Review of Tao-CS

If you've hesitated to buy The Art of Counter-Strike, the
weeks since its release probably haven't helped your decision-making process.
The community's initial reaction was positive, like somebody spared the public
from more "news" stories by giving Britney Spears a "How to be Sane - For Dummies!"
book. But just when a reluctant buyer might have joined the fray, there was a
groundswell of criticism.

Who has it right? Is it worth the price, or should you
invest your $30 in roses and chocolate for the upcoming Significant Other
Appreciation Day?

Unfortunately, there's no right answer. As you'll see, the value of Tao-CS depends on you.

Before we begin, a word of caution: there's no guide or
handbook in the history of the written word that's one-size-fits-all. Everybody
has vastly different experiences, skill sets, and areas of expertise. Basically,
in any kind of guide you care to buy there's going to be material that you find
repetitive or obvious. In this regard, TAO-CS is no different.

That doesn't make it useless, though. Figuring something out
on your own, like the best rate of fire for the USP, and hearing it from a
professional player with multiple championships on his résumé are two
completely different things. It's the difference between thinking you're on the
right track, and knowing you are.

And if you've ever had any question regarding anything
relevant to competitive play, TAO-CS is the place to look for answers. It
covers everything about basic weapons concepts, from rates of fire, spray
patterns, to different tactics depending on the situation. There are map breakdowns,
movement tips, and basic guidelines for everything in between. If you're
relatively new to the game, the amount of information in the guide will be
enough to keep you busy for weeks at a time. The only section that won't help
your understanding of the action or ingame skill is the author biographies - Rambo's
team history isn't very useful when you're stuck in a 1v2 with twelve seconds
left and the match on the line. Everything else will put a newcomer on
the right path.

In my opinion, that isn't the most valuable aspect of the
guide, though. The real gold from TAO-CS is the sixty or so pages dedicated to
improving the reader's performance on LAN, cohesion within a team, and basic
marketing.

When you think about all the people that "made it" in CS, it's
easy to overlook everybody that was just as skilled and didn't make the leap
from budding star to household handle. The higher you climb in CAL, CEVO, or
any tournament, the more you realize that it's not always what you know, but who.
There's no system to consistently promote talent like MLB's minor leagues,
college athletics, or AAU basketball. Getting your name into the discussions
about up-and-coming players is a surprisingly hard thing to do, especially
considering that your success is directly tied to that of your teammates.

The second half of the guide focuses almost completely on
that area: moving up the ladder, moving offline, and converting potential into better
results both online and on LAN. Essentially, the guide does an excellent job of
covering all the "social" and real-life aspects of CS - e.g. anything that
doesn't directly pertain to the individual player while ingame. That means
subjects like dealing with managers, getting sponsorships, and what things to
look for in a prospective team, or establishing a good warm-up routine for
LANs. There are some less useful areas, like dealing with cheaters and cheating
accusations, but for the most part it's all pertinent information for anybody
that's looking to move from the online realm and try to build a name and/or a
career for themselves.

On a general note, the videos throughout the guide are excellent. They have audio commentary included, so Steel or Rambo (whoever is the subject of the clip) will explain what's happening, why it's important, and what the viewer should be taking away from the clip.

All that being said, Tao-CS isn't flawless. The writing
itself is unnecessarily wordy or complex in places, making the guide a
difficult read. This has nothing to do with the quality of the information,
mind you, but warrants mentioning in the interest of full disclosure. But
really, most of my "complaints" are about what they didn't do, rather than
things they executed poorly. For instance, I'm not sure why they didn't include
an occasional tip from another player, like Danny "fRoD" Montaner's thoughts on
AWPing.

They also could have gone the extra mile by including more video
commentaries, or just stories related through text. Basically, the authors'
combined experience was a huge draw to buy the guide, and the balance between quotes
and relating experiences could have been more even. One-line snippets are nice,
stories are fascinating and engrossing.

Other people have complained about the lack of advanced concepts
and specific examples, like strat-calling and exactly where to throw flashes. Those
things would be nice, but far too impractical. If they went into specifics with
every situation and contingency the guide would be 3,000 pages long. It's
simply too hard to cover every situation on every map and recommend a course of
action - or rather, every course of
action. For a guide to be truly comprehensive, it would have to take into
account different playing styles. It's no more feasible than detailing exactly
what pitch to throw to Barry Bonds in what situation. There are too many
variables to consider, like previous history, confidence levels, trends, and
conditions, to name a few. Instead of doing that, TAO-CS gives the reader the basic
tools needed to make the next step.

In the end, there are a few kinds of gamers that will derive the most benefit from the materials. Obviously, the person with the most to gain is somebody not familiar with the game, or at least the competitive aspects. I'm not sure how many of those people are around for a game that's practically ancient history, but that's beside the point. If you're looking to learn about things like the craft of recoil control, and you can afford the $30, go nuts.

The second group of gamers that would find the guide useful are people plodding along in CAL-Main that can't
seem to make "the leap" to LAN, or even better online results, despite their best efforts. The basic tips might be useful, but all the information about teamwork, marketing, sponsorships, and routine would be a big step in the right direction. And if you're really looking to make a career out of gaming in 1.6, a $30 investment isn't much of a risk in the long run.

There's one group that needs to be warned, though. There are a lot of semi-competitive players out there -- people that try hard, want to do well, and probably even watch some demos or spend hours going over strats, but don't have any aspirations beyond being "good" or playing from home. Those people could easily be disappointed. The technical information will be (for the most part) too basic, and all the tips about out-of-game issues will fall on deaf ears. Or blind eyes, rather, since it's a book.

In other words, you have to figure out your own goals before you can decide whether the guide is worth the price tag. Without a doubt, even if you're the semi-competitive gamer, there's going to be worthwhile information. It's just a question of how much it's worth to you. If you're looking to go pro, it's probably a bargain. If you don't care whether you play in CAL-IM or CAL-M or LAC-Nepo and you're on a tight budget, you can live without it.

And as a final piece of advice, if you're going to buy the
guide, splurge and don't take the money from your Chocolate and Roses Fund. Your
significant other will appreciate the gift more than the CS guide, trust me.