Repetitive? Yes, but somehow CS Source just never gets old.
Now, most of you PC gamers will know exactly what Counter-Strike is and how you play (in fact, you probably play it often) but for those that DON'T know, it's an EXTREMELY popular team-based online first-person shooter where you play as either Terrorists (T's) or Counter-Terrorists (CT's). On some games the T's will have to plant a C4 and wait for it to blow up while it's the CT's job to detonate it. On the other game mode the T's are required to guard hostages while it is the CT's job to save them. OK that's the boring bit over which I feel I was required to explain.
Combat is brilliant in CS. At the start of each round, you are given some cash and will have to buy guns. The guns are all very varied and all have their own strengths and weaknesses. And more expensive isn't neccesarilly better. For example, a cheap MP5 is great for close combat shooting and an assault rifle such as the Bullpup is great for long distance shootings. Pistols are also available along with snipers, SMG's, assault rifles, machine guns and shotguns. BUT, although you are given such a large selection of weapons (each team even has exclusives), most players seem to only choose the AK47, M4 Carbine or the AWP sniper, meaning firefights are not very different. However, the combat is extremely tense and things like music are not present because you need to hear around you- footsteps can be heard, grenade's can be heard bouncing off walls etc.
As well as the official game modes and maps, there are plenty of mod servers for different (often crazy) games. While modded servers are a bit of a laugh, you cant beat playing pure CS on an official map like, say, de_dust. Also, many servers add their own sounds which I find really annoying as it means longer load times since you have download all this crap before you can actually play. It's not a big issue though. Players, however, can be a handful. Of course, you can have a civilized game with some friendly players who respect you even if you aren't very good but often you get taunted by others calling you a 'noob' or something along those lines. Even more annoying is when you get some idiots having a conversation down the microphones for everyone to hear and each time they speak the volume of the game drops meaning you can hardly hear footsteps or commands etc.
Despite these complaints, I can't deny how much I love this game. I often come off it for a few months but ALWAYS go back for more, even after several years of playing. One great thing is the sound- Valve really nailed this part of the game. All guns sound different and radio speech is cool along with explosions etc.
If you've played 1.6 the first thing you'd notice is the graphics. It's called CS Source because it's powered by Source, the engine that powers Half-Life 2 and Portal etc. At release this was the best looking online FPS on the market but now, 4 years on it looks just a tad dated. However, the engine now includes HDR lighting for extra effect. Although the engine isn't quite pushed to it's limits like HL2, things like physics do improve the realism. The official maps, though the same structure, look totally different to 1.6 thanks to destructable objects and settings etc. System requirements aren't steep in the slightest and a mid-range or even fairly low end system could max this out in video settings.
Although CS Source may look a million times better than the ugly 1.6, it is still the same game at core. That said, you could never change CS. Even if Source is just a fancy update of 1.6, this is how I like Counter-Strike. If you are a PC gamer and you like FPS's or multiplayer gaming then all I can say is buy it. There are still THOUSANDS of servers out there and probably will be for several years still (there are still literally thousands of servers for 1.6 too actually). It never dies!