Why I Chose It Over CS 1.6/GO: CrossFire
Exploring My Decision to Pick CrossFire Over CS 1.6/GO
Last updated
Exploring My Decision to Pick CrossFire Over CS 1.6/GO
Last updated
It’s one of the world’s most-played video games by player count, with a lifetime total of 1 billion users across 80 countries. Yet, most people reading this article have probably never heard of it. When you think of modern multiplayer FPS games, titles like Counter-Strike, Call of Duty, Valorant, Rainbow Six Siege, or even PUBG probably come to mind. The game I’m referring to is none of the above. The game I’m referring to is none other than CrossFire.
CrossFire just celebrated its 16th anniversary on the NA server. This is a game I’ve been playing since 2009. I was such an early adopter of CrossFire that, at one point, I had a two-letter IGN—a subtle flex. Back in those days, if someone with a two-letter username joined the room, it meant you’d better roll up your sleeves—because shit was about to get real. This is a story about 15+ years of consistent pubstomping—unfortunately, in a game that nobody in NA has ever heard of. At this point, I might as well be the world champion of an imaginary sport. Nonetheless, I’m excited to pour my thoughts out here.
As mentioned earlier, I first played CrossFire in 2009/2010, shortly after its beta ended and the full release launched. How did I end up playing CrossFire? Good question—with a simple answer. I wasn’t allowed to buy games on Steam, and I didn’t have PayPal or any other payment method set up. A friend gave me a Steam account with CS 1.6 and CS: Condition Zero, so I got to try both games for a bit. But after that, I lost the password and couldn’t log in to play them anymore.
One day, while visiting a family friend’s house, he introduced me to another F2P FPS: Soldier Front. He played TDM with some snipers and was pretty good at the game. Until then, I had no idea that a game of such quality and depth could be completely free-to-play (this was before I knew about in-game MTX in F2P models). I was blown away. For whatever reason, I wasn’t able to set up an account on ijji for Soldier Front or Nexon for Combat Arms. So, I ended up creating an account for CrossFire and decided to give it a shot.
I instantly fell in love with the game. It ran well on my potato PC at the time, it was free, and it was a lot of fun. In the early days, I mostly stuck to TDM, maybe Ghost Mode or Mutation Mode. At first, I avoided Search and Destroy because I’d die quickly and get bored having to watch other players finish the round. But that all changed when I watched a random player in a pub who would change how I saw the game forever. I don’t remember that player’s name, but I remember he was in the notorious PhiLiPpiNeS clan, and he was doing things I had never even thought possible (back then).
We were playing Search and Destroy on the map Downtown. I died earlier in the round and ended up spectating him. When I watched him, he looked like a pro to me. This player, using a silenced M4-Custom, was able to 1v5 and win the round. All my teammates were in shock, with multiple people freaking out in the chat over what he had just done. It never even occurred to me at that point that you could 1v5 and somehow take back a round. Nowadays, it’s very common for players to do that, but back then, I had never even heard of the word 'clutch.'
Seeing how skilled and badass he looked when doing that 1v5 made me want to get better at the game. After that, my skills would only grow year by year. It never felt like I had to ‘try’ to get better at CrossFire; it was just a game I was naturally very good at. There was also a solid community back then on YouTube, where people would post gun reviews or edits—FinalShotReviews, missiontopwn, xfam0usx, Freehat20, Neof1tzx, and duck, to name a few. That was what I would call the golden era. From here is where my CrossFire Journey would begin.
Back in the day, CrossFire had different servers like Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, and Echo. There were so many players that each server was always filled. These days, though, Alpha is completely dead, and the only active pubs are on EU servers.
I was lucky enough to live near the Alpha server, so my ping was just 8. The CrossFire experience was—and still is—distinct from how CS 1.6 was and how COD is today. There was no forced SBMM or EOMM. When you joined a room, you could end up playing with anyone from a complete noob to a pro. To this day, that's still how I prefer games—a mix of noobs and pros.
An ideal Search and Destroy game back then in 8v8 would have one ultra tryhard on each team, some standard players, and a few noobs for fun. A lot of people today think that those against SBMM just want to wipe the floor with noobs. That’s not how I see it. I feel like you should be able to see yourself getting better than the average player by dominating pubs. Public lobbies where anything goes and your matches aren’t predetermined by an algorithm. Wild card. Even just typing about it is giving me goosebumps.
Have you ever seen a CrossFire Search and Destroy match with 16 tryhards in one room? It’s not very fun. It turns into a very very sweaty game. When I was a noob, I didn’t mind having better players mixed in with the newer ones—it was even more fun when I managed to outplay or outfrag them.
In those other games, it didn’t feel like a personal experience. But in CrossFire, the public chat was always active, and the lobbies became a jungle of gamer egos and trash talk—which, let’s be honest, was one of the aspects I enjoyed back then.
If you stumbled into the wrong place you could be in for a world of pain. Joining Search and Destroy on Alpha 1 was completely different from joining it on Alpha 8 or Echo 8. Alpha 8 was where all the Chinese players hung out and naturally drew the highest skill-level players. Echo 8 was a pug/scrim server with F2P guns only (or you’d get kicked) and had tough pubs of its own. Players here would also organize pugs by themselves in the lobby chat.
Black Widow on Alpha 8 and Port on Echo 8 was where some of the most insane pubs in CrossFire history went down. Sometimes, if there was a lot of trash talk, an entire clan would pull up on both sides. I mean, stacks of players on each side—JUST to prove a point by winning a public match.
In CrossFire, when you were top frag in a room, it would say 'ACE 1st,' which was basically a license to talk shit. I mean, how could you not? You just dominated all 15 other players. At the end of a match, ACE and MVP would be awarded to the most skilled player. Being able to consistently ACE/MVP is the true mark of a pubstar.
The term 'pubstar' was often used negatively to describe players who didn’t want to pug or scrim, as they were seen as avoiding competitive play in favor of casual pub matches. But I always enjoyed pubs more. There was something about the chaos of 8v8 that made it more fun, even if it meant the players weren't 'trying as hard.' The unpredictability, the mix of skill levels, and the sheer scale of the matches made it feel more exciting than the usual 5v5 scrims.
I enjoyed most weapons in CrossFire, but I always gravitated towards snipers. The M4, AWM, Barrett, Cheytac, Desert Eagle, and Colt/Anaconda were all staples in my loadout. Each weapon brought something unique to the table, but sniping, with its precision and power, always had my heart.
CrossFire’s Search and Destroy mode stands out with its faster-paced gameplay, where the quicker character movement and ability to run and gun make every encounter feel more intense. Unlike Counter-Strike, where the pacing can sometimes drag, CrossFire keeps things moving, giving you less time to breathe and more opportunities to engage.
In an interview, Ina Jang, a developer of CrossFire, shared her thoughts on the game's unique qualities, saying "People who play shooters have very similar tendencies, but those who play CrossFire are a little bit different. They’re fonder of a very high-speed game. In other shooters, they’re often focused on camping and ambushes, sometimes moving very slowly and carefully. We don’t do that. Everything is very fast. That’s something all of our players have fun with. I think our players have very fast-moving eyes.” [Laughs]
40 seconds. That’s all the time you have to eliminate the enemy and or defuse the bomb once its been planted. In my experience playing Counter-Strike, I often saw CT players saving their weapons or not even attempting to defuse because there was simply no time left.
That NEVER happens in CrossFire. No matter how unfavorable the position is, there’s always something going down, whether it's a last-second defuse or a clutch 1v5 play. The intensity is so high, and I love every second of it.
I have countless memories that show just how much that little extra speed matters. I play Search and Destroy so fast that one time while bunny-hopping to flank, someone typed in public chat, 'He moves like a cheetah.’ It was one of those moments where my speed caught everyone off guard and became a highlight of the match.
The Search and Destroy maps in CrossFire are, to this day, the most fun I've ever had in a Search and Destroy mode in any game. And I mean that. Eagle Eye, in particular, stands out.
Eagle Eye is essentially the de_dust2 of CrossFire—it’s the quintessential Search and Destroy map, iconic, and perfectly designed for the mode, just like how de_dust2 became the standard for CS.
With its sprawling layout and intricate network of interconnected spaces, it transcends the typical SnD map. It's a sandbox of strategic possibilities, offering an unparalleled level of replayability that has kept me engaged for over 15 years.
Key Design Elements Contributing to its Excellence:
Verticality and Varied Terrain: The map isn't a flat plane. The inclusion of elevated platforms, staircases, and multi-tiered buildings creates a unique environment where positioning and map awareness are paramount.
Nooks, Crannies, and Hiding Spots: The map is littered with nooks, crannies, and hiding spots, always fostering a tense atmosphere of paranoia and strategic positioning. These locations aren't just for camping; they encourage players to think creatively about ambushes, rotations, and objective defense.
Objective Placement and Map Flow: The map's flow, from spawn points to objectives, is well-balanced. The bomb sites and their surrounding areas are strategically designed to encourage varied strategies and prevent predictable gameplay.
Quirks and Unconventional Tactics: Eagle Eye’s intricate design invites players to experiment with and discover unconventional tactics. The map features countless sniper angles, that will often make you think, “What? He shot me from there?”. These quirks add depth, ensuring that Eagle Eye remains fresh and fun all these years later.
Eagle Eye is a testament to the power of thoughtful game design.
Getting vote-kicked from a pub for being too good feels like a rite of passage. In one of my best Eagle Eye games ever, I racked up 47 kills (which is a lot for that mode). Not only that, but it was with a sniper (50cal Barrett), which is way harder than using a rifle. I was about to hit 50 kills when I got kicked. That match was intense—in one round I had a 7-kill streak with 6 consecutive kills filling the kill marker. I was shooting players through boxes 50 feet away before they could even peak. Which led people to believe I was wallhacking.
I wasn’t really mad when I got kicked. In fact, if I haven’t been kicked from a game in a while I see it as a sign that I’m falling off.
The game has changed a lot since 2009 but remains the same enjoyable experience at its core. It’s a game that I’ve been able to come back to time and time again over the years. CrossFire will always hold a very strong legacy. Even on my least active account, I have 143 recorded ACEs, 57 MVPs, and 1.84 KD. I don't have the numbers from my old account but it was all of those, just even higher.
I still hope to one day take a trip to Shanghai and visit an internet cafe to experience the Chinese CrossFire servers firsthand. It would be incredible to see the gameplay style of a region where the game is still such a massive part of the gaming culture. CrossFire forever!
