for Counter-Strike 2D. Counter-Strike what? I had to rub my eyes. Yes, it's Counter-Strike 2D!

I had some work to do, but who can resist CS? So I downloaded the game (5.6 MB) and gave it a try. It was surprisingly fun. I was impressed by how much CS2D feels like the original CS. It does look quite different. Well, of course it does. It's in freaking 2D! But the old CS gameplay is there. And the sounds... who can forget the sounds? "Go go go!" "Fire in the hole!"

Look! It's my favorite Counter-Strike map, de_dust! Click on the images to see full-sized screenshots.

Despite the presence of some minor bugs and glitches (it's still in beta), CS2D has successfully captured the essence of the original game: simplicity.

CS was a simple game. Terrorists vs. counter-terrorists. Terrorists like to plant bombs. Counter-terrorists like to rescue hostages. Terrorists and counter-terrorists like to kill each other. Sweet and simple. None of that complicated spells and items crap that you find in DOTA.

Most importantly, CS represented a simpler and more innocent world that was destroyed on 9/11. CS2D allows me to revisit that lost world, where phrases like "the bomb has been planted" and "Terrorists win!" make me happy and don't give me the unexplainable urge to invade a random Arab country.

Ah, sweet nostalgia.