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Counter-Terrorist and Terrorist

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cs_office is a popular hostage rescue map in the first-person shooter game Counter-Strike. It is set in an office building. It is an official map that was released with the game, and was ported to Counter-Strike: Source by Turtle Rock Studios.

The map

The map consists of an office, a garage, and the nearby surroundings. There are five ways into the building and plenty of camping. Counter-Terrorists start in the garage and can enter the building through several different entrances. Two staircases are the most popular entrances because they lead directly to the places Terrorists often pass through, and they provide cover for Counter-Terrorist players. There are windows that lead to essentially the same places as their staircase counterparts, but they do not provide cover for the players. Because players can only get in the building if they are very fast (before Terrorists get in place), office is a popular map to decrease the gravity on. This allows Counter-Terrorists to jump through windows very quickly. The office also has relatively narrow hallways and few open spaces which make action very common and rushing very helpful.

The Terrorists start in the back of the building. They can defend a large hallway, or a conference room where two more hostages are located, and which connects to another hallway that leads both into the a back way and the main hallway. Terrorists can also choose to take the offensive and stifle the Counter-Terrorist rush. The most popular tactic is rushing the garage and attempting to flank the Counter-Terrorists.

There is little difference between the Counter Strike and Condition Zero versions of the map, except the behavior of hostages. In Condition Zero, the hostages sometimes attempt to escape, unless the Terrorists guard them or point rifles at them. Hostages also warn Counter-Terrorists of Terrorists who are camping nearby.

The map was among the first maps ported to Counter-Strike: Source.

Criticism

Office is often criticized for having many unfair camping spots, such as behind couches and doorways. In CS:Source, it is possible to camp on top of exit signs in two locations in the map.

On some servers, camping in rooms near the Terrorist spawn is banned, because the Terrorists often stay there for the whole round, waiting for Counter-Terrorists to pass, and not attempt to complete their objective.

If players play with bots, there is a high chance that Counter-Terrorists will get clogged up at the gate where they spawn and remain stuck there for the entire round.

In CS: Source, You can block the door ways near the hostages using carefully aimed grenades at the filing cabinets. This prohibits the Counter-Terrorist team from using the door and they have to crawl over the desk, which limits their movement giving the opportunity for the terrorists to make an easy kill.

Uniqueness

One of the more humorous (and often unnoticed) features of this map are the references to the movie Office Space. A computer screen depicts a command instructing the computer to install a virus, and there are binders marked "TPS Reports" on the spine.

There are also many more easter eggs on the computer screen, including a partially-hidden icon for another game, Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell. There is a snowman, the head of which is destroyable. There are two drink machines in one of the hallways which shoot out bottle when the "use" key is pressed.
Also, the pictures on the walls mock typical Counter-Strike behaviour, such as camping, showing in this case the slogan, "Do unto others, before they do unto you" under a picture of a tent. Several pictures like this describing different situations can be found all over this map, designed to parody the "Inspirations" line of office posters.

The official CS: Source version of this map also features breakable furniture, such as PC towers which can be broken into individual components.

Breaking a wall in the 1.6 version will reveal a picture of a ferret.

The address of the office building is 52375; the street name is unclear.

References

" The CS Maps," The Official Counter-Strike web site

"Counter-Strike" (computer software), Minh Le and Jess Cliffe, 1999, [1448]

See also

Counter-Strike

Counter-Strike maps

Counter-Strike: Source