Alex was driven by all of these approaches to bring everything together into one central hub for all things community. "One huge inspiration was PlanetPhillip.com, now RunThinkShootLive," he tells me, "The site posted reviews of single-player Half-Life maps. I could see how much of a positive impact that had on the community. People were inspired to create Half-Life maps because they could see others making cool stuff and they knew their effort would not go to waste. There seemed to be room for something that could do the same for everything else in the community like fan art, fan films, music, and mods.

Like many difficult-to-learn shooters in the multiplayer market, Insurgency: Sandstorm plays very differently from the typical shooter. While not a true combat sim like Arma, Insurgency throws players into unique game modes with weapons that down foes in one to two shots. Insurgency's incredibly fast time-to-kill (TTK) makes it intimidating for players who are used to arcade shooters like Call of D

Like CS: GO, DotA 2 has built a massive player base and Esports scene over many consistent years of popularity. DotA 2 is one of the big MOBA-style games that dominate the market, alongside League of Legends . DotA 2 sports a staggering 123 playable characters, all with unique play styles and strategies. Like any MOBA, learning characters, items, and match times are important for succ

Some of the sites Alex is talking about were centered around maps, while others focused on larger overhauls. There were also a few that dug into leaks, rumors, and speculation, propping up the fans who were trying to sift through Valve’s silence to find answers.

Hunt: Showdown is one of the most unique first-person shooters on the market. It tasks players to go into a monster-filled 1870s bayou with nothing but break-action shotguns, lever-action rifles, and many other historical weapons . It plays unlike nearly any other competitive shooter, as it lacks fully automatic weapons and prioritizes patience and accuracy when fir

This month I'm looking forward to Mario Kart 7 . It's just one of those games that you can pickup and play whenever you want, and I plan on playing it throughout December and well into the new year. Since some folks are talking about what they're excited for next year, I'd have to say Halo 4 and Bioshock: Infinite are on the top of my l

As one of the oldest and most storied maps in competitive Counter-Strike history, Jo Bieg's creation in BETA 4.0 of the original Counter-Strike mod has seen iterations and remakes across every single game. Needless to say, Nuke is iconic and up there with the likes of Inferno and Dust II. Due to its reputation, it was the second map to receive a significant revision to not only update the aesthetic but also resolve issues that have persisted for ye

While others emphasized what Valve was up to, this blog was all about what fans were doing. It started out as a website before transitioning into a Discord server and a Twitter page. Now, it’s a fully-fledged social network in the making. I’ve long followed LambdaGeneration, so I was ecstatic when they reached out to me about an interview for the new initative. This group has always been the go-to place to find what the community is up to, or to uncover hidden gems - a new resource like this is a total game-changer.

Currently, there is no way to financially support the self-funded fan-site, but there are plans to potentially open a Patreon in the future. LambdaGeneration seems like the inevitable next step in this saga, a hot-spot for Half-Life devotees to enjoy.

Who says there are no good games released in December? Mario Kart 7 , Nintendo's latest entry into it's iconic racing franchise is coming this year, and it's coming to a 3DS. What better way to ignore family at those tedious holiday get togethers than by racing down Rainbow Road? Still not sold? Well maybe you should check out our Mario Kart 7 review to see why this is one of the 3DS' hottest tit

Despite not having a decent hold of a gun, many players tend to shoot continuously even when the entire spray is missing. Most of the bullets don’t connect, and in retaliation, the opposing player kills you immediately. Rather than spraying hastily and missing every shot, it’s better to shoot at a slower p

However, when you are loaded with utilities such as Smoke Grenade and Flashbang, you should try to use them before making a Hail Mary run. Dying without using the utilities will not only harm your economy, but you are also donating free goodies to the opposing t

Maps in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive are mostly new, but some of the classics from Counter-Strike and Counter-Strike 2 crosshair customization: Source have been remade for CS: GO . If you're like many CS: GO players, you've played the game for over 100 hours. This is ranking the 10 best Counter-Strike: Global Offensive m

December is the month that bats clean up for gamers, allowing us a chance to catch up on all the titles we missed this year. Among those titles I missed are Skyrim, Skyward Sword, and Battlefield 3 , so I hope to give those a go over the break. On top of that I'm also looking forward to finally procuring a 3DS and trying out Super Mario 3D Land and Mario Kart 7 . And for my family fun I'm looking forward to checking out Scene It? Movie Night . Happy Holidays Rant